In professional wrestling, the WWE Hall of Fame (formerly WWF Hall of Fame) is an institution that honors selected former employees of World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the World Wrestling Federation) and other figures who have contributed to wrestling and sports-entertainment in general.
History
The Hall of Fame was created in 1993 with the induction of WWF alumnus André the Giant, who had died earlier that year. The Hall inducted additional members annually thereafter until 1996 with the 1994 and 1995 ceremonies held as part of the King of the Ring weekend, then went dormant until it was revived in 2004 to commemorate the company's twentieth WrestleMania event.
Since living inductees appear at a Hall of Fame acceptance event, induction is contingent upon the candidate being on good terms with WWE. The process by which inductees are selected is not transparent; the criteria for induction have never been disclosed. Although the Hall in theory honors those with important WWE careers, since the revival in 2004 some inductees, such as Harley Race, Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel, achieved much of their success outside of WWE, though the companies where they did achieve their success are now largely part of the WWE.
As of 2010, Harley Race, "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, Verne Gagne, Dusty Rhodes, Big John Studd, Terry Funk and Antonio Inoki are the only wrestlers to be inducted into both the WCW Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame, while Gordon Solie is the only commentator to be inducted into both.
Inductees
Ceremony dates and locations
Event | Date | City | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Hall of Fame 1994 | June 4, 1994 | Baltimore, Maryland | Omni Inner Harbor International Hotel |
Hall of Fame 1995 | June 24, 1995 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Marriott Hotel |
Hall of Fame 1996 | November 16, 1996 | New York, New York | Marriott Marquis |
Hall of Fame 2004 | March 13, 2004 | New York, New York | The Hilton |
Hall of Fame 2005 | April 2, 2005 | Los Angeles, California | Universal Amphitheatre |
Hall of Fame 2006 | April 1, 2006 | Rosemont, Illinois | Rosemont Theatre |
Hall of Fame 2007 | March 31, 2007 | Detroit, Michigan | Fox Theatre |
Hall of Fame 2008 | March 28, 2008 | Orlando, Florida | Amway Arena |
Hall of Fame 2009 | April 4, 2009 | Houston, Texas | Toyota Center |
Hall of Fame 2010 | March 27, 2010 | Phoenix, Arizona | Dodge Theater |
Hall of Fame 2011 | April 2, 2011 | Atlanta, Georgia | Philips Arena |
Hall of Fame 2012 | March 31, 2012 | Miami, Florida | American Airlines Arena |
Hall of Fame 2013 | April 6, 2013 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden |
Hall of Fame 2014 | April 5, 2014 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Smoothie King Center |
Hall of Fame 2015 | March 28, 2015 | San Jose, California | SAP Center |
Hall of Fame 2016 | April 2, 2016 | Dallas, Texas | American Airlines Center |
Hall of Fame 2017 | March 31, 2017 | Orlando, Florida | Orlando, Florida |
Hall of Fame 2018 | April 6, 2018 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Smoothie King Center |
Hall of Fame 2019 | April 6, 2019 | Brooklyn, New York | Barclays Center |
Hall of Fame 2020 |
Trivia
- Set pieces from the Slammy Awards from 1986, 1987, 1996, and 1997 are used as a part of the Hall of Fame awards show set.
See also
- WWE Hall of Shame
- TNA Hall of Fame
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- WCW Hall of Fame
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
- NWA Hall of Fame
- CZW Hall of Fame
- George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
External link
- The WWE Hall of Fame
- WWE Hall of Fame 1994 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 1995 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 1996 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2004 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2005 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2006 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2007 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2008 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2009 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2010 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2011 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2012 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2013 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2014 Red Carpet on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2014 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2015 Red Carpet on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2015 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2016 Red Carpet on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2016 on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2017 Red Carpet on WWE Network
- WWE Hall of Fame 2017 on WWE Network