WON HOF 2016

[Matt D]

I for one happily accept our brave new world where Sting, the inspirational force behind John Cena's prototype hair, is in the WON HOF. I will happily brandish such counter-factuals as "Well, if he wasn't in WCW in the early 90s, it would have tanked completely." and tout the fact that Bill Apter suggested to me that if he wasn't a huge draw for PWI covers, they wouldn't have put him on the cover consistently.

 

All is right in the wrestling world.

[shoe]

With Dave endorsing Bearcat Wright I wonder if we'll get an uptick next year?

[InYourCase]

CIMA bounced up to 40%. Hopefully more people consider to give him a look, seeing as how now that Bryan is in, he's the most deserving person on the ballot.

[WrestlingPower]

Meltzer's podcast appearance about the HOF was something else. He really dug his heels in against JYD and how his later career tarnished his Mid-South accomplishments. I thought Matt Farmer missed the opportunity to ask Dave if Cien Caras would be a better or worse candidate as part of Dinamitas but overall he took the fight to Meltzer in some of the mini-debates. I was surprised to see Dave come out with such strong support of Lagarde, Ultimo Guerrero, Gary Hart, and Dave Brown.

 

As far as the results themselves, I think the biggest thing is I'm surprised to see how well Hayabusa did.

[Grimmas]

A world where Sting is a HOF and JYD is not close is a sad world indeed. Plus Jimmy Hart still not in. What a joke.

[Al]

Some other quick takeaways:

 

-Pedro Morales at 54%. That bodes well.

 

-Volk Han lost a large percentage in his "final" year. That's unusual for HOF votes. Most candidates in their last years get a little boost.

 

-Jimmy Hart did gain 10% more votes this year. I find it interesting to see the 1980s peripheral WWF stars filtering in (Albano, Okerlund).

 

-Cien Caras if my math is right missed by as little as three votes.

 

-Merging the Europe/World groups didn't seem to result in any detectable voting difference as a group.

[Cox]

I look forward to the WON Hall of Fame every year, but with each passing year, it becomes more and more apparent that the Hall of Fame is a vehicle to confirm Dave's biases. I think a lot of great research has resulted from the WON Hall of Fame, but I also don't think it has had much effect on the Hall of Fame electorate, outside of some corners of the internet. I don't say this to discourage folks from doing the research, in fact I hope it continues because I think some folks like me who don't vote for the HOF have learned a lot from their work, but I also don't think it has as much influence with voters, and that's mostly because I don't think it's had much influence on Dave. If Dave isn't posting that research, if Dave isn't speaking to it in any direction either way, and if Dave isn't open to changing his mind on long-held beliefs (such as that JYD is not a strong candidate), then the guys who make it in will largely be guys who have been praised in the Observer.

 

I also think it's easy to get discouraged by Sting being elected in, and I do think he's a bad candidate, but bad candidates are going to make it in (although if Edge ever makes it in, I am going to riot). I think the best way to look at the Hall of Fame is to try to pimp worthy candidates rather than disparage bad ones. Try to get as many good candidates in the WON, and if a bad candidate like Sting makes it in occasionally, so be it. I think a lot of great conversations have been started on worthy candidates, and I don't think JYD would have had a prayer of making it back on the ballot, let alone getting 32% of the vote, without the great work that's been done by historians. If Sting being a Hall of Famer is the price we have to pay to get real discussions going about JYD or Kerry Von Erich, so be it.

[sek69]

Seems people are being just a tad hyperbolic over Sting. No, he's not the best candidate but he's far from the worst. Definitely not a guy to act like the sky is falling over.

[Dylan Waco]

The issue isn't Sting in a vacuum, but rather Sting on the heels of rules changes designed to help get modern era candidates in, last years results, et. To me Sting represents the utter rejection that research matters at all, as he is the ultimate perception v reality candidate. I don't know if I will continue to send in a ballot or not, but my days of focused research based around the WON HOF are likely over. It's a complete waste of time and effort, and I have too many interesting and rewarding projects going on to burn my time on it.

[Al]

Do you think the HOF would benefit from a system where they take a set number of inductees? Say, one historical inductee, one Mexican inductee, etc?

[Johnny Sorrow]

Well, at the end of the day isn't this just a HOF created by one guy and it belongs to him? So if he wants it to go one way or another that's his prerogative . It's bonkers that people get all bent out of shape about a Hall of Fame that's one guy's property. 😄

[elliott]

Super disappointing class. I guess I'd say I'm glad no luchadores fell off the ballot but that's just trying to find something.

[WrestlingPower]

I still think they should get rid of the regions and have every single candidate have yes/no/don't know enough options next to them. That way you don't penalize 10 guys by voting for one. I realize this system has it's flaws too because if only 10 people feel qualified to vote for someone, he could get in based on 6 votes.

[InYourCase]

The issue isn't Sting in a vacuum, but rather Sting on the heels of rules changes designed to help get modern era candidates in, last years results, et. To me Sting represents the utter rejection that research matters at all, as he is the ultimate perception v reality candidate. I don't know if I will continue to send in a ballot or not, but my days of focused research based around the WON HOF are likely over. It's a complete waste of time and effort, and I have too many interesting and rewarding projects going on to burn my time on it.

Do you think there's an argument that Sting's influence case has grown? I'm not saying I agree with it, and if I had a vote I wouldn't vote for Sting, but there's a certain aura around him that has grown in recent years. He's looked at as a legend by a large subject of mainstream wrestling fandom. There's a certain influence that he has. I don't think it sniffs Bryan's influence, or Punk's for that matter, but there's something there.

[Grimmas]

I still think they should get rid of the regions and have every single candidate have yes/no/don't know enough options next to them. That way you don't penalize 10 guys by voting for one. I realize this system has it's flaws too because if only 10 people feel qualified to vote for someone, he could get in based on 6 votes.

That kind of system would work so much better. Yes or No or don't know enough is perfect.

 

Stop penalizing Luchadores for a person voting for one in person in that category and screwing over everyone else.

[shoe]

 

 

The issue isn't Sting in a vacuum, but rather Sting on the heels of rules changes designed to help get modern era candidates in, last years results, et. To me Sting represents the utter rejection that research matters at all, as he is the ultimate perception v reality candidate. I don't know if I will continue to send in a ballot or not, but my days of focused research based around the WON HOF are likely over. It's a complete waste of time and effort, and I have too many interesting and rewarding projects going on to burn my time on it.

Do you think there's an argument that Sting's influence case has grown? I'm not saying I agree with it, and if I had a vote I wouldn't vote for Sting, but there's a certain aura around him that has grown in recent years. He's looked at as a legend by a large subject of mainstream wrestling fandom. There's a certain influence that he has. I don't think it sniffs Bryan's influence, or Punk's for that matter, but there's something there.

What has he influenced?

[InYourCase]

 

 

The issue isn't Sting in a vacuum, but rather Sting on the heels of rules changes designed to help get modern era candidates in, last years results, et. To me Sting represents the utter rejection that research matters at all, as he is the ultimate perception v reality candidate. I don't know if I will continue to send in a ballot or not, but my days of focused research based around the WON HOF are likely over. It's a complete waste of time and effort, and I have too many interesting and rewarding projects going on to burn my time on it.

Do you think there's an argument that Sting's influence case has grown? I'm not saying I agree with it, and if I had a vote I wouldn't vote for Sting, but there's a certain aura around him that has grown in recent years. He's looked at as a legend by a large subject of mainstream wrestling fandom. There's a certain influence that he has. I don't think it sniffs Bryan's influence, or Punk's for that matter, but there's something there.

What has he influenced?

 

Modern babyface and match structure.

 

Again, I don't see that too much, I am just looking at things from another perspective.

[Matt D]

 

 

The issue isn't Sting in a vacuum, but rather Sting on the heels of rules changes designed to help get modern era candidates in, last years results, et. To me Sting represents the utter rejection that research matters at all, as he is the ultimate perception v reality candidate. I don't know if I will continue to send in a ballot or not, but my days of focused research based around the WON HOF are likely over. It's a complete waste of time and effort, and I have too many interesting and rewarding projects going on to burn my time on it.

Do you think there's an argument that Sting's influence case has grown? I'm not saying I agree with it, and if I had a vote I wouldn't vote for Sting, but there's a certain aura around him that has grown in recent years. He's looked at as a legend by a large subject of mainstream wrestling fandom. There's a certain influence that he has. I don't think it sniffs Bryan's influence, or Punk's for that matter, but there's something there.

What has he influenced?

 

[shoe]

 

 

 

 

The issue isn't Sting in a vacuum, but rather Sting on the heels of rules changes designed to help get modern era candidates in, last years results, et. To me Sting represents the utter rejection that research matters at all, as he is the ultimate perception v reality candidate. I don't know if I will continue to send in a ballot or not, but my days of focused research based around the WON HOF are likely over. It's a complete waste of time and effort, and I have too many interesting and rewarding projects going on to burn my time on it.

Do you think there's an argument that Sting's influence case has grown? I'm not saying I agree with it, and if I had a vote I wouldn't vote for Sting, but there's a certain aura around him that has grown in recent years. He's looked at as a legend by a large subject of mainstream wrestling fandom. There's a certain influence that he has. I don't think it sniffs Bryan's influence, or Punk's for that matter, but there's something there.

What has he influenced?

Modern babyface and match structure.

 

Again, I don't see that too much, I am just looking at things from another perspective.

I know your not pushing him, but I don't see that. Sting is an 80's style babyface as was his match structure. This coming from a guy who watched him from Jump Street in UWF, watched Clash 1 live on tv.

[shoe]

I agree Cena was a fan of Sting's . Plus they share a lot of traits. A lot of the roster view Sting as a big deal, yet again that doesn't mean he's a HOF guy. Heck he was a big star in my eyes growing up.

[Matt D]

I agree Cena was a fan of Sting's . Plus they share a lot of traits. A lot of the roster view Sting as a big deal, yet again that doesn't mean he's a HOF guy. Heck he was a big star in my eyes growing up.

 

I wonder if a lot of the people who think Sting should be in also think Big Daddy should be in.

[goc]

 

I agree Cena was a fan of Sting's . Plus they share a lot of traits. A lot of the roster view Sting as a big deal, yet again that doesn't mean he's a HOF guy. Heck he was a big star in my eyes growing up.

 

I wonder if a lot of the people who think Sting should be in also think Big Daddy should be in.

 

If you were on twitter you wouldn't be asking that. Pretty sure that's a big NO.

 

I'm not really sure why you picked Big Daddy as a comparison though, Big Daddy transcended wrestling and was a STAR in a way Sting never was.

[El Boricua]

Congratulations to all of the inductees. Sad to see no traction was made in Mexico and Europe. Hopefully Morales makes it in next year.

[goc]

Have The Fabulous Ones ever been on the ballot? With Arn/Tully going on next year it made me think about them. I know that Stan Lane is already in as part of the MX but The Fabs have a MUCH better argument when it comes to influence than Arn/Tully, are pretty close when it comes to good matches & probably better draws.

[El Boricua]

Have The Fabulous Ones ever been on the ballot? With Arn/Tully going on next year it made me think about them. I know that Stan Lane is already in as part of the MX but The Fabs have a MUCH better argument when it comes to influence than Arn/Tully, are pretty close when it comes to good matches & probably better draws.

 

If i remember correctly, they are not eligible to be nominated because Stan Lane is already in and there can't be a double inductee.