By Brian Hoops, Nostalgia Specialist

The time between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania can be among the most anticipated timeframes on the calendar as there is normally a lot of news, excitement, and discussions leading up to the WrestleMania event. One of the most talked about events surrounding the WrestleMania weekend is the WWE Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

The Hall of Fame was created in 1993 and the first inductee was Andre the Giant, who had died in February of 1993. The WWE inducted new members annually thereafter during the next three years, then simply was inactive until it was revived as part of the twentieth WrestleMaina in 2004. The ceremony now takes place as a part of the WrestleMania weekend on the night before WrestleMania. A portion of the ceremony is broadcast on the USA Network with the entire ceremony a part of the WrestleMania DVD.

As of the 2008 Ceremony, there are 68 members of the WWE Hall of Fame. Sixty members have been inducted as individuals while there are four two-man tag teams that have been inducted.

One of the favorite discussion topics is who should be selected each year for the Hall of Fame. There is no specific criteria for entering the Hall, basically it is Vince McMahon’s call as to who gets in or who doesn’t get in. Over the last several years, WWE has inducted approximately seven individuals or teams into the Hall. The following is a list of my inductions for the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame along with who I would like to see give the induction.

STEVE AUSTIN

Stone Cold is arguably the most popular wrestler and the top seller of WWE merchandise in history. Austin broke into wrestling in the latter stages of World Class Championship Wrestling before it was sold to Jerry Jarrett who combined his Memphis territory with the Dallas territory to form the USWA.

Austin began wrestling for WCW in 1991 and immediately was recognized as a potential star. Austin would hold the WCW TV Title twice, the WCW World Tag Team title with the late Brian Pillman, and the WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title twice. After being fired in 1995 by Eric Bischoff, Austin briefly wrestled for ECW before signing with the WWF in 1996. Austin would go on to be a six-time WWF/WWE World Champion, a two-time Intercontinental Champion, and a four-time World Tag Team Champion. Austin was also the 1996 King of the Ring winner and is the only three time winner of the annual Royal Rumble.

I would choose Jim Ross to induct Steve Austin.

TERRY FUNK & DORY FUNK JR.

Their father ran the Amarillo territory, which was a part of the National Wrestling Alliance. Dory and Terry were main event stars for their father’s promotion and were also major stars for the NWA and in Japan where both wrestled frequently.

Dory won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Gene Kiniski on February 11, 1969 and held the belt for over four and one half years before losing the belt to Harley Race on May 24, 1973. Terry defeated Jack Briscoe on December 10, 1975 for the NWA World Title and held the belt for 14 months before losing to Harley Race on February 6, 1977. Terry and Dory are the only two brothers to both hold t

he NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Terry also wrestled in the WWF, ECW and for WCW. Dory has trained several wrestlers including Kurt Angle, Christian Cage and Edge.

I would choose Jack Briscoe to induct the Funks.

THE VON ERICH FAMILY

The Von Erich family is one of the most influential wrestling families in history. Patriarch Fritz was trained for professional wrestling by Stu Hart in Calgary and relocated to Dallas, Texas, where he purchased the Dalls/Fort Worth territory from promoter Ed McLemore in 1966.

Fritz originally called his promotion Big Time Wrestling and was a member of the NWA. In 1982, the promotion changed its name to World Class Championship Wrestling as they were able to broadcast their television shows around the world off of a satellite signal. Fritz had six sons, five of whom would try their hand at professional wrestling. Likewise, five of the six sons would also reach untimely deaths. David, Kerry, Chris, Mike, and young Jack Jr. all died prematurely, while son Kevin is the only surviving member of the Von Erich family from the wrestling days.

The WCCW promotion would reach its greatest popularity from 1982-1986, fueled in part by a feud between various members of the Von Erich family and the Fabulous Freebirds. Kerry Von Erich won the NWA World Title from Ric Flair in 1984. In 2006, Kevin sold the WCCW video library to Vince McMahon and the library is now property of WWE. WWE has already released a DVD commemorating the promotion titled “The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling.”

I would choose Michael Hayes to induct the Von Erich’s.

PAUL BOESCH

Boesch is best known as a wrestling promoter in Houston, Texas. Boesch began wrestling in the 1930’s and wrestled for over ten years until a car accident forced his retirement in 1947. Boesch began working in the Houston territory, at that time owned by Morris Sigel as a radio announcer, advisor to Sigel and television announcer, before buying the territory from Sigel’s widow after his death in 1966.

Boesch remained an independent promoter in Houston, running weekly shows on Friday nights and utilizing the talent of the top territories in the nation including, World Class Championship Wrestling, Mid-South Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, and the World Wrestling Federation. Boesch retired from promoting in 1987. If there was a year that Boesch should go into the Hall, 2009 is the year as the ceremony will take place in Boesch’s home of Houston, Texas.

I would choose Nick Bockwinkel to induct Boesch.

TED DIBIASE

It's hard to believe the Million Dollar Man is not in the Hall of Fame already. DiBiase’s mother and step father were both professional wrestlers, although Mike DiBiase died during a match in Omaha, Nebraska when Ted was only 15 years old.

DiBiase was trained by Terry and Dory Funk and debuted for Mid-South wrestling in 1975. DiBiase wrestled under his own name for the WWF, the NWA, Mid-South Wrestling and All Japan wrestling until receiving an offer from the WWF in 1987 to wrestle exclusively for Vince McMahon.

DiBiase was given arguably the greatest gimmick of all time as he became “The Million Dollar Man.” DiBiase would wrestle for the WWF as a singles and tag team until leaving the promotion in 1993. DiBiase would return as an air on personality and manager for the WWF before going to the WCW where he would finish his career. DiBiase was a Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion, a Mid-South Tag Team Champion and a three time WWF World Tag Team Champion.

Three of DiBiase’s sons are professional wrestlers, two have WWE contracts. A Ted DiBiase DVD would be “Money, Money, Money, Money, Money…..” Maybe DiBiase could buy an induction into the Hall of Fame from Vince McMahon, revising the 1988 angle where DiBiase wanted to buy the WWF World Title from Hulk Hogan.

I would choose Mike Rotunda (Irwin R. Schyster) to induct DiBiase.

BARRY WINDHAM

Barry Windham, the son of Blackjack Mulligan, wrestled mainly in the WWF and NWA/WCW territories. Windham was trained by his father and Harley Race and debuted in Florida when he was only 19 years old. Windham teamed with his real life brother in law, Mike Rotunda and capture the WWF World Tag Team Titles on two separate occasions. Windham captured the NWA World Title from The Great Muta on February 21, 1993 before losing the title to Ric Flair on July 18, 1993. Windham also became the NWA United States Champion, a NWA World Tag Team Champion, a three time WCW World Tag Team Champion, and a WCW World TV Champion.

I would choose Windham’s real life father, Blackjack Mulligan, to induct Windham.

[This article originally appeared in the Jan. 13 edition of the PWTorch Newsletter. Every week Brian Hoops presents a full page PDF-exclusive nostalgia-themed article exlusively for PWTorch subscribers.]

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact Brian Hoops at bhoops@iw.net. Please be sure to listen to the Nostalgia audio podcast every week in the VIP section of PWTorch.com.

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