Not every inductee should be in the Hall of Fame.

10 Questionable names that are in the WWE Hall of Fame

Just as there are several deserving people who deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame, the flip side is that there are a lot of people in the Hall of Fame that don't necessarily seem like they should be there.

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Whether it's lack of titles won during a career or the fact that the character was just never that over in WWE, some of the people in the Hall of Fame like Koko B. Ware and Hillbilly Jim don't exactly seem like they had HOF-worthy careers.

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Someone like Owen Hart or Christian or Vader who isn't in the HOF? Yeah, they seem more worthy than the aforementioned superstars.

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One of the main problems is the need to have a class of excess of seven or eight inductees each year. As the time goes by, those who should be in the HOF dwindle year by year while some get in on token nominations to fill spots.

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Even two of the inductees of 2019 - Torrie Wilson and Brutus 'the Barber' Beefcake - don't exactly scream out that they had careers that deem them as HOF members.

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But since we are not the ones who make those decisions, there are likely to be some who us fans don't feel should be in the HOF and some that we are adamant should be or should have been inducted.

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Here are 10 people who are in the WWE Hall of Fame that shouldn't necessarily be there for various reasons.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand

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#10 Koko B. Ware

The Birdman was known for his colorful clothing and bird Frankie
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While some people say that he was more successful before joining WWF for eight years, the fact is some success is translatable and is worthy of induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Someone who was a top star in a promotion like WCW or AWA before joining the WWE is certainly worthy of a HOF spot, but mid-carders, not so much.

Koko B. Ware was an exciting wrestler for his time but he was mostly used as a jobber to wrestlers higher up the food chain.

He didn't win any titles during his time in WWF and while that isn't the be all end all when determining someone's HOF worthiness, he wasn't exactly known as a technical maven.

Had booking been different for him during his run maybe things would have been better, but his career didn't seem like that of someone who should be in the HOF.

#9 Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine

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The Hammer used the Figure Four Leg Lock before Ric Flair joined WWF.

Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine had a lot of success prior to his WWF run mainly in NWA and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

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He won every title in MACW and a few in the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, but his success didn't completely translate to WWF.

Valentine won a tag team championship with Brutus Beefcake and an Intercontinental Championship during his time in WWF.

If you don't remember him or do to some degree, think of Chris Farley only a slightly less heavy version who is sort of jacked.

When Dolph Ziggler came out to the ring recently with his hair blow-dried, he looked like an in-shape Valentine.

Sure, he had success before getting to WWF, but he was a serviceable mid-card talent at best. And that's not taking into account his thoughts on how women should 'stay in the kitchen and be barefoot and pregnant'.

He's not exactly a progressive thinker and for a company that is so worried about its public perception, it's surprising that a person who feels that way about women represents them as a HOF inductee.

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#8 Sunny

Sunny has had a colorful life outside of the ring.

During her time in both WWF and ECW, Sunny's two main functions were to manage tag teams and look beautiful.

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She started as a manager of the Body Donnas, Skip and Zip, but later would manage the Smoking Gunns and LOD.

While she did her job as a heel manager well, her contributions weren't anything worth a nomination to the Hall of Fame.

Perhaps being the most downloaded woman on the internet in 1998 meant something during a time when the internet wasn't what it is today.

People might say the same about Sable, but she at least wrestled quite a bit in matches while also serving as eye candy.

And that's just during her time as an 'active' performer. Since she's been out of the WWE, she's been arrested too many times to list here for various reasons including DUIs, OUIs and failure to show up for court dates.

Some might also bring up her 'adult' film endeavors as another reason why she isn't exactly HOF material, but that also happened after she was done in the WWE.

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The main point is it sets a bad example of the HOF as someone who is supposed to represent the business but who is constantly in trouble with the law.

She obviously has some issues but even before those issues, she didn't have a career that screamed 'she has to be in the HOF'.

#7 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan

Although he won the first Royal Rumble, is he really worthy of the Hall of Fame?
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'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan had a simple gimmick but one that he played perfectly throughout his career.

Duggan never captured any gold in the WWF and captured mid-card gold in WCW twice. He was never a main-event guy or one who had matches which the fans would rave about.

But since he was a memorable, over-the-top goofy character, he's remembered fondly by fans who grew up with him.

Like many pro wrestlers, he had a cup of tea in the NFL but was released by the Atlanta Falcons due to nagging knee issues.

When Duggan was in a match in the WWF, it was usually as the least important member of a team, like with Hulk Hogan, or as someone defending the honor of the USA.

While he was a kid-friendly wrestler who may have officially won the first Royal Rumble, the exploits of his career don't seem worthy of a HOF induction.

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#6 Hillbilly Jim

The 'Hillbilly' gimmick might not work in today's game, but it did back in the 80s.
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Hillbilly Jim was literally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year. His championships won during his run? Zero. His titles won outside of the WWF? Zero.

His character would be considered politically incorrect in today's society as the term 'hillbilly' might be seen as derogatory to some.

So if he didn't win any titles in any promotion he wrestled in and wasn't involved in major storylines during his WWF tenure, then why is he in the HOF?

He is friends with Hulk Hogan, so perhaps that sway led to an induction. But with others like Vader, King Kong Bundy and the Steiner Brothers not in the HOF, it just seems extremely absurd that someone like Hillbilly Jim is.

It's not to say that he isn't an extremely affable person in real life, but when it comes to an award to honor accomplishments, you need some accomplishments to warrant an induction.

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#5 Rikishi

Mr. Stinkface is in the Hall of Fame.

Rikishi is probably most remembered today for two things - his enormous stinkface to opponents in the corner of the ring and for being the father of the Usos.

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He was mainly a tag team specialist as a member of the Samoan Swat Team, the Headshrinkers and Too Cool.

None of those teams would factor into a discussion of the best of all time, but they would be a competitive team occasionally.

He probably experienced the most success of his career towards the end of the 1990s when he and Too Cool were a fun-loving team that some fans loved.

Rikishi held tag team titles three times, but one of the weirdest storylines in WWE history was when it was revealed that he was the man who 'ran over Steve Austin with a car' in the early 2000s. It was sort of a let down of a storyline with potential.

His resume did include winning the Intercontinental Championship once but other than that, his career was that of a mid-card staple at best.

#4 The Godfather

The controversial Attitude Era character joined the HOF in 2016.
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In my opinion, if the man, Charles Wright was inducted, and not the Godfather, it would have been a little more understandable.

During his tenure in the WWF/WWE, he was Papa Shango, Kama Mustafa, a member of the Nation of Domination as Kama, the Godfather and a member of Right to Censor.

Although his greatest impact of a character was as the Godfather, it was a gimmick that essentially made him out as a pimp.

Even during the Attitude Era that had Val Venis as a pornstar, a person portraying a pimp complete with women referred to as 'Hos' is wrong in any era of WWE.

Wright did win a tag team championship as a member of Right to Censor and an Intercontinental Championship.

But since the character was inducted as the Godfather, it doesn't seem right to have a pimp character in a what's supposed to be a prestigious Hall of Fame.

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#3 The Bushwhackers

The New Zealand duo was little more than a comedy act in WWF.
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If you want a gauge of the Bushwhackers from today's WWE, look no further than the duo of Heavy Machinery.

Were Otis and Tucker shorter and less athletic, you'd have the Bushwhackers. They both appear to be comedic tag teams int he WWE/WWF, but at least Heavy Machinery might have a chance at some success.

The Bushwhackers were often fans favorites who challenged the heel teams like Money, Inc., the Natural Disaster, the Beverly Brothers and the Nasty Boys.

Their gimmick was fan-friendly and they often did their patented 'walk' around the ring that Otis and Tucker currently do.

Is licking the fans' heads really something worthy of a HOF induction? They didn't win any tag team gold in the WWF and were often cannon fodder for the teams higher up the food chain.

In terms of a gimmick Hall of Fame, perhaps they would be included there, but to have them in the WWE HOF is certainly mind-boggling when the Steiners and Demolition aren't members of the HOF.

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#2 'Cowboy' Bob Orton

Orton was in the corner of Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 1
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Bob Orton, Jr.'s most notable accomplishment was being in Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper's corner when they fought Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at the first WrestleMania. His other notable accomplishment is being Randy Orton's father.

When it came to in-ring accomplishments or achievements in the WWF, Orton doesn't have any to speak of.

Had he even been able to boast one of two of his son's 13 World Championship reigns, then he might have a case at being in the HOF.

But other than that and being Piper's 'bodyguard' during the early and mid-1980s, Orton doesn't stick out as someone who just had to be in the Hall of Fame.

He 'returned' to WWE in 2005 for a storyline with Randy and a Hall of Fame induction that year.

The question still remains - other than fathering Randy Orton, what exactly is it that justifies putting him into the HOF when the likes of Demolition, Owen Hart, Brian Pillman and the British Bulldog are absent from the HOF?

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#1 Nikolai Volkoff

Volkoff joined the Iron Shiek as the 'Anti-American' foreign heels in the 1980s and early 90s.
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Before there was Vladimir Koslov and Rusev, there was one of the first 'Anti-American' heels from the 1980s in Nikolai Volkoff.

Maybe that is the reason why he is in the WWE HOF because pulling off that type of gimmick in the middle of a cold war between the USA and USSR would be tough to do.

All he needed to do was simply sing the Soviet Union's National Anthem during a tumultuous time period of the Cold War and fans would loudly boo him.

But whereas the Iron Sheik seems to be a somewhat outrageous real-life personality, Volkoff seemed like one of the nicest people in the world.

Although that doesn't necessarily warrant induction into the HOF, perhaps that is part of the reason. He did switch to becoming a fan of the USA after the Soviet Union folded even pairing up with the All-American gimmick man of 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan.

Volkoff's lone championship was a tag team title run with the Sheik, but other than that, his career wasn't laden with main-event storylines or titles.

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE

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Edited by
Alan John
 
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