- WWE Hall of Fame
In
professional wrestling , the WWE Hall of Fame (formerly WWF Hall of Fame) is an institution that honors selected former and current employees ofWorld Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the World Wrestling Federation) and other figures who have contributed to wrestling and sports entertainment in general.History
The Hall of Fame was created in 1993 with the induction of WWF alumnus
André the Giant , who had died earlier that year. The Hall inducted additional members annually thereafter until 1996 with the 1994 and 1995 ceremonies held as part of theKing of the Ring weekend, then went dormant until it was revived in 2004 to commemorate the company's twentieth WrestleMania event. The ceremony now takes place on the night before WrestleMania, in the same city as that event.Since living inductees appear at a Hall of Fame acceptance event, induction is contingent upon the candidate being on good terms with WWE. As a result several notable alumni have not been inducted. The process by which inductees are selected is not transparent; the criteria for induction have never been disclosed. Although the Hall in theory honors those with important WWE careers, since the revival in 2004, some inductees such as
Harley Race ,Verne Gagne ,Eddie Graham andNick Bockwinkel , achieved much or all of their success outside of WWE, though the companies where they did achieve their success have been assimilated by WWE.Fact|date=June 2008One critic of the Hall of Fame is
Bruno Sammartino , who said "what's the point to a Hall of Fame? Is it a building I can actually go to? No." He added "look at a guy likePete Rose . Why is he in the Hall of Fame? It's a sham."cite web | last = Mackinder | first = Matt | title = Sammartino: McMahon is 'a sick-minded idiot | publisher = Slam.canoe.ca | url = http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/04/16/4035027.html | accessdate = 2007-05-06]Inductees
Ceremony dates and locations
*
June 9 ,1994 , Omni Inner Harbor International Hotel,Baltimore, Maryland
*June 24 ,1995 , Marriott Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*November 16 ,1996 , Marriott Marquis, New York, New York
*March 13 ,2004 , The Hilton, New York City, New York
*April 2 ,2005 , Universal Amphitheatre,Los Angeles, California
*April 1 ,2006 ,Rosemont Theatre ,Rosemont, Illinois
*March 31 ,2007 , Fox Theatre,Detroit, Michigan
*March 29 ,2008 ,Amway Arena ,Orlando, Florida Television broadcasts
Since 2006, the Hall of Fame has been broadcast on WWE's prime carrier
USA Network and then replayed the next day. The 2008 edition of the Hall of Fame was broadcast live on the USA Network at 11 p.m., and a repeat at 2 a.m. the next day.DVD releases
Since 2005, the Hall of Fame has been packaged as part of the WrestleMania DVD release. The
2004 Hall of Fame was released as its own VHS and DVD.Future facility
World Wrestling Entertainment has been looking into constructing or creating a facility for the Hall of Fame. WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Media
Shane McMahon , has said that the WWE has been storing wrestling memorabilia in a warehouse for years, and all items are categorized and dated in case a facility is created. McMahon has stated, "I think it's probably still a couple of years away, but we're really anxious to do it."cite web | last = Varsallone | first = Jim | title = WWE collecting, storing for future Hall of Fame site | publisher = Miami Herald| url = http://www.miamiherald.com/675/story/487073.html | accessdate = 2008-04-08]References
*cite web | url =http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/information/halloffame/wwe.html | title =WWE Hall of Fame, includes list of inducters | publisher = onlineworldofwrestling.com | accessdate = 2007-04-26
ee also
*
List of members of the WWE Hall of Fame
*Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
*WCW Hall of Fame
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame External links
* [http://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/ The WWE Hall of Fame]
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