10 people not in the WWE Hall of Fame but should be
By Carl Gac
An induction to the WWE Hall of Fame is one of the biggest accolades that a professional wrestler can receive, but there are many men and women who aren’t in yet who should be.
During the week of WrestleMania, WWE pulls out all the stops to give fans from around the world the greatest spectacle of the year. With WrestleMania itself and the NXT TakeOver event giving some outstanding in-ring action, the WWE Hall of Fame is the one time of the year when legends of the past can be recognized.
The WWE Hall of Fame began back in 1993, with Andre the Giant becoming the first man to be inducted. Since then a who’s who of professional wrestling has been inducted, from Gorilla Monsoon and Harley Race, to Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart, to Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels — many have been recipients of one of the much sought after WWE Hall of Fame rings.
The 2017 class has already been announced, with Kurt Angle, Diamond Dallas Page, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Teddy Long, Beth Pheonix and “Ravishing” Rick Rude all set to join the ranks of some of the best ever.
One thing that always comes up when the WWE Hall of Fame is talked about is the number of men and women who probably should be in there, but so far aren’t. It’s often a bone of contention when you look at some of the names already inducted, and compare them to some of the people who aren’t members of the Hall of Fame yet.
Here we give you ten names who should probably already be amongst the ranks of the men and women in the Hall of Fame, but for whatever reason haven’t been inducted yet.
10. Owen Hart
One of the best in-ring talents ever to set foot in a WWE ring, who died tragically during a ring entrance on a 1999 pay-per-view, Owen Hart should be in the WWE Hall of Fame alongside his brother Bret and father Stu.
Owen was a man who mixed high flying with a technical style that few of his peers could match. Many thought that he would have more of an impact on the then-WWF than his brother Bret, and may very well have done that if not for the tragic accident that took his life at the age of 34.
Many fans will know Owen for his run in the WWF, but he was also a standout performer in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling and in Europe and Mexico as well. Some of his best matches came against brother Bret, with their show-opening encounter at WrestleMania 10 ranked as one of the best matches in WWE history.
The one main sticking point to Owen Hart being inducted is the bad blood between Owen’s widow Martha and the WWE, stemming from Owen’s tragic death. The Hart family sued WWE following the event, which eventually saw the company pay the Hart family $18 million. In 2010 Martha sued WWE again for the use of Owen’s names and likeness, and again the company paid out an undisclosed amount.
If it was just based on his in-ring career, Owen Hart would be in the WWE Hall of Fame without a doubt. The ill feeling between Martha Hart and the company may always stand in the way of it happening, though.