When January rolls around, every professional wrestling fan prepares themselves for Wrestlemania season. The Royal Rumble becomes the starting point to have a view of where the company will be heading as it gears for the Super Bowl of Professional Wrestling. Whoever wins the Royal Rumble stamps his ticket into the main event of a Wrestlemania, as he challenges for the coveted Heavyweight Championship in his respective brand–albeit Raw or Smackdown Live.
Another reason for excitement is the rumors that swirl around of who will be immortalized in the year’s Hall of Fame. This year’s class does not have a definitive headliner as it has in previous years; although, the first person rumored can definitely be on top of that list based on what he has done outside of professional wrestling, as much as he did inside of it.
According to Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio, the potential list to make it to the WWE Hall of Fame are as follows:
- Diamond Dallas Page
- William Regal
- Christian
- IRS/Mike Rotunda
- Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
- Rick Rude
The person who should headline this list of the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame should be Diamond Dallas Page. Page has saved countless lives with his health business, DDP Yoga. WWE Hall of Famers that include: Mick Foley, Scott Hall, and Jake Roberts all attributed the resurrection of their lives because of Diamond Dallas Page. Page is also a 3-time WCW World Heavyweight who has headlined many pay-per-views in WCW’s history and was instrumental in creating the persona of the ultimate hero looking to defeat the villainous group, the New World Order.
Mike Rotunda, better known to professional wrestling fans as Irwin R Schyster, is also another honorable mention to someone who has meant more to the industry outside of it, as much as he has inside the squared circle. Rotunda has a lineage that dates back to his father, Blackjack Mulligan, another member of the WWE Hall of Fame, who passed away on April of 2016. His brother is Barry Windham, a former member of the legendary 4-Horeseman, and is also a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Although Rotunda, a former member of the Varsity Club and Money Incorporated, is a 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, perhaps his biggest impact on the professional wrestling industry is being known as the father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.
Natural Disasters, Typhoon and Earthquake, spent a total of two years together as a tag team, and only held the WWE Tag Team titles on one occasion. The best solution to bring these two into the Hall of Fame is to bring them in together as a team, although each of them has provided lasting memories as singles’ competitors. Out of the two, John Tenta, who also went by different characters such as: The Shark, Avalanche, and Golga. His most memorable moments came during his feud against WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan. Sadly, Tenta passed away in 2006 at the age of 42 due to cancer. Fred Ottman, who as a member of the Natural Disasters was known as Typhoon, will forever be remembered as The Shockmaster. On an episode of Clash of the Champions XXIV, Ottman was to be revealed as the mysterious new partner of both Sting and Davey Boy Smith, who were in a feud against Harlem Heat and Sid Vicious. The camera zoomed in on Ottman, who was supposed to crash into a make-shift wall as his grand entrance. Unfortunately, he stumbled over a piece of lumber, causing him to fall forward and lose his helmet, killing the character before it even began.
Rick Rude was someone you knew was always going to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Rude is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion and former WCW United States Champion. His most defining moment in professional wrestling came when he was no longer an active competitor. On November 17th, 1997, Rude was seen on a taped episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, and a live episode of WCW Monday Nitro, making him the first and only professional wrestler in history to appear on both Raw and Nitro on the same day.
