THE RANT: A Look at the TNA Hall of Fame Concept

Submitted By James Walsh on 06/07/12

We at the Wrestling Epicenter have designs on doing our own Hall of Fame. Our designs on doing so are to do a broad scope of all the great wrestlers that have shaped our business into what we know it to be now. There are other Halls, namely the Wrestling Hall of Fame in New York and the WWE Hall of Fame. But, ours would be a virtual Hall of Fame honoring those that deserve honoring, with no politics or silly stuff involved. TNA has now announced they are going to do a hall of fame. Hey, TNA... Read my post above about what the Wrestling Epicenter Hall of Fame will be and, you know, do that. The truth is, people are already looking to hate TNA's Hall of Fame and they don't even know what it is yet. The way I see it, there are a few options that TNA can take with it. A. A TNA Hall of Fame, honoring those who participated and helped shape the company that is now a decade old. B. An Impact Wrestling "Wrestling" Hall of Fame honoring all talents from all companies throughout history including their own. C. A WCW style Hall of Fame that had touching ceremonies at Slamboree in 1993-1995 but was pretty much forgotten about shortly thereafter. Obviously B would be the option that I'd cheer for. But, lets go over the choices for all 3. Option A would be interesting because it would be honoring recent accomplishments. Beore any WWE fan says that isn't what a Hall of Fame is for, may I direct you to the WWE Hall of Fame and point out that Edge is in. That is no shot at Edge, his accomplishments are Hall of Fame worthy and his performances are among the best we've seen in the modern era. But, you cannot tell me that his accomplishments are any more "classic" chronologically than those of the long time TNA faithful. It just isn't true. If they did have it be a Hall of Fame honoring the TNA guys and what they did in TNA, the list would be pretty short at this point. - Jeff Jarrett - Founder, former several time champion, busted his ass to get TNA on the map. - AJ Styles - A hard working guy who had options and stayed with TNA... One of the guys that stood out and helped TNA's image not be "the place where the former WWE guys go". - Abyss - What can you say about Abyss that his brother Joseph Park hasn't already said? He has bled buckets for this company. But, he's also been a key part of the booking team and an all around huge part of the growth and success of the company. - James Storm - Most thought he was the Marty Jannetty of the America's Most Wanted team but that isn't the case. His role in shaping TNA started with the first batch of tapings and has yet to cease. Hard work and determination culminating in crossover success all by simply being real. A beer drinker, a tough son of a buck, and one hell of an entertaining performer. - Jerry Lynn - I think Jerry's influence on the X Division in its early days is immeasurable. If Option B were the choice they went with, and I hope it is, the list would be equally as short. - Hulk Hogan - Ric Flair's a 2 time Hall of Famer, shouldn't Hulk be? He is the be all and end all of pro wrestling, period. - Randy Savage - One of two guys who should be in the WWE Hall of Fame but isn't. I don't need to tell you why he deserves to be honored. If you don't already know, you shouldn't be reading this. - Bruno Sammartino - Two of two, I guess you could say, that belongs to be in the WWE Hall of Fame but isn't. What Hulk Hogan was a much bigger version of in the 80's and 90's, Bruno was in the 60's and 70's. You cannot write the book on pro wrestling without a chapter about Bruno. - Sting - The only reason I don't argue he should be in the WWE Hall of Fame already is simply because he's still active. And, not only is he active, he's still looking pretty darn good too. Option C is simply not worth talking about. I admire what WCW started to do and the WWE did borrow a lot from their concept. But, they discontinued it. And, with the company now being defunct, it is sad. It kind of reminds of the Wall of Hardcore or whatever it was that Jasmin St. Claire and 3PW tried to do in the ECW arena. An amazing idea to honor the ECW guys and the hardcore warriors that came before them. But, that company is defunct as well and the ECW arena's fait is in limbo at best. For both options I've covered in detail, these are the "first ballet" choices. The ones that should go before all others. I don't think that is an unfair statement either given the list provided. Of course we can talk about the real old timers and those guys should go in if TNA wants a comprehensive list of true greats. But, their goal at first is to honor the modern era of wrestling. The Cable TV era on forward.... What an era it has been so far. Don't mock TNA for doing something like this. For God sakes, can they do anything without heat? I'm no TNA sycophant... If I were, I'd not be a broadcast journalist. But, the reaction to this company is often very much like the reaction towards WCW and the bottom line is that aided in the demise of WCW. Can anyone honestly say we'd be better off without TNA? Give it a chance. If you don't like it, fine. But, the constant bitching and nit picking is absurd. Even I, King Bitch and Moan, am tired of it. I look forward to seeing what happens with this Hall of Fame. And, am eager to see if any of my picks are the first inductee. :: GO BACK TO THE HOME PAGE :: DISCUSS THIS STORY ON FACEBOOK! :: BUY WRESTLING DVD'S THROUGH OUR STORE!