SteveJRogers Posted February 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Beth Phoenix officially is in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Even from a kayfabe perspective, why is Beth Phoenix being inducted? She might be the least credible inductee ever, including the Celebrity Wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrzfn Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Right or wrong, it seems fans view her as a great wrestler from a bad era. I remember when she was supposed to come in and save us from Kelly Kelly as champion. It didn't really happen, but I guess the idea kind of stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Wrong thread. On Beth, they can play up that she's an X Time Women's Champion and was one of only two women in the Royal Rumble (plus she eliminated Great Khali). She also had the Glamazon look and Santino run that made her stand out from the pack of Divas Era girls, I guess. She's a strange choice but there's a career there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakla Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Even from a kayfabe perspective, why is Beth Phoenix being inducted? She might be the least credible inductee ever, including the Celebrity Wing. I agree that she's the weakest inductee so far amongst regular inductees. Can't say celeb wing tho, given there's a few one-offs in there. At least kayfabe-wise, she had the title a few times, but it was a total afterthought then. Half of her induction video focused on that joke Royal Rumble deal where she eliminated Khali. When you book your HoF classes like a wrestling card rather than have real elections and standards, you have to save names. Or you'll run through them and Val Venis headlines in 2021. But think about this, the first inductee born in the 1980s is Beth Phoenix. That's mind-blowing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 That's a hell of a tidbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Yeah she definitely doesn't deserve it. Before HOF rumors started circulating--no on was talking about Beth. No one. Without doing a super deep dive in the WWE archives, I can't think of an outstanding Beth Phoenix match. Not one. Definitely shouldn't be in. The problem with the HOF when it comes to the women has been the booking over the past decades. Outside of Liz, Chyna, Sunny, Sable, Trish, Lita, Jackie-- there is no one post Attitude Era that I would honestly put in at this time. Sure Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, and Bayley are all going in there in about 15-20 years from now. But people like Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix, Melina, Kelly Kelly, etc. while some of them were entertaining at times (for various reasons), none of them have that career that anyone is naturally talking about and discussion of their work only comes up when people are forced to talk about it as it is in this case with Phoenix's HOF induction. But I guess they needed non-controversial women from the new era and Beth was the girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Phoenix basically had what, a five year run? Plus OVW. I'm really curious about the logic. Is it that she's still in good shape and isn't as old as Ivory/Molly/Terri/etc so she's more photogenic for press releases or what not? Did Edge push for it? Is it a way to troll people who want Chyna in? It almost has to be the last one, right? Because a lot of the arguments for Beth (as few as they are) are a lesser version of the Chyna arguments (which aren't so great to begin with). Now they can say they don't need to put Chyna in because they had someone who did similar things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Rick Rude confirmed. Solid class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Can a HOF case be made for any woman post 2002 outside of those who are already in? I can see WWE doing something silly like putting in Eve Torress, but who else will WWE try to sell as a 'legend' within the next 3-5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted March 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Can a HOF case be made for any woman post 2002 outside of those who are already in? I can see WWE doing something silly like putting in Eve Torress, but who else will WWE try to sell as a 'legend' within the next 3-5 years. Mickie James? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 Nikki Bella is a mortal lock eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Mickie James is a six-time Women's Champion. Melina is a five-time champion, first and only Tough Enough alum to win Women's Title. Beth Phoenix is a four-time champion and held the belt longer (in total) than anyone in her era. Nikki Bella has the record for the longest Divas Title reign. Michelle McCool was the first Divas Champion. Candice Michelle was the first Diva Search girl to win the title. AJ Lee had that 300 day reign, she was also Raw GM and in lots of important angles. Victoria is a two-time champion, was in the first women's cage match and is seen as a good worker. Molly Holly is also a two-time champion, was the first woman to get her head shaved in WWE, also seen as a worker. I'm not advocating for anyone and I agree that cases from this era of the women's division are paper thin, but there are kayfabe things they could come up with if they wanted to start inducting them. With Beth, I'm guessing it's because women's wrestling/feminism is "in" and they want a woman in, and Beth is young, looks good, speaks well, gets along well with the company, has enough of a career that they can sell it, and was unique and athletic enough that they can sell her as a role model for the current women. Chyna will go in eventually, but inducting her will be a little morbid and I don't think that's the tone they want at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Chyna will go in eventually, but inducting her will be a little morbid and I don't think that's the tone they want at this point. After doing gang bang videos with guys disguised as Mean Gene and John Cena (that anyone can find online), I'd say the odds are rather slim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Yeah well exactly, and that's the main reason why she's not going in now. I think it was Hunter or Steph or someone who admitted publicly that she should be in but for the porn thing. So I guess whenever in the future that the porn thing stops being a dealbreaker, she'll go in. Who knows when that will be though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Rick Rude was announced today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakla Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 I could see Torrie Wilson and/or Stacy Keibler going in someday. Even if they weren't "workhorses", they both had lengthy runs and were big stars for the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed while making a tackle in 2010 in a game against Army and has gone on to become renowned motivational speaker, has been named the recipient of the third annual Warrior Award by the WWE, ESPN.com has learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Rick Rude is a long time coming & one of the main names that I've been championing for a few years now. Should have been in awhile ago but I'm glad he'll get his due now. One of my all-time favorite wrestlers & a helluva worker. When I put on WWE Network nowadays, even if it's just for background noise, I usually find myself choosing shows from either WCW or WWE from the 1988-1993 time frame and almost always it's a card that involves Rick Rude. I love his 30-minute Iron Man match with Ricky Steamboat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 So is this the full class now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakla Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 So is this the full class now? I would say no until the go-home Raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 WWE announced Cena will induct Angle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Jim Cornette has been announced to induct The Rock & Roll Express. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Jim Cornette has been announced to induct The Rock & Roll Express. Holy shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin' Brian Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Jim Cornette has been announced to induct The Rock & Roll Express. Had heard that rumored but hadn't seen confirmation anywhere yet. I'm interested to hear that speech, for sure. Overall, I'm really pleased with this year's class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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