Fame or Shame: Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread

[JaseSF]

Precious (Patty Garvin) joins the Managers/Valets Hall of Shame. Now personally I really liked her and thought she did a fairly good job supporting her man (and real life husband) "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin helping primp his hair and spraying perfume and fragnance around to lessen the smells from the crowd. She functioned in a role in fact very similar to the one Gorgeous George's valets used to play. When Garvin was an heel, Precious was an effective distraction at ringside and threatened to sue any man who touched as she acted as Jimmy's "shield" of sorts. She was very hated as Jimmy's valet in her World Class, where she stole Jimmy away from fellow valet Sunshine, and Canadian International Wrestling days as well as her days in the AWA. However when Jimmy became a babyface in the NWA, Precious kind of faded more into the background in the face role basically only being used as a woman suffering unwanted advances from Ric Flair and later Kevin Sullivan with Jimmy coming to her defense.

[JaseSF]

Craig DeGeorge joins the Hosts/Announcers Hall of Shame. DeGeorge is perhaps best known in wrestling for his time spent in the WWF in the 1980s conducting backstage interviews at events like Wrestlemania IV and being a host of numerous WWF Home Video releases. With his bushy hair, he seemed to bring a youthful exuberance to the table but sadly didn't seem to really know a lot actually about the wrestling product itself. Another problem with DeGeorge was in WWF it was often obvious he was reading a script. He later moved on to be the lead play by play man in Herb Abrams' UWF where he actually tried quite hard but still had trouble coming up with interesting things to say. It didn't help him his color commentators were Bruno Sammartino, John Tolos and Captain Lou Albano - none of them seemed the right mix with DeGeorge and all the former wrestlers seemed to possess far more knowledge about wrestling than DeGeorge did. After the UWF folded, DeGeorge went on to work as a sports anchor and field reporter for WTVJ-NBC 6 in Miami, Florida. In 2001, he became a pre-game host and in-game reporter for the Florida Marlins on FSN Florida. On the same station in the winter, he'd act as a host for Florida Panthers hockey games. In 2006, he actually called a Pride PPV and did work with Vince McMahon's XFL.

[JaseSF]

Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill join the Tag Teams Hall of Shame. This unusual team featuring cool customer Danny Doring and rogue Amish madman Roadkill paired up in ECW. They were a team that well mixed speed and finesse (Doring) with power (Roadkill). Originally managed by Miss Congeniality (Lita) in late 1997, then Doring's girlfriend, they took on Electra when she left for the WWF in 1999 until Electra turned on them in 2000. Doring & Roadkill struggled in ECW in numerous lengthy feuds with other teams including Nova & Chris Chetti, the Impact Players, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger, Joey Matthews and Christian York and even Tommy Dreamer & Raven. After a lot of struggling, they eventually proved themselves a capable, solid tandem and stayed together right up until ECW's end when they finally won the ECW World Tag team titles in late 2000. They'd later reappear at ECW One Night Stand 2005 and on an episode of Velocity in a losing effort to MNM.

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka joins the Singles Hall of Shame. Snuka is a legend in wrestling having had fantastic feuds with Magnificent Muraco, Bob Backlund and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in particular. Snuka should have probably been a shoo-in for the other Hall here except he proved unreliable to promoters largely due to his struggles with drugs. If not for that, he had the potential to have been the most popular performer of his era as fans loved his high-flying moves especially his Superfly splash and quick athleticism and muscular physique. When he'd flash the "I Love You" hand signal to fans, they ate it up and loved him for it. Mick Foley mentioned Snuka's cage match with Muraco as being an inspiration for he himself to get into wrestling.  Snuka's demons cast a bit of a shadow over his status (he was even an homicide suspect in the death of a girlfriend in 1983) but he will forever be remembered as one of the greats regardless bringing a level of energy and high-flying aerial moves not often seen before him. Not to mention his daring dives off the top of steel cages in matches with Backlund (where he missed) and Muraco.

Coming from a successful background in bodybuilding, Snuka debuted in Hawaii in 1969. A young Snuka would next move to the Pacific Northwest region where he'd win the heavyweight title six times and the PNW Tag Team titles he'd also hold six times teaming with partner Dutch Savage. While there, Snuka would feud with Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Bull Ramos and others. He'd also compete in other NWA territories including Texas where he'd also win the heavyweight and tag team titles with Gino Hernandez. With a move to the Mid-Atlantic, he'd team with Paul Orndorff to win the NWA World Tag Team titles and the United States title which he'd take from Ricky Steamboat. In the NWA playing mainly an heel role, he'd also win NWA Georgia National tag team titles with Terry Gordy, another NWA Mid-Atlantic World tag team title with Ray Stevens, a NWA Canadian (Vancouver) tag team title with Don Leo Jonathan. In All-Japan in 1981, he'd win the All-Japan World's Strongest tag team league with Bruiser Brody as his partner. He'd also win the WWWA heavyweight title.

He debuted in WWF as an heel under manager Captain Lou Albano in 1982. After a failed bid to win the WWF World title from Bob Backlund with Snuka coming incredibly close, the fans started to cheer for Snuka. Eventually on an episode of Buddy Roger's Corner talk show, it would be revealed to Snuka that Albano was ripping him off leading to Albano's newest charge Ray Stevens attacking Snuka making him a face. Snuka with new manager Rogers would go on to feud with Stevens and Albano and would emerge an extremely popular fan favourite. He'd go on to have unforgettable feuds with Magnificent Muraco and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (after Piper nailed him in the head with a coconut) but Snuka's personal issues and struggles got in the way and he'd eventually disappear from the scene with Tonga Kid basically replacing him in his feud with Piper.

He'd next show up in the AWA following a stint in rehab where he'd team up with Greg Gagne to battle Bruiser Brody and Nord the Barbarian and then feud with pro-apartheid "South African" villain Colonel DeBeers. He'd return to the WWF in 1989 but basically was just used to help put over and advance rising young stars. In February 1992, he'd move to Eastern Championship Wrestling (the future ECW) and become the independent federation's first Heavyweight Champion. He'd stay with ECW until 1994 and thereafter would become semi-retired.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996 but he'd continue to work part-time in the independents and would even win more titles including the Tri-State Heavyweight title, USA New York title, USA Pro Heavyweight title and SXA United States of America title. He'd also make a few surprise in-ring appearances for WWE and even teamed with Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper in a handicap match vs. Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XXV.

Vince McMahon joins the Hosts/Announcers Hall of Fame. Most young fans today might not know it but Vince McMahon Jr. got his start as a backstage interviewer in his father's wrestling organization - the World Wide Wrestling Federation. He'd go on to announce play by play for the shows, something at which he'd prove surprisingly capable. In the 1970s and 1980s, few wrestling announcers aside from maybe names like Jim Ross and Gordon Solie could rival McMahon in a play by play role and I still personally consider him one of the very best ever in that role. McMahon would continue in his announcing role particularly for Superstars of Wrestling until the late 1990s when his villainous Mr. McMahon character took off and proved a hit with fans.

[JaseSF]

"The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart joins the Managers/Valets Hall of Fame. Jimmy Hart was originally brought into wrestling, following a successful music career with the Gentrys as a teenager, by high school friend Jerry "The King" Lawler as his manager. Eventually though the two would split and Hart would enter into a bitter longlasting feud/rivalry against Lawler sending numerous opponents in his stable Hart's First Family of Wrestling to try and take him down. It is without a doubt one of wrestling's most long-lasting feuds. Some notable members of the family included King Kong Bundy, Ravishing Rick Rude, Randy Savage, Jim Neidhart, Lanny Poffo, Ox Baker, Kamala, The Iron Sheik, Eddie Gilbert and Kevin Sullivan. In 1982, Hart gained national mainstream attention as he managed comedian Andy Kaufman during his feud with Lawler. In 1983 and 1984, Hart would lead Austin Idol, Eddie Gilbert and Masato Ito to the CWA/AWA International title.

In 1985, Hart entered the WWF at the recommendation of friend Hillbilly Jim. There he added his trademark megaphone which he would use to annoy opponents, encourage his men and when necessary it also became a weapon of choice for his men to use to gain an unfair advantage in matches. Hart's first acquisition in WWF was Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, then Intercontinental champion, and briefly he managed the Dream Team with Johnny Valiant until Valiant eventually assumed full control of the team. Hart next managed the dominant King Kong Bundy as he squashed S.D. Jones at Wrestlemania but Hart would later trade Bundy's contract to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan for the Missing Link and Adrian Adonis, who would adopt his "Adorable" persona under Hart. Hart would also begin managing Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart around this time. In 1986, Hart also managed the Funk family including Dory Jr. (as Hoss), Terry and kayfabe brother Jimmy Jack Funk. Around this time, Hart also helped form the Hart Foundation of Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart with him as manager. 1987 proved a very good year for Hart as his Hart Foundation would win the WWF World Tag Team titles, with help from new acquistion crooked referee turned wrestler Dangerous Danny Davis, in January and his Honky Tonk Man would win the Intercontinental title in June. In 1987, Hart also acted as manager for the Women's Tag Team champions The Glamour Girls Judy Martin & Lelani Kai as they feuded with the Japanese Jumping Bomb Angels. Not surprisingly Hart would win PWI manager of the year for 1987.

In 1988, Hart surprisingly turned on the Hart Foundation and joined up with the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers even going so far as to interfere in the Harts matches and cost them their shot at Demolition at Summerslam 1988. In 1989, Hart also added Dino Bravo and soon the Earthquake leading to eventual feuds with the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan. Hart continued to put together teams to try and take out his former Hart Foundation proteges including Rhythm & Blues consisting of Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine and eventually the Nasty Boys with whom he'd finally gain a measure of revenge as the Nasties would upset the Harts for the WWF World Tag Team titles at Wrestlemania VII thanks to a motocycle helmet worn by Jimmy Hart which became a weapon in the match. In 1991 however, the Nasties would lose the titles to the Legion of Doom. Now Hart formed a powerful new tag team of big men The Natural Disasters Earthquake & Typhoon. However the Disasters failed to win the titles under Hart so Hart eventually dumped them in favour of Money Inc. Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster who did finally win back the WWF World Tag Team titles but now the Disasters were soon embroiled in a feud with Hart & Money Inc. and the two teams traded the titles back and forth. In 1991, Hart also led the Mountie Jacques Rougeau to his first and only Intercontinental title. In late 1992, Money Inc. regained the tag team titles from the Natural Disasters and soon the Nasty Boys were upset with Hart for being overlooked at turned on him. In early 1993 however, Hart himself would turn on Money Inc. when they attacked Brutus Beefcake, who had finally returned from a nasty face injury in a parasailing accident. This led to Hart managing Beefcake and a returning Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania IX as they faced Money Inc.. Hogan would regain the WWF Heavyweight title later on the same show and Hart would thereafter act as his manager including his title loss to Yokozuna at King of the Ring 1993. Between the period of Hogan leaving the WWF and his move to WCW, he and Hart briefly toured Japan. Hart would also made occasional appearances on Hogan's TV Show Thunder in Paradise.

When Hogan finally debuted in WCW, Jimmy Hart came in as his manager including during his win over Ric Flair for his first WCW World title at Bash at the Beach 1994. Hart would win PWI Manager of the Year again in 1994. Hart managed Hogan until Halloween Havoc 1995 when he finally turned on Hogan to manage the newest arrival the Giant and also to manage the Dungeon of Doom. Around this time, he'd manage Ric Flair to a WCW World title win over Randy "Macho Man" Savage. After the demise of the Dungeon of Doom, Hart would manage a new version of his First Family including Brian Knobs, Jerry Flynn, the Barbarian and Hugh Morrus and the Faces of Fear Meng & the Barbarian before disappearing from the scene taking on a behind the scenes role with the booking committee.

In 2001, after WWF purchased WCW, Hart and some others tried to form an alternative federation called the XWF. Here he'd again start up his long-lasting rivalry with Jerry Lawler. Hart would next make appearances in TNA trying to hype a potential match between Hulk Hogan and Jeff Jarrett in 2003, managing the Naturals in 2005. Jimmy Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. Next Hart showed up at 2007's PMG Clash of the Legends. In 2008, he appeared at Jerry Lawler's 35th Anniversary Event and would appear as a color commentator for WWE farm territory Florida Championship Wrestling in 2008. In 2010, Hart made his return to TNA as the heel manager for the Nasty Boys as they attacked and feuded with Team 3D. The Nasties have since been released and Hart's future with TNA is currently unknown. Throughout his time in wrestling, Hart used his musical talents to help compose many theme songs for the wrestlers including Honky Tonk Man, Jimmy Snuka, Brutus Beefcake, The Rockers, The Hart Foundation, Crush, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Dusty Rhodes, The Legion of Doom, The Nasty Boys, Ted DiBiase, The Mountie, Hulk Hogan, NWO Wolfpac, 3 Count and Shawn Michaels.

[HappyGilmore]

Vince McMahon- As stated, a great announcer.  I was kinda lucky enough, in as much as, I got to see him be both an announcer and then be the on-screen big heel as MR. McMahon, the evil boss running rampant. 

Jimmy Hart- I liked him.  For some of the wrestlers he managed, I mostly liked Hart rather than some of the talent.

[JaseSF]

The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay Briscoe joins the Tag Teams Hall of Fame. This talented pair of real-life brothers could arguably be the very best tag team in all of wrestling today. Even though they've made little headway into getting into one of the top 2 recognized federations - WWE or TNA, the Briscoes have been a long dominant tag force on the independent scene where they've won tag titles almost everywhere they've competed. Their double team and combination moves are arguably like poetry in motion and they seem to be a class all their own when it comes to delivering devastating combination finishers. Watching the Briscoes is very exciting indeed. Expect fast-paced, high-flying action but also a team solid in the fundamentals of tag team competition. They are a record six-time Ring of Honor World Tag Team champions. They've also won tag titles in CZW, Full Impact Pro, NWA Wildside, Pro Wrestling NOAH (the Junior Heavyweight tag titles), Pro Wrestling Unplugged, Real Championship Wrestling, USA Pro/USA Extreme. They've had incredible matches with the Second City Saints (C.M. Punk & Colt Cabana), the Prophecy (Dan Maff & B.J. Whitmer), The SAT, the Havana Pitbulls, the Rottweilers, the H8 Club and more.

Chris Jericho joins the Singles Hall of Fame. Chris Jericho likes to boast these days that "he's the best in the world at what I do" and you know, it's really hard to argue with him on that. Jericho seems quite capable of delivering fantastic match after fantastic match night after night and with seemingly almost any type of opponent thrown his way. He makes young stars look good and breathes new life in stale stars by stirring up interest when he's in the ring with them.

Jericho, trained by the Hart Brothers in Calgary, went on to have great career success wherever he ventured learning and acquiring new skills and improving him constantly along the way. Initially he formed a tag team with fellow young upstart Lance Storm. This team was called Sudden Impact and had great success in Canada (tours of Northern Manitoba, Calgary's CNWA and CRMW) and Japan (Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling). In 1992, Jericho travelled to Mexico's CMLL to further improve himself and get experience in even more wrestling styles. There he would win the NWA Middleweight title having an impressive 11-month reign as champion. In 1994, he travelled back to Japan to compete for WAR battling the likes of Gedo and Ultimo Dragon. In 1994, Jericho also reunited with former partner Lance Storm to form the exciting Thrillseekers tag team in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Jericho is particularly well remembered for a bloody tag team bout there that saw him continue despite losing lots of blood. In 1996, Jericho debuted in Extreme Championship wrestling  winning the ECW TV title. While there, he got to show off his skills and talent in bouts with the likes of Taz, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Cactus Jack, Shane Douglas, 2 Cold Scorpio and more drawing attention to himself as WCW came calling soon thereafter.

Jericho debuted in WCW in mid-1996. Within a year, he'd worked himself up the ranks of a very talented cruiserweight division to defeat Syxx for the Cruiserweight title on June 28, 1997. He'd shortly thereafter lose the title but would regain it again from Alex Wright on August 12, 1997. Jericho would eventually turn heel and would be well remembered for a run that saw him defeat and injure Rey Mysterio Jr. for the Cruiserweight title, defeat and unmask Juventud Guerrera, and he'd start adding his defeated opponent's personal items to his collection including Prince Iaukea's Hawaiian dress and Disco Inferno's headband along with Juvi's mask. Jericho then went on to have a Lengthy feud with Dean Malenko (who'd eventually defeat him for the Cruiserweight title), a brief feud with Lenny Lane and a feud with the returning Rey Mysterio Jr. over the Cruiserweight title with eventually became held-up when Malenko was suspended. Mysterio would win the title only to lose it back to Jericho the very next night on Nitro as controversy surrounded a bunch of the recent title changes. Eventually Juventud Guerrera would decisively defeat Jericho for the title with Malenko as special guest referee. Jericho next focused on the WCW World Television Title defeating Stevie Ray on August 10, 1998. Jericho shortly thereafter started challenging Goldberg and mocking him with sidekicks Ralphus and the Jerichoholic Ninja. Despite this, no match with Goldberg, which fans definitely wanted to see, ever materialized. In November, Jericho lost the TV title to Konnan. In early 1999, he then had a bizarre feud with Perry Saturn that saw him defeat Saturn in a loser must wear a dress match although Saturn would finally gain a measure of revenge by defeating Jericho in a Dog Collar match at Uncensored.

In mid-1999, Jericho signed with the WWF and debuted on August 9, 1999 having a memorable promo exchange with the Rock. Jericho would have a series of forgettable feuds with Road Dogg, X-Pac, Ken Shamrock before finally targeting Chyna and her Intercontinental title. Jericho would defeat Chyna for the title at Armageddon 1999. Eventually there would be a match between the two that ended in controversy resulting in them both being co-champions at one point until Jericho finally attained sole ownership at the 2000 Royal Rumble. Jericho's pairing with Chyna made him a face and he began a feud with Kurt Angle only to lose the Intercontinental title to him at No Way Out 2000. At Wrestlemania 2000, Jericho captured the European title from Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match that also included Chris Benoit. Jericho's reign however would be short lived when Chyna would betray him to him Eddie Guerrero capture the European title the very next night. On an April 17, 2000 edition of Raw, Jericho pinned Triple H to win the WWE Heavyweight title but the count was later ruled a fast count and the decision was reversed so the title reign was never officially recognized. Next Jericho feuded with Chris Benoit defeating him for the Intercontinental title but only holding it four days before losing it back to him again. Jericho then began a popular feud with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon where fans took delight in the insults Jericho aimed at Stephanie and the pranks Y2J pulled on Triple H such as helping Brooklyn Brawler get an upset win over him.  Finally their feud culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Fully Loaded that was narrowly won by Triple H.

At the 2001 Royal Rumble, Jericho again defeated Benoit for the Intercontinental title, this time in a ladder match. He'd successfully fend off William Regal at Wrestlemania X-7 but would lose the title to Triple H just 4 days later. Next Jericho teaming with Benoit defeated Triple H & Steve Austin, the Two Man Power Trip for the WWF World Tag Team titles. They'd lose the titles one month later to the Dudley Boyz. Jericho next found himself involved in the Invasion storyline on WWF's side despite his history with ECW and WCW. Eventually though this led to jealousy directed at the Rock whom Jericho would go on to defeat for the WCW World title at No Mercy. The very next night, the two would put aside their difference to win the WWF World Tag Team titles from the Dudley Boyz but when they lose the titles to Test and Booker T., their feud reignited. On a November 5th episode of Raw, the Rock defeated Jericho for the WCW World title and Jericho snapped attacking the Rock with a chair after the match making him a full fledged heel yet again. on December 9th at Vengeance, Jericho would defeat the Rock again for the WCW World title and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWE Heavyweight championship on the very same night to become the first ever WWF Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. Jericho next fended off challenges from both the Rock and Austin but was defeated by a returning Triple H at Wrestlemania X8. The Jericho-HHH feud continued up until Judgment Day when Triple H defeated Jericho in an Hell in a Cell match. Following a brief feud with Edge, Jericho was drafted back to Raw and defeated Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental title and teamed with Christian to win the WWE World Tag Team titles from the Hurricane and Kane. Christian & Jericho though would eventually lose the titles in a four way elimination match in late 2002. Next Jericho targeted Shawn Michaels whom he wanted to challenge at Wrestlemania 19. However, Michaels would defeat Jericho when the match finally happened. Next Jericho targeted Goldberg who was now in WWE. He even hired Lance Storm to try and run down Goldberg with a limousine. However at Bad Blood, Goldberg would defeat Jericho. Jericho next briefly feuded with Kevin Nash and defeated him on Raw in an hair vs. hair match that saw Nash's hair only cut short. Next Jericho began a relationship with Trish Stratus while Christian began one with Lita. Eventually it would be revealed that the pair bet a Canadian dollar on who could get which girl to sleep with him first. This led to a match between Christian and Jericho at Wrestlemania XX which saw Stratus unexpectedly turn heel on Jericho to reveal she was now in a couple with Christian. Jericho gained a measure of revenge by defeating the pair in an handicap match at Backlash. Jericho would go on to win his seventh Intercontinental title from Christian at a ladder match during Judgment Day 2004 only to drop the title to Shelton Benjamin shortly thereafter at Taboo Tuesday 2004. In late 2004, the World Heavyweight title would be held up leading to it being put up for grabs in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution 2005 but the match was eventually won by the Game. At Wrestlemania 21, Jericho went on to compete in a match he suggested - the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match. The match however would be won by Edge. At the ECW One Night Stand PPV, Jason & Justin Credible helped Lance Storm defeat Jericho. Jericho next targeted WWE Champion John Cena but failed to win the title from him and was eventually forced to leave the WWE when he lost a "You're fired" match to Cena.

He would return in late 2007 targeting Randy Orton and his World title but would soon get sidetracked by a feud with JBL. On the March 10, 2008 edition of Raw, Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy for his record 8th Intercontinental title. About a month later, Jericho became once more a full-fledged heel after attacking Shawn Michaels and ramming his head into the Jeritron 6000. At Night of Champions, Kofi Kingston defeated Jericho for the Intercontinental title. Soon Jericho began coming to the ring in a suit and acting very self-righteous, a gimmick apparently inspired by Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men. Jericho soon found himself embroiled in a long, intense and personal war with Shawn Michaels and the two had many great matches in the best feud of the year. Jericho would eventually replace C.M. Punk in a World Championship Scramble match and would come out the new World heavyweight champion, a title he'd successfully defend against Michaels in a ladder match at No Mercy. At Cyber Sunday, Jericho would lose the title to Batista in a match referred by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was voted in by fans to ref the match. Eight days later however, Jericho defeated Batista to regain the World Heavyweight title in a steel cage match. Jericho would retain the title fending off also the challenge of C.M. Punk until Survivor Series 2008 when he lost the title to a returning John Cena. Jericho would go on to win that year's Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Jericho next found himself involved in a rivalry with wrestling legends and Mickey Rourke from The Wrestler. This led to a match at Wrestlemania XXV pitting Jericho off in an elimination match vs. Legends Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper and Ricky Steamboat, a match Jericho eventually won although Steamboat was still impressive. Jericho would again defeat Steamboat at Backlash in another memorable encounter. Jericho would next be drafted to Smackdown and began an intense rivalry with Rey Mysterio Jr. eventually defeating him for a record breaking ninth Intercontinental title (breaking his own record in fact) at Extreme Rules 2009. Jericho however lost the title back to Mysterio at the Bash but would team with Edge to win the WWE Unified World tag team titles later that same night. When Edge was injured, Jericho was allowed to select a replacement partner and choose the Big Show. This duo proved very impressive holding on to the titles and fending off challengers the likes of Cryme Tyme, MVP and Mark Henry, the Legacy, Batista and Rey Mysterio finally losing the titles to DX: Triple H & Shawn Michaels. Fans seemed delighted to be rid off Jericho on Raw but he wouldn't be gone long. At No Way Out 2010,  Jericho defeated the Undertaker in an Elimination Chamber match with unlikely help from Shawn Michaels to win yet another World Heavyweight title, a title targeted by Edge at Wrestlemania XXVI. Jericho successfully fended off the challenge of Edge but was surprised by Money in the Bank winner Jack Swagger who upset an unexpectant and injured Jericho for the title on an episode of Smackdown. Jericho was then drafted back to Raw where he formed a team with the Miz to challenge the Hart Dynasty for the Unified Tag team titles but they were turned back. Now Jericho finds himself an unlikely teammate of John Cena as they face the invading Nexus  force, led by Jericho's student on NXT Wade Barrett, on Raw. Outside of wrestling, Jericho is known as the lead singer for the heavy metal band Fozzy and is a frequent contributor on VH1 sharing his music expertise. He also appeared in Android Apocalypse and the wrestling documentary Bloodstained Memoirs. He is also the son of former NHL player Ted Irvine.

Mike Tenay joins the Hosts/Announcers Hall of Fame. After a Lengthy stint in WCW as a sidekick to Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan where he was nicknamed "The Professor" and was well-known for his knowledge of wrestling holds and Mexican wrestling, Tenay would eventually debut as the lead play by play man for TNA. Tenay brings a level of excitement and interest to his play by play such that he truly seems to be a real fan of the product and wants to do a good job selling the talent. Sometimes one could argue he goes a bit overboard (here he on occasion reminds me of former partner Schiavone) but he's pretty solid and dependable for the most part.

Michael Cole joins the Hosts/Announcers Hall of Shame. Michael Cole is the current lead play by play announcer for WWE Raw. He assumed the position when Jim Ross was drafted/traded to WWE Smackdown in 2008. Prior to this, Cole was the main play by play man on Smackdown from 1999 to 2008. Originally a journalist working for CBS Radio, Cole's coverage of professional wrestling probably seems a lot less serious but also perhaps a lot less dangerous. Cole started out as a backstage interviewer for WWF in 1997 but later that year would join Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly during the first hour of Raw. Eventually though this would be phased out and it would be only Ross and Jerry Lawler on Raw. In 1999, Cole replaced Jim Ross to become lead play by play man when Ross was stricken with Bell's Palsy. The fans didn't take to Cole and began to boo him despite efforts to present the returning Ross as an heel. In 1999, Cole became the main voice of WWF Smackdown! alongside color commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler. When Lawler left in 2002, Tazz replaced Lawler and he and Cole seemed to mesh together surprisingly well. On June 2006, Tazz left for the newly revamped ECW and Cole began to work with JBL as his color commentator. JBL did a surprisingly good job and also seemed to mesh well with Cole. When JBL returned to in-ring action, he was briefly replaced by Jonathan Coachman who was in turn replaced by Mick Foley. None of these pairings seem to work too well. During the 2008 Draft, Cole was drafted to Raw and Ross was sent to Smackdown. Now Cole announces on Raw alongside Jerry Lawler but is not well-liked by the fans as he tends to have a bit of an annoying, grating personality, something he's actually started to play with a bit as an announcer on NXT where he started a feud of sorts with Daniel Bryan. Personally I feel Cole has been horrible on Raw and has actually become worse as an announcer than he ever was in his Smackdown days, especially when paired with the competent Tazz and JBL on color.

[HappyGilmore]

I don't like Michael Cole at all.  I'm not entirely certain, but I kinda feel I'd prefer Jonathan Coachman, which is saying a lot.

[JaseSF]

Raven joins the Singles Hall of Fame. Raven, a master of mind games and controlling others despite his seeming scruffy and confused appearance. Opponents soon learned what a mistake it was to underestimate Raven. Raven is perhaps best remembered for his run in ECW and his bitter, psychological feud with Tommy Dreamer. In a move to WCW where they imitated his Nest ECW followers with a Flock of followers, he seemed to get more lost in the shuffle but still managed to have fantastic matches with Perry Saturn, Chris Kanyon and Diamond Dallas Page. He'd later return to ECW and move to the WWF in more forgettable stints. A return to TNA brought him back into the spotlight as feuds with A.J. Styles and Jeff Jarrett pushed him up the ladder and he eventually won the NWA title there.

Raven actually started under a completely different persona - that of arrogant bodybuilder turned pro Scotty the Body in Memphis's CWA (where he was used as a boy toy and manipulated by Missy Hyatt and Eddie Gilbert), Vancouver's All-Star Wrestling (for the first time as a face) and the Pacific Northwest (PNW) where he feuded with Steve Doll and won every title in the territory. Towards the end of his run there, he turned face to feud with the top guy in the area - The Grappler. Next he moved to the Global Wrestling Federation where he competed as Scott Anthony, eventually getting moved to a color commentary position for his witty and funny comments. In 1992, he moved to WCW to compete in the light heavyweight division under the name Scotty Flamingo. There he defeated Brian Pillman for the WCW Light Heavyweight title on June 20, 1992 at WCW Beach Blast. He'd lose the title less than a month later to Brad Armstrong. Following this, he'd go on to briefly align himself with the Diamond Exchange of Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash). Aside from Pillman and Armstrong, he'd also feud with Johnny B. Badd. In 1993, he moved to the WWF as manager Johnny Polo managing the tag team The Quebecers and leading them to 3 WWF World Tag Team titles. He also occasionally worked as a color commentator for WWF at this time delivering silly and comedic lines and adding little sound effects to moves performed during matches.

In January 1995, Scott Levy had bulked up to 230 lbs and was no longer the same Scotty the Body. In ECW, he now debuted as the menacing Raven, who came across as a "depressed, sociopathic, nihilistic misanthrope with a grunge inspired wardrobe" (according to Wikipedia) who also happened to exhibit a certain hold over others who wanted to be follow and be like him. Raven eventually teamed with Stevie Richards and added female follower Beulah McGillicutty to the mix to feud with Tommy Dreamer, whom he claimed was an enemy since childhood. Raven always managed to defeat Dreamer which made Dreamer's never say die, never quit attitude all the more popular with fans. Raven also had a bitter psychological feud with Sandman going so far as to brainwash his wife and son into turning on the Sandman. Raven was a dominant force in 1995-1996 winning two ECW World titles and controlling his army of lackeys that included Richards, the Blue Meanie, Tony Stetson, Johnny Hotbody, the Pitbulls, Luna Vachon, Vampire Warrior, the Dudley Boyz, Cactus Jack, The Eliminators, The Heavenly Bodies, Kimona Wanalaya, Ron & Don Harris, Brian Lee, Super Nova, Miss Patricia, Lori Fullington (Sandman's ex-wife), Tyler Fullington (Sandman's 7 year old son), Chastity and Reggie Bennett. During his title reign, Raven would fend off a long list of talented challengers and even handed defeats to the likes of Steve Williams and Terry Gordy. Raven also won two ECW World Tag Team titles with Stevie Richards. Raven's 2 year long feud with Dreamer finally culminated at Wrestlepalooza 1997 when on June 6, 1997, Dreamer finally defeated Raven in a Loser Leaves Town match after which he moved to WCW.

In mid-1997, Raven moved to WCW and slowly started building up his flock of followers including Stevie Richards, Scotty Riggs, Perry Saturn, Kidman, Sick Boy and numerous other misfits who couldn't seem to find their place. Raven, with the help of his Flock, defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW United States title but Raven lost it the next night to Bill Goldberg, who was on his major winning streak. Raven & Perry Saturn also won the WCW World Tag Team titles in 1999. However when Raven blamed the Flock for his U.S. title loss and other key losses and became more and more abusive towards them week after week, Saturn and others in the Flock began to dissent leading to a match which Saturn defeated Raven in order to disband the Flock. Without the Flock, Raven seemed lost in WCW but eventually formed a brief and short-lived team with Vampiro and the Insane Clown Posse in 1999 before asking for his release mid-year.

Raven returned to ECW in mid-1999 to reignite his old feud with Tommy Dreamer after winning the ECW World Tag Team titles from the Dudley Boyz and losing the titles, their team being reluctant given their history. Raven after feuding with Dreamer, and stealing away manager Francine, would win the ECW World Tag Team titles with Mike Awesome only to lose the titles to the Impact Players. Not long after this, Francine would leave him for Justin Credible and Raven would lose to Scotty Anton (formerly Scotty Riggs) on his way out of ECW.

He returned to the WWF in 2000 and began a short-lived team with Tazz to oppose Jerry "The King" Lawler. In December 2000, he defeated Steve Blackman to win the first of his record 27 WWF/WWE Hardcore titles (this was during the height of the 24/7 Hardcore rules). At Wrestlemania X-7, he competed in his only Wrestlemania match losing the Hardcore title to Kane in a triple threat match that also included the Big Show. During the Invasion storyline, he joined the ECW/WCW Alliance and was managed by Terri Runnels and feuded briefly in a silly feud with Perry Saturn after destroying Saturn's mop girlfriend?!. By the end of the year when the Invasion storyline ended, Raven disappeared for a while. In May 2002, he was drafted to Raw and won yet another Hardcore title before moving on to do color commentary work on WWE Sunday Night Heat and Excess. Eventually Raven would be forced off Raw to work mainly on Sunday Night Heat by losing a Loser Leaves Raw match to old adversary Tommy Dreamer. In early 2003, he was released by WWE.

Next Raven moved to TNA targeting Jeff Jarrett's NWA title yet Raven failed to win it from him or later from A.J. Styles. Next he became embroiled in a bitter feud with Shane Douglas that cost him his hair as Vampiro interfered to help Douglas. This led to a feud between Vampiro, James Mitchell and the Disciples of the New Church and Raven that Raven eventually got the best of taking each member out one by one and forming the Gathering of C.M. Punk and Julio Dinero to watch his back in TNA. Eventually though Mitchell would gain a measure of revenge by convincing the Gathering to betray Raven and join him but Raven brought in old ECW veterans Terry Funk, the Sandman & Sabu to defeat the Gathering & Mitchell in a series of matches. Raven would eventually go on to have a feud of respect with Sabu following this while also battling Abyss and Monty Brown in brutal bouts. Raven finally won the elusive NWA World title in a King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary 2005 where he defeated Styles, Monty Brown, Abyss and Sean Waltman in a five way match. Raven as champion looked better than he had in years and fended off challenges from Jarrett, Abyss and Rhino. On September 15, 2005, Raven lost the NWA World title back to Jarrett at a Border City Wrestling Event when America's Most Wanted turned heel and helped Jarrett win the title. This eventually led to a feud with Larry Zbyszko who was acting as Director of Authority at the time and a long hiatus for Raven from TNA when Sean Waltman was brought in by Zbyszko and defeated Raven in a match that forced him to leave TNA. Raven returned in April 2006 but looked pretty shabby likely due to a thyroid condition he's been struggling with. He did defeat Zbyszko in an hair match to gain a measure of revenge. Raven next became leader of the group Serotonin - Kazarian, Johnny Devine and Matt Bentley but the group never quite gelled that well. Eventually Kaz would rebel against Raven due to the way Raven abused the group. Kaz went on to defeat Raven. Raven had some bouts with Rellik and Abyss and turned on the X-Division with Team 3D and then faded from the scene as he was released by TNA.

Raven next showed up in Juggalo Championship Wrestling stealing the JCW Heavyweight title from Corporal Robinson and reigniting his feud with Sabu in 2008. Raven also won the CWA Pro Wrestling Heavyweight title in South Carolina. He also briefly won and held the Australian Heavyweight title which he traded with TNT. Raven also continued his feud with Larry Zbyszko in Virginia winning the VCW title.

In May 2009, Raven returned to TNA joining Dr. Stevie Richards and Daffney in attacking and tormenting Abyss. Recently he's been seen as part of an ECW faction in TNA. At Hardcore Justice, he once again battled Tommy Dreamer this time defeating him in a "Final Showdown" match refereed by Mick Foley. The Next night, the ECW faction were attacked by Ric Flair's Fortune stable.

[HappyGilmore]

Always thought Raven was a little bit underrated as a performer.  But that's just me.

[JaseSF]

Lance Storm joins the Singles Hall of Shame. Lance Storm is likely best remembered today for being a part of several key teams and factions in ECW, WCW and WWE. Storm was initially trained in the Hart Brothers wrestling school in Calgary. Along with Jericho he wrestled in Calgary and other parts of Canada forming a tag team called Sudden Impact. In CRMW, he won Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship 5 times, the CRMW International/North American title and the CRMW Tag Team titles twice with Jericho. Storm also travelled to Japan in Wrestling Association R to further develop his skills. In WAR, he won the WAR International Junior Tag Team titles with Yuji Yasuraoka and the WAR six-man tag titles with Kouki Kitahara and Nobutaka Araya. In Germany he won the CWA Catch Junior heavyweight title twice. In 1994, he reunited with Jericho in Smoky Mountain Wrestling to form The Thrillseekers. When Jericho was injured, Storm would go on to win the SMW Beat the Champ TV title.

Storm moved to ECW in 1996. There he formed an impressive team with Chris Candido and won the ECW World Tag Team titles. Later on, he'd pair up with Justin Credible and valet Dawn Marie to capture two more ECW World Tag Team titles as the Impact Players, his most memorable team in ECW. Storm always seemed a little out of place in ECW but with the Impact Players definitely left his mark there.

In 2000, he'd move to WCW where he'd have arguably the best and most successful run of his entire career. There he soon captured the United States title, the Cruiserweight title and the Hardcore title in short succession and then renamed them the Canadian Heavyweight title, the 100 kg and Under title, and the  Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title (put the initials together). Storm also tried to capture the World Heavyweight title but failed to defeat Booker T.. Eventually Storm passed the Cruiserweight title on to ally Elix Skipper and the Hardcore title to Carl Oullet. Storm formed a powerful and surprisingly successful Team Canada faction and went on to feud with General Rection (Hugh Morrus) and the Misfits in Action. Team Canada saw several surprising American betrayals to join the team including Major Gunns and even Hacksaw Jim Duggan at one point.

In 2001, Storm moved to the WWF and joined the ECW/WCW Alliance playing up more his ECW history than his WCW history as his ECW history was considerably longer. Storm did capture the WWF Intercontinental title from Albert around this time but lost it to Edge around a month later. Storm next formed a tag team with the Hurricane to challenge to feud with the Hardy Boyz. After the Invasion storyline ended, Storm joined the Un-Americans with Test, Christian and William Regal. Storm & Christian as the Un-Americans went on to capture the WWE Tag Team titles defeating Hulk Hogan & Edge but eventually they lost the titles about two months later to Kane & the Hurricane. Following the break-up of the Un-Americans, Lance Storm teamed with William Regal to win the World Tag Team titles from Booker T. & Goldust in early January but lost the titles at the Royal Rumble to the Dudley Boyz. However with help from Chief Morley, they regained the World Tag team titles the very next night on Raw. In late March 2003 with Regal suffering health problems, Morley stripped Storm & Regal of the titles and declared himself and Storm the new World Tag Team titles. They'd go on to lose the titles later that month to Kane & Rob Van Dam. Following this they did the "boring" angle with Storm that featured then authority figure Stone Cold Steve Austin which effectively led to Storm's demise in WWE as he became a dancing fan favorite after being mentored by Goldust and formed a forgettable fan favorite team with Val Venis, the former Morley. In April 2004, Storm decided to retire from in-ring action to work backstage in WWE and as a trainer in OVW. Storm would eventually return sporadically to the ring usually in ECW related matches. At ECW One Night Stand 2005, he defeated former partner Chris Jericho with help from the Impact Players. He also challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH title in 2006 but failed to defeat the American Dragon. In 2010, he turned down an invitation to TNA Hardcore Justice.

[HappyGilmore]

Lance Storm is vastly underrated.  Shame he's in the Hall of Shame.

[JaseSF]

Actually I kind of agree with you on Storm. He never got a fair shake in WWE. It's kind of too bad WCW or ECW didn't last longer because I suspect he might well have eventually be used better in either one had they continued on longer. He was a very skilled ring technician and a great mat wrestler too but of course for WWE, he just wasn't "entertaining" enough. Suspect Daniel Bryan could run into similar problems in WWE.

The Hollywood Blonds: "Stunning" Steve Austin & "Flyin'" Brian Pillman join the Tag Teams Hall of Shame. Actually Austin & Pillman were a very good team but their competition here simply had much longer runs together as a team while the Blonds was rather short-lived at less than a year. Actually Pillman & Austin weren't the first team to use the name Hollywood Blonds - other teams that previously used the name were Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown (who were very successful in NWA and AWA territories under that name), Rip Rogers & Ted Oates (who had a run in the NWA Mid-Atlantic area) and Dusty Wolfe & Ken Timbs.

Towards the end of 1992, a recently turned heel Pillman was teaming with another recent heel Barry Windham. When bookers decided to push Windham as the NWA World champion, Pillman and Steve Austin were kind of thrown together by WCW as a replacement team. Despite this, Austin & Pillman started wearing similar trunks and jackets and adopted the name Hollywood Blonds essentially turning themselves into a full-fledged tandem. They soon found themselves battling Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas over the WCW and NWA World Tag Team titles. During matches, the team would do mock posing and posturing for some invisible movie camera Austin pretend winded. On March 27, 1993, Austin & Pillman cheated their way to the WCW and NWA World Tag Team titles defeating Steamboat & Douglas and then fended them off one way or another. When it looked like the former champions wouldn't get a shot anymore, they donned masks and assumed the identities Dos Hombres and managed to get a title shot by defeating the Blonds. However they failed to regain the titles from the Blonds in a steel cage match at Slamboree (actually Tom Zenk had replaced Douglas under one of the masks).

Next the Blonds found themselves tangling with a newly reformed Four Horsemen and in particular the tag team pairing of Arn Anderson and unlikely Horseman Paul Roma. At Clash of the Champions XXIII, the Blonds actually held off the challenge of Ric Flair & Arn Anderson in a Two Out of Three Falls Match since the Horsemen won the match by DQ which meant the titles didn't change hands. Flair went on to focus on battling Barry Windham. Soon thereafter Paul Roma was announced as the new fourth Horsemen and set to team with Anderson against the Blonds. The Blonds defeated Anderson & Roma at Beach Blast 1993. Pillman shortly thereafter injured his angle as was replaced in the Blonds Clash XXIV title defense by Lord Steven Regal. Regal & Austin lost the titles that night to Roma & Arn Anderson.

Shortly thereafter the team was split up with Austin vying for the United States title held by Dustin Rhodes. When Pillman finally returned, he was betrayed and turned on by Austin who then joined forces with Col. Robert Parker and had a brief forgettable feud with Pillman, a feud they'd continue in more interesting fashion in WWF.

[JaseSF]

"Precious" Paul Ellering joins the Managers/Valets Hall of Fame. Of course most wrestling fans will best remember "Precious" Paul Ellering as the brains behind the brawn that was The Legion of Doom: The Road Warriors. Of course Ellering did add another dimension as being himself a former pro grappler (and former AWA Southern champion) who trained at Verne Gagne's infamously tough camp, his former weightlifting background and his knowledge of martial arts, he himself could physically interfere in his men's matches if need be and sometimes he himself could actually join them in bouts as he did during the War Games teaming with the Road Warriors and the Superpowers (Nikita Koloff & Dusty Rhodes) to battle the Four Horsemen and their manager James J. Dillon (himself a former pro grappler although Dillon later emplyed a masked man [actually Big Bubba Rogers] for War Games II). Ellering also faced Teddy Long in an hair vs. hair managers bout at Capitol Combat 1990. Ellering was known for his shrewdness in and out of the ring and was considered successful in business and later was known running the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska. Ellering was legit a very tough man. Ellering though was actually more than on-screen manager for Hawk & Animal. He was in fact their manager in real life too booking their matches, lining up their flights, setting up their hotel reservations and keeping track of their finances for them.

Originally the Legion of Doom was a stable of wrestlers, started in Georgia Championship Wrestling, and included more members than just Hawk & Animal. Ellering during this time also managed the likes of King Kong Bundy, Jake Roberts, The Spoiler, Arn Anderson, Matt Borne, The Iron Sheik and the Original Sheik. Ellering also managed at different points in time Jos Leduc, Abdullah the Butcher, "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer and Killer Karl Krupp. In an 1998 angle, he actually turned on the Road Warriors and managed the Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball and Skull - the Harris Brothers) against them but later admitted to having an hard time working against his long-time team and allies.

Frenchy Martin joins the Managers/Valets Hall of Shame. Martin, looking very much like a stereotypical snobby French painter, is best known for managing the newly heel Dino Bravo in the WWF from 1987-1989 and bringing a sign to the ring that read "USA is Not OK" which tended to illicit much booing from the American crowds. Bravo had some small success under Martin, defeating Don Muraco at Wrestlemania IV and Summerslam '88 - beating Hacksaw Duggan in a flag match - and finally beating Ron Garvin at Wrestlemania V but never really was taken too seriously as a real threat. After Bravo's match with Garvin at Wrestlemania V, Martin attacked Garvin resulting in Garvin's knocking him down and giving him the Garvin Stomp. Shortly thereafter Bravo dropped Martin and hired Jimmy Hart as his manager and Martin returned to working as enhancement talent, as he had done during his arrival in WWF in 1986-1987, until 1990 when he retired.

Before arriving in WWF, Martin competed throughout Canada and Puerto Rico under his real name Jean Gagné and also used the name Don Gagné. He had lots of success in Calgary Stampede in the late 70s winning the NWA International Tag Team titles (Calgary version) with Ripper Collins and winning the Stampede North American title twice. He also had quite a lot of success in Trans-Canada Wrestling winning the IW North American title. In Atlantic Grand Prix (Nova Scotia), he won the International Heavyweight title twice. He also the NWA Pacific International title under the name the Masked Cyclops and finally in the early 1980s, he teamed with Pierre Lefebvre to win the Canadian International Tag Team titles twice. In WWC in Puerto Rico, he won the WWC North American title three times and the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight title twice. He also won the WWC World Tag Team titles 4 times with 4 different partners and the WWC North American Tag Team titles 4 times with 4 different partners. Overall Martin's singles career seems far more successful than his managing one.

Before coming to the WWF, Martin also managed Jos Leduc and Abdullah the Butcher in Canada. At an International Wrestling 2000 show, he also managed Richard Charland in a match against King Kong Bundy.

[JaseSF]

Mad Dog & Butcher Vachon join the Tag Teams Hall of Fame. This pair of brothers were as mean and nasty as they came, biting opponents, attacking them when their backs were turned, breaking every rule in the book, brawling, gouging eyes, bloodying opponents, knocking down referees and whoever else dared get in their way. As a kid, I saw a Vachons tag team match on TV (it might well have been a replay from their glory days given their greatest success was before my time) that left me an astonished and frightened child. To me that day, they were like something from my worst nightmare brought to vivid life. They were very much like a pair of vicious mad dogs! In many ways, they were the trendsetters for later hardcore brawls.

Following a successful singles career that saw him capture 5 AWA World heavyweight titles in the 1960s, Vachon turned to teaming with his similar looking but much larger brother Butcher Vachon.  On August 30, 1969, the Vachons captured the AWA World Tag Team titles beating the legendary tandem of Dick the Bruiser and the Crusher. The following year the two teams battled in a famous Steel Cage rematch at Comiskey Park that saw the Vachons victorious yet again. The Vachons' wild and bloody brawls with the Bruiser & Crusher were a precursor for many later bloody style brawls such as those which featured the Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher, Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. They held a firm grasp on the tag team titles until May 1971 which they finally lost them to the team of Hercules Cortez and Red Bastien. Actually the Vachons had a long history of success as a tandem prior to this winning the AWA Midwest Tag Team titles and holding them briefly in January 1969, the NWA Southern (Mid-Atlantic) Tag Team titles in early 1961, the NWA World (Georgia) tag team titles in early 1967, the NWA Texas tag team titles in late 1960, the NWA Canadian (Calgary) tag team titles 3 times in 1959 and finally the NWA International (Calgary) tag team titles 3 times in 1959.

[HappyGilmore]

I have to find footage of the Vachons.  I only know OF them, never saw them.