The remaining names have been leaked on the full 2011 WWE Hall of Fame class. The Road Warriors, Abdullah the Butcher, Sunny, and Bob Armstrong will join Jim Duggan and Shawn Michaels in the WWE Hall of Fame. Highlights from the ceremony will air on the USA Network on April 4.
Dave Meltzer dropped the names on a recent podcast available on F4Wrestling. com. It looks like the WWE will pay full tribute to the NWA and the Georgia territory with Bob Armstrong, Abdullah the Butcher, and the Road Warriors. All four of those men were regulars at one time or another in Georgia Championship Wrestling and headlined many shows at the Atlanta Omni. The names make sense with WrestleMania 27 and the ceremony taking place this year in Atlanta, GA.
[adinserter block=”2″]The Road Warriors surprise me a little only because I think they are strong enough to headline a ceremony down the line. At this point they seem kind of like a throw away which is a bit disappointing considering their legacy in pro wrestling. For better or worse they were key players in the 1980s and sold out arenas around the world in their prime. If the 80s are considered the glory period of tag team wrestling, well there was no tag team more successful during that time than the Road Warriors.
Abdullah the Butcher is a nice addition and a bit of wild card here. Abdullah was one of the most successful heels in pro wrestling throughout the 1970s and early 80s. Abdullah was a hot heel in the territories as a guy that would bounce around territories feuding with the top babyfaces of the area. Nationally he is probably remembered for his last run in WCW in the early 1990s. Most fans my age arguably remember him best for his series of matches against Bruiser Brody or Dusty Rhodes.
I can’t ever recall Abdullah ever working in the WWWF or WWF (he may have worked a show here or there in the 60s or 70s but I can’t track down any results). It is great to see Vince McMahon and the WWE honor someone like Abdullah and Bob Armstrong who weren’t WWE, WWF, or WWWF stars. I am real curious to see if Abdullah will give a speech. Abdullah never talked during his prime, although he has been much more relaxed about that kind of thing over the last several years. Still, I am curious if Abdullah will speak and break kayfabe on a big broadcast such as the WWE Hall of Fame.
Tammy Sytch was a real pioneer for the WWE Divas. As Sunny, she was at one time the most downloaded person on the Internet. Unlike a lot of women who become WWE Divas today, she was a big fan of the wrestling business years before she entered the WWE and achieved her dreams. I can’t imagine how thrilled she must be with the news. The induction is fitting considering the doors she opened for all of the WWE Divas in her prime.
[adinserter block=”1″]It is ironic that none of the names rumored over the last year will wind up going into the Hall of Fame in 2011. The Steiners, Sting, Ron Simmons, Lex Luger, and Bill Goldberg have all been talked about from time to time over the last year as being possible inductees. With WrestleMania 28 taking place in Miami next year I’d be shocked if Ron Simmons isn’t on the ballot due to his Florida ties. It will probably be years before we see Goldberg or Luger in the Hall of Fame. Sting is always a viable candidate depending upon his relationship with TNA Wrestling. As for the Steiners, I can’t imagine Scott Steiner has done them any favors with his repeated bashing of Triple H over the last few years.
The 2011 WWE Hall of Fame will air on Monday night April 4 an hour before WWE RAW at 8 PM/EST on the USA Network. The hour will likely only feature full inductions from Shawn Michaels and one other, probably Jim Duggan. WWE.com usually puts the entire ceremony up on their website a day or two after the show if you are interested in seeing everyone’s induction.
The WWE: Top 50 Superstars of All Time DVD
WWE Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80s
Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History
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