Hall of Fame Discussion

[JoshiQ]

Ryan and I have been discussing a Hall of Fame for this Universe. Wrestlers/Managers/Tag Teams that went above and beyond. We've come up with some names of guys that we feel would be good guys to start with, but we would like to hear from people that have read from the beginning. I'm sure most of the names that are mentioned here will be guys that spent most if not all of their careers in GCW since the NWF has only been around for five years. As the years go by more names will be inducted and the NWF will start getting some inductees (hopefully).

General idea is that names will be brought up here, guys that you think deserve to get in or at least deserve consideration, and from there a thread will be created with that guys' name. I'll probably throw up a recap of his career, titles he has won, big feuds he's been involved in, and so forth. And then further discussion can be had on if he's worthy of Hall of Fame status. We won't be inducting in more than a few a year since we'd run out of names pretty quickly. As the years go by that number will probably increase. Might just be two at the beginning. Not sure how the final vote will take place, but we will figure that out later.

Anyway, I'll let Ryan add whatever he'd like to this, and feel free to throw out a name or two of guys you feel deserve to be in the HoF or at least want to be in there. Remember, this can be based on many different factors. A guy can make the HoF without ever having won a title if he was important enough in the Universe.

[snabbit888]

Josh summed it up pretty well. The only thing I'd add is factoring in things like, anyone you consider, make sure their career is over in this universe or in its latter stages. Yes, Dusty Rhodes probably has the credentials to make it now, but he has a lot of career left.

Also, try not to let real life factor into the decision. Ivan Putski was a Hall of Famer in real life - his GCW career was lackluster at best.

[JoshiQ]

For some reason I read that as Ivan Koloff, and I was going to see if there could be a debate there. I think there could, maybe not the the first round of HoFers, but definitely a guy that could be a fun inductee on a year when we are looking at a tier slightly lower.

Putski, yeah, probably not so much.

I wonder if Lou Thesz will make it? I would think he almost has to. He held the World Title for over 2 years after all. But he may not be as much of a key figure as you'd think.

[mdale2k]

David Von Erich's run as US champion was memorable and may not be hall of fame worthy but he'd be an off grade choice for me.

[snabbit888]

David Von Erich is someone I would argue for as well. Held the tag titles, US Title, had one of the greatest matches in NWF history, and a couple memorable feuds. I'm not sure he's a First Class kind of guy, but I'd be for it.

[JoshiQ]

David Von Erich is a guy that probably gets in at some point. He may not have ever had a run at the top of the NWF, but he was headed that way before his death. Plus a US Title and a Tag Team Title isn't too shabby. Had the five star classic with the Dirty Cowboys and a pretty terrific match with Hogan.

Looking at GCW, Bobo Brazil is another one that might get a bit of the sympathy vote (same as Von Erich), but even based just on his credentials, I think he gets in pretty easily. A World Title reign that almost lasted two years, feuded with some of the top names of the time, had a five star match with Lou Thesz. I don't think he wins another World Title if not for his injury, but he'd have been part of several more big feuds. I think it's a pretty obvious vote.

[mdale2k]

I didn't want to create a new thread, but I really think it will be interesting in the 90s to compare careers of people to there actual and see how did better in the GCW universe then RL (maybe like Greg Valentine?) or those who did worse.

[LillaThrilla]

Sept 6, 2012 18:23:04 GMT -5 snabbit888 said:

Ivan Putski was a Hall of Famer in real life - his GCW career was lackluster at best.

Ivan Putski was in GCW??? (only half-joking; I think I vaguely recall him)

Agree with DVE; if he had a heck of a career and if he hadn't died was probably going to be one of the biggest stars of the 1980s in this universe.

Bruno Sammartino and Lou Thesz seem like locks for first pick HOF; I don't think there is even room for debate as their respective resumes are just too impressive.

Crusher & Bruiser might deserve consideration for their 7 title reigns (nobody else has more than 3) and being one of the most notable pre-1980 tag teams, though probably not first ballot.

I'd also say Luke Graham should at least be considered, though he may not be first ballot. He was a pretty prolific heel and looking over past year end awards his name shows up alot.

Not sure how much longer Harley Race has to go in-ring, but the combination of his fame plus infamy plus role in starting NWF make him HOF-worthy I think. The combined length of his two GCW World Title reigns alone is pretty huge.

Speculation regarding more active wrestlers that have been around awhile:

I agree Dusty has pretty much locked up a HOF spot.

Stan Hansen has a serious chance: on his second World Title reign, plus 3 IC Title reigns thus far and his Lariat is probably more feared than any other finisher in the history of GCW.

Bob Backlund is probably building a HOF career too. He's got some good title reigns and more importantly has been an immensely memorable character, perhaps moreso than any other wrestler in this universe.

I might even consider Nick Bockwinkel: he had a huge run as 1/2 of The Cripplers, his current HTM-esk IC Title reign is pretty impressive, and he's got his AWA work as well.

[JoshiQ]

Greg Valentine immediately jumps out as a guy that did far better than his real life counterpart. Luke Graham would be another. It's especially going to be interesting when we get to guys we all know and love (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Cactus Jack) and see where they end up. I have a feeling there is going to be a surprise here and there that neither Ryan nor I could predict.

Putski even held half of the tag team titles, Liller! He was mostly used as a partner for Santana.

I would think Luke Graham probably makes it in first ballot. He's just done too much. The Biography of him will be something once it's done.

Crusher and Bruiser make it as a tag team, I'm pretty sure. They just had too many title reigns not to. Race is a definite in my eyes. Nick Bockwinkel will probably depend on how much credit we give him for his AWA time.

Good to see DVE is thought of as someone that should get in. A lot of it might be due to the untapped potential he still had. I think he'd have become a World Champion a few times over if he had remained alive. I mean, he wasn't even 28 before he died.

[snabbit888]

I do love how we're talking about people being locks. Makes me think Coop and I need to figure out exactly how inducting people will go.

I think the Cripplers as a tag team deserve to be in. Three really good reigns, longest in terms of days of combined tag team reigns.

I think it will be interesting when we get to someone like Dino Bravo. It's still obviously way too soon to tell as he has some time left, but he's not a guy that screams "singles champion" to me. However, he has had a great tag team career, as of this point having 5 tag title reigns (only behind Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher) with 4 different partners. He's pretty legit there, but is seriously hurt, I think , by none of the teams being particularly dominant or memorable on their own. His reign with Larry Zbyszko was okay-good, his reign with Jumbo Tsuruta was forgettable, as was his reign with Dominic DeNucci. Only team with any real longevity at the top was the Cam-Am Strongmen, but I wouldn't call them a Top 5 team in GCW history.

[allpowerfulgarth]

Of course, the other factor with Dino Bravo is if you're going to induct him, it has to be soon, because the circumstances of his eventual death are going to make him unappealing as a Hall of Famer.

[rey619]

For some reason, to me, people like Luke Graham and Pedro Morales made more of an impression than Lou Thesz, even though his credentials are unquestionable. So you probably need to find a balance between title wins and impact on the universe.

[LillaThrilla]

Sept 8, 2012 8:39:10 GMT -5 allpowerfulgarth said:

Of course, the other factor with Dino Bravo is if you're going to induct him, it has to be soon, because the circumstances of his eventual death are going to make him unappealing as a Hall of Famer.

*looks Dino Bravo up, assuming he died of steroids*

Illegal cigarette smuggling??? That's a thing?!

Personally, I think a HoF should honor people based on their contribution to the field that the hall honors, not what they did after they retired unrelated to the sport.

Example: OJ Simpson is a scumbag, but he committed murder and theft long after his prolific college and NFL careers were over. On the other hand, Joe Paterno's legacy is tarnished because of something that happened while he was still coaching and relates to the football program.

[JoshiQ]

Ryan and I haven't exactly decided how we are going to handle deaths. Sure, the guy is going to die, but not sure if we'll go with the actual reason for death or not. Like David Von Erich, I haven't explained anything about his death except for the fact that he passed away. Might be easier to get around things like Bravo smuggling cigs, Owen Hart dropping to his death, and Benoit murdering Woman and his son.

I would almost think impact on the Universe is more important than title wins when it comes to inducting into the Hall. There weren't a TON of feuds in the early-early years of GCW though, so a guy like Lou Thesz probably gets in just because of how he dominated the circuit.

[snabbit888]

I'm leaning toward however someone died in real life, that's how they go in this universe. If we're trying to follow real life debut dates, retire dates, etc., I think it's fair that they die the way they die.

It's part of the challenge to me. Booking Benoit knowing what he ends up doing is a challenge. And I think having him "pass away peacefully in the night" is cheating. The only death so far I see that can have any fudging is Owen Hart's, just based on how specific that death was. If he's not the Blue Blazer at the time of his death in our universe, it's going to be tricky to justify him dropping from the rafters.

[JoshiQ]

If that's the case, especially with a guy like Benoit, the tribute show we have to write is going to be complicated with TV going on and everything. Guess that's the complicated part of this universe.

[Carlzilla]

It might be hard to kill Brody if he's not in Puerto Rico when he's supposed to die either.

[gentlemanjeff]

Carl Florida will stab him.

[gentlemanjeff]

[snabbit888]

I'm more than willing to be flexible on circumstances of death that might not fit real world timelines. Like Brody dying in the States, or Owen Hart dying in a car crash or something if whoever has him isn't doing ceiling entrances.

[cardsflyinhigh]

If there's no Blue Blazer, then how about Crow Owen, there's your ceiling entrance

[Carlzilla]

I can't believe I missed the super obvious chance to flesh out a Crowen Hart gimmick here...

Wrestlecrap supreme.