5 Hall of Famers who wrestled in WWE after their induction

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The Hall of Fame has bounced back in recent years

Being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (HOF) is a tremendous honour for any professional wrestler. While some see it all as a bit of a farce, over the last few years, the company have taken the right steps towards ensuring that the credibility of the HOF is restored. They've done a pretty good job of it too, with the likes of Bruno Sammartino and The Ultimate Warrior finally taking their rightful place in the hall.

An induction usually signifies the end of an in-ring career too, with the likes of Sting deciding to call it a day during the ceremony in addition to Ric Flair being inducted before his final WWE match. However, some HOF-ers decide that they're still able to get the job done in the ring and choose to extend their career beyond their supposed 'curtain call'.

It's not necessarily always a bad thing, and a few of the moments on this list are actually quite fun - but some fans prefer to see the stars of days gone by remain in the shadows as opposed to appearing every now and again. Whichever camp you fall into, we can guarantee that a few of the timelines on this list may surprise you when you see the names included.

With that being said, here are five Hall of Famers who wrestled in WWE after being inducted.


#5 The Fabulous Moolah

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Moolah is a legend

The Fabulous Moolah is without a doubt one of the most recognisable female performers to ever step inside of the squared circle. For years she was a trailblazer when it came to women's wrestling, continually reinventing the game while simultaneously managing to hold onto the NWA World Women's Championship for a combined 11,091 days. That is absolutely staggering.

So when she was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 1995 many people felt that she had nothing left to prove - but they were oh so wrong. Moolah went on to win the Women's Title in the WWE once again, this time at the grand old age of 76. It was Ivory who she defeated in 1999 for the strap. However, she did drop the title back to her just over a week later.

We move over to the men now with a performer who never knows when to quit.

#4 Sgt. Slaughter

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Good old Slaughter

Whether you know him best as the old guy, who comes back for every reunion or as an Iraqi sympathiser, Sgt. Slaughter is a legend of the industry. He's been around for decades now, even holding the WWE Championship at one stage heading into a WrestleMania bout with the immortal Hulk Hogan. Following years of dedication, he was finally recognised for his efforts with an induction into the Hall of Fame back in 2004.

Which made it all the more surprising that he came back and continued to perform in the ring - on several different occasions. Notable bouts of his post-induction include a clash against Randy Orton in 2007 when Randy was right in the middle of his notorious Legend Killer gimmick. More recently he challenged Cesaro to a match for the United States Championship in 2012, which he unsurprisingly lost.

Speaking of The Hulkster.

#3 Hulk Hogan

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Hogan just couldn’t put Orton over

Did you really think Hulk was just going to ride off into the sunset quietly? If the answer is yes, then we feel incredibly sorry for you. The Hulkster is one of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling, and nobody can really disagree with that. Without Hulkamania, there may well not be a WWE today, and Vince McMahon is acutely aware of that.

Also read: 10 current WWE stars who will 100% make the Hall of Fame

So naturally, the right thing to do was to induct Hogan into the Hall of Fame - which finally happened in 2005. As a result of having him back in the company, the WWE felt that it would be good for Hogan to get a couple more matches under his belt, as he went on to face Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton in consecutive SummerSlams. He won both bouts, obviously.

Time for the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.

#2 Bret Hart

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Bret vs Vince was interesting to say the least

Bret "The Hitman" Hart, was always a proud man, and following the events of the Montreal Screwjob, he decided that he would never step foot inside of a WWE ring ever again. Fortunately for fans, however, a deal was struck to allow for Hart to be inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2006 - despite still not being on great terms with the company as a whole.

Four years later, the issue was finally put to rest as Bret agreed to face Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 26 in Phoenix. It wasn't the best of matches as you can imagine, but it did lead to another run in WWE for Bret as he went on to win the US Championship and even appear in the main event of SummerSlam as part of the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus clash.

We conclude with the father of the Viper.

#1 Bob Orton

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Bob Orton beat the Deadman – let that sink in

Cowboy Bob Orton has always been a pretty big part of the WWE family, with the main shred of proof coming from the fact that he was a part of the main event at WrestleMania 1. He's also the father of current WWE superstar Randy Orton, who has gone on to surpass his father in terms of his accomplishments inside of the ring.

Nevertheless, Bob was still a solid performer, and because of that, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2005. In addition to this, Orton went on to involve himself in Randy's feud with The Undertaker - which eventually led to the father & son duo teaming up to face the Deadman in a 2-on-1 handicap casket match at No Mercy 2005. Isn't wrestling fun?


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