Every year as WrestleMania approaches, another WWE event comes up on the calendar: the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Some of the members of the 2017 class are already known, like Kurt Angle and Teddy Long, but there are bound to be additions in the coming weeks.
Some of the fun comes in predicting who will be inducted from past generations, but what about the current crop of stars? Some of them are obvious – like Big Show, Chris Jericho, John Cena and the Undertaker – but others might be less so, and some haven’t even been on the roster all that long.
Here are 10 such names.
Randy Orton
Perhaps Randy Orton belongs on the list of obvious names, but he just isn’t always regarded with the same respect as some of those wrestlers. It could be due to his career so closely aligning with Cena, who has been the face of company for more than a decade, but Orton is a clear-cut hall-of-famer regardless.
A third-generation wrestler, Orton is a 12-time world champion with various other titles to his name, and he’s a two-time Royal Rumble winner. He’s also one of the few wrestlers in the current era to gain recognition in mainstream pop culture with his “RKO Out of Nowhere,” all but solidifying him as a future inductee.
Dolph Ziggler
Here’s where we get into some names that you might not automatically think of, but they’re deserving nonetheless. Dolph Ziggler hasn’t consistently been a main-event level talent, but his body of work is quite impressive when taken as a whole.
During a career that has spanned more than a decade on the main roster, Ziggler has racked up two world title reigns, five stints as Intercontinental Champion and a run as United States Champion. He also held tag team gold as part of the Spirit Squad. On top of that, he won the Money in the Bank ladder match in 2012 and received an enormous reaction when he cashed in on Alberto Del Rio for the world title the following April.
New Day
The New Day are a true pro wrestling success story. They were three guys floundering in the company’s mid-card, came together with a gimmick that seemed dead on arrival, and they turned that into one of the most popular acts in the WWE.
On top of sheer entertainment value and popularity, the New Day has made documented history in the company’s tag team division. The two-time champions’ second reigns lasted 484 days, which broke all of the WWE’s tag team championship records for longevity. On top of that, they rose out of a division that was an afterthought to become a main-event level act capable of hosting shows and holding audiences.
These guys flat-out have to go in to the hall of fame as a group.
Kofi Kingston
Yes, I know what this would mean. Putting Kofi in the WWE Hall of Fame both as a member of New Day and as a singles competitor puts him on a plane with Ric Flair as a two-time inductee. But putting that aside, Kingston deserves credit for his work before the New Day.
Including his time with his current group, Kofi has held tag-team gold for a record 819 combined days. On top of that, he is a four-time Intercontinental Champion, a three-time United States champion and wows the crowd every year with his athleticism in the Royal Rumble match. Those accomplishments more than match the likes of Big Boss Man, who was inducted posthumously in 2016.
Charlotte
This may be the boldest claim on this list, since Charlotte has been on the main roster less than two years. But in that time, she has been such an enormous part of a rejuvenated women’s division that it’s hard to see any way she won’t eventually be in the hall of fame.
Even if you just count what she’s done to this point, Charlotte could probably already get in. Far and away the top heel in the women’s division, and among the best villains on the roster overall, Charlotte has repeatedly shown that she learned plenty of tricks from her father, Ric Flair. More tangibly, Charlotte’s five combined championship reigns between the retired Divas Championship and the current RAW Women’s Championship already put her in a tie for tjhird all-time behind Trish Stratus, who had seven reigns, and Mickie James, who has six.
Even if you discount some of those reigns as part of a back-and-forth feud with Sasha Banks, Charlotte’s role as the first Women’s Champion after the era of the Divas ended makes her a key component of the “women’'s revolution” and worthy of induction.
AJ Styles
It’s been said on WWE programming that AJ Styles had perhaps the best first year in company history, and it would be hard to argue that fact. After a huge debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, Styles went on to take down John Cena on multiple occasions and win the WWE Championship within his first few months in the company.
Styles’ legacy, of course, extends well beyond that. He was a top champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling and held numerous championships in TNA, including all the company’s top belts. Beyond that, Styles was a leader of the Bullet Club, perhaps the world’s most popular pro wrestling faction, and he is a sure lock to get in the WWE Hall of Fame similar to others that had successful careers elsewhere.
Seth Rollins
Unfortunately, what Seth Rollins has become most known for is knee injuries in the last couple years, but he is clearly so much more than that. Technically a two-time WWE Champion since he knocked off Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank 2016, Rollins also held the Money in the Bank briefcase between winning it in 2014 and cashing it in at WrestleMania 31 in one of the biggest moments in WWE history.
Also a former United States and tag team champion, Rollins is a clear main-event talent. For much of his time in the WWE, he’s been a driving force in the storyline, whether as a member of the Shield or Authority or as an individual performer.
Roman Reigns
If you’re a big enough wrestling fan to be reading this article, there’s at least a decent chance you didn’t want to see Roman Reigns’ name listed. Regardless of personal feelings, though, Reigns is destined for the WWE Hall of Fame.
A member of the respected Anoa’i wrestling family, Reigns is already a three-time world champion who also held tag team gold as part of the Shield and the United States Championship. Add in his victory in the 2015 Royal Rumble, his Rumble record of 12 eliminations in 2014 and a pair of WrestleMania main event matches, and fans will just have to get used to the idea that Roman Reigns is a hall-of-famer already.
Dean Ambrose
It may take a group induction of the Shield, which shouldn’t happen (but might anyway), but Dean Ambrose has done enough to be considered for the WWE Hall of Fame. Ambrose has been one of the most reliable workers in the WWE, and that has been rewarded with a WWE Championship, United States Championship and two runs as Intercontinental Champion.
Ambrose won the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, only to delight the crowd later in the evening by cashing in to take the top belt off of Seth Rollins just moments after Rollins beat Roman Reigns. He’s also spent considerable time on the main event scene, something 2016 inductee The Godfather, among others, can’t say.
Sheamus
Very few wrestling fans actually like Sheamus, but that doesn’t mean his career hasn’t been worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame. The first Irish-born WWE Champion, Sheamus has won the company’s top title four times, the United States Championship twice and, most recently, held the RAW tag team belts with Cesaro. He also won the King of the Ring Tournament, the Royal Rumble and the Money in the Bank ladder match.
Sheamus has frequently been caught up in mediocre feuds in recent years and isn’t considered a major draw, but don’t be shocked if his name is called as a hall-of-famer one day.
