TPWW 1st Annual HOF Voting (Top Level Wrestler)
 

The People's Wrestling Website Presents: 1st Annual Wrestling Hall of Fame Voting

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/9824/00zbannerrf9.jpg
(Banner Thanks to James Steele)

Top Level Wrestler Nominees


Welcome to the first nomination thread for the 1st Annual TPWW Wrestling Hall Of Fame Voting.


The nominations you see here were selected by 11 members of the TPWW Wrestling Forum Committee; Myself, BDC, KOOS, Xero, mrslackalack, NeanderCarl, Loopydate, WWKD, KayfabeMan, Rob and James Steele.


We each selected 4 nominees for each respected category.


The Categories were as follows: Top Level Wrestler, Mid Level Wrestler, Tag Team, Manager and Misc (i.e someone who has contributed a lot to the business that may not fall in the other categories)


Now we pass the torch to the TPWW Community to help elect our first Hall of Famer from this Category. There will be four other categories to follow, in which four more electees will be chosen, completing are Class of 2007


Please cast ONE Vote for this category. At voting close, the top 3 guys will move on to the Final voting for the Veterans Committee. From there, the committee will have a final vote to elect our 1st TPWW Hall of Famer from this category.

So, Let the Voting Begin..

Voting Opened. Have Fun

1st vote! wooo. I really would have gone for Austin, but as a kid I grew up watching The Hart Foundation, so I went for Bret.

should I put the other 4 Categories up as well or do one every four days (when the poll closes for the previous)?

I'd say put two more up and then the other two after this one closes.

Oh and I also think that no one should post telling us who they voted for.

Committe Votes were as follows:

James Steele

Andre The Giant
Steve Austin
Harley Race
Ricky Steamboat

Xero

Kurt Angle
Roddy Piper
Ric Flair
Bret Hart

LoopyDate

Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan
Lou Thesz
Shawn Michaels

Koos

1. Steve Austin
2. The Rock
3. Hulk Hogan
4. Ric Flair

BDC

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Ric Flair
3. Ultimate Warrior
4. Kevin Nash


Rob

- Bruno Sammartino
- Superstar Billy Graham
- The Rock
- Steve Austin

NeanderCarl

Hulk Hogan
Steve Austin
Bret Hart
Roddy Piper

KayFabe Man

Bret Hart
Steve Austin
DDP
Harley Race

WWKD

1.Shawn Micheals
2.Shoei Baba
3. Hulk Hogan
4. Steve Austin

Mrslackalack

Bret Hart
Ric Flair
Stone Cold Steve Austin
The Rock

Loose Cannon

Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan
Andre
Gorgeous George

well I have this one as you can see other people's votes. I guess I'll make it hidden for the next one.

Do you want me to post the Committee votes to show everyone that the list is legit?

I was going to say who I voted for, but I'm scared of KoOS's reaction.

Sure


Also, Vote Flair.

VOTE ANDY THE GIANT PLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Probably should have been able to pick like 3 people.

Nah cause then I would have just picked everybody because I am a clown

Well, picking everybody would cancel all of your votes out, so the joke would be on you, clown.

Rocky

Well then I would vote everybody but Lou Thesz just to spite loopydate CLOWN

We've already established that YOU are the clown.

whoa whoa whoa


Mrs. Lackalack and NeanderCarl are on the committe but Anybody Thrilla and Nervous Ferret are not? That is LAME O Loosey Goosey

I kinda thought about that too, but then again, the lists are pretty complete. I can't think of anybody I would have put on that's not on them.

Do you know how long Anybody Thrilla has been watching wrestling? Did you know Anybody Thrilla actually watches WWE Heat? Nobody watches WWE Heat

It's been something like 20 years, guys.

I was going to do some quick write ups for the foreign talent I picked, since most peeps don't know them... Don't have time right this second, but here's a link to a wiki article for Shohei Baba.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shohei_Baba

In all fairness, WWKD?, if this is indeed the TPWW Hall of Fame, it should be based on who and what the posters of TPWW actually know. As great as some of the foreign talents may be:

A) People may already know and love them

B) Nobody's going to be persuaded by a write-up of somebody they've never heard of or seen. ''Well, I was gonna vote HBK, but that Shoeshine Bobby dude looks like teh roxerz!". I just don't see it happening.

Not trying to be a dickhole or anything. Just saying you may not want to waste your time with it. :y:

if your an old school wrestling fan, you should know who Giant Baba is. Probably the biggest star Japan's ever had. And no, it should be based on wrestling history. All wrestling history. I want to make this legit.

No, it should be based on the posters of The People's Wrestling Website, or else it shouldn't be called the TPWW Hall of Fame.

I'm calling it that because it's the sites name. Do you want me to call it "Wrestling Hall of Fame" Would that make you feel better?

THEY ALREADY HAVE ONE OF THOSE

If ALL of the votes are coming from people on this site, ALL of the nominees are coming from people of this site, AND it's called the TPWW Hall of Fame...it doesn't matter what you call it, because it's going to turn out the way I described. Really, that's not a big deal. I think the people here will turn out some pretty worthy inductees, but let's not kid ourselves here. One of them will not be Giant Baba on a ballot with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, etc.

Even you voted for the flippin' Hulkster, LC.

all I'm saying is every single one of those guys belongs on any wrestling Hall of Fame ballot.

Any except for TPWW's. We'll see how the votes turn out.

I agree with AT to an extent. The people should vote for who they know/like, and I honestly don't expect for people to randomly research and vote for someone they don't know.

HOWEVER, at the same time, I think it's important to include people who have actually INFLUENCED wrestling, and were not just "good wrestlers." DDP, Ultimate Warrior, and to an extent even Bret Hart, honestly did little to "influence" wrestling. I was going to put Rikidozan, but I figured even less people knew who he is ;)

So chances are, while someone like Baba probably won't be recognized (and a lot of people here don't know him, so that's all good), he probably should be, to some extent.

I voted for Roddy Piper

Hey! And why should I not be??

Just for the record, I thought we were using the "retirement rule".

Rikidozan is a bigger star. Antonio Inoki probably is too. Still, he is a legend. Just saying that's all.


Sorry but Kevin Nash doesn't. Warrior is debatable.


I think there should be certain guys who get in without nominations. Guys who wouldn't get votes due to older eras and what not. Rikidozan, El Santo, etc

Geez how did Randy Savage not make this list?

yea, Nash is iffy. forgot he was on the list when I said that.

Other people like Chyna I couldn't believe got nominated.

And I was thinking that as well to induct "special" guys due to older eras. I'll PM you about this.

I thought that because nobody ever REALLY retires until they're dead, a 15-year provision was put in.

And Mil Mascaras.

Because the majority of Randy Savage's career was spent in the midcard?

Same could be said for DDP, Nash, Steamboat, and even Piper.

Agreed, with all but Piper.

Late 80s, early 90s he was part time. Therefore was midcard.

Most of his career, he was "top level".

Piper had just as much of a main event run in his career as Savage had.

Savage was a main event from late 80's-early 90's.

And then when he when he first went to WCW he was a main eventer and then was a main eventer again in early 99.

that will throw people off as guys on "the line" will be tough to judge. meh, Savage will get in eventually.

Andy the Giant

Nah Savage had a one year run as a top line guy (88-89), then a six month run (1992) and a flirtation in 1995-1996 but despite being champ, we all knew Hogan was on top. I like Savage a lot, I really do, and I personally think he was underutilised by WWE throughout the 90s, but looking at the bigger picture, it's hard to consider him "top level".

I really think rather than this whole "top level"/"mid level" confusion, we should have gone with "World Champions" and "Non World Champions".

Some1 put Steamboat as a top level guy HOF but I put him in my Mid Level HOF vote. Steamboat was an incredible wrestler but he never ME besides that series with Flair in 89.

I did the same with Terry Funk and Randy Savage

As I said to Loose Cannon when I cast me vote...

yea, we're gonna have to clear this up for next time

Well I think top level can be considered someone who was constantly a top name in the sport. While someone like Piper never got a run with a World Title, he was still a costant draw wherever he went. And then you have guys like Jerry Lawler who while never got a big push in WWE, he was a HUGE draw in the South and this went on for decades.

Now on the flipside, take a guy like Curt Hennig. A very talented wrestler, never got a run on the top minus a short reign in the AWA. He is a guy that probably deserves to be inducted, but as a mid-level guy.

I do think people CAN be inducted twice, ONLY if they are for two different categories (ie: HBK can be inducted as a top level and with the Rockers, but he can NOT be inducted as a top AND midlevel guy).

I went with one of the toughest sons of bitches in the business: Harley Race.

also, want to give respect to Spilchuck for voting for George. To me, his influence to the business is huge. He was one of the first, if no the first, to come out to entrance music and really was the first guy to really pave the way for wrestling gimmicks. And remember, Television was just starting to boom around his era and his style really kept wrestling a main stay in the TV industry as it was more theatrical and not just guys wreslting. And you wanna talk heel heat...god dam.


His flamboyant and prissy character was a big influence to guys like Goldust, Rico, Adrian Street, Adrian Adonis and to an extent Flair, Buddy Rodgers.

And a little trivia you may not know, his theme music was "Pomp and Circustance," later used another legend, Macho Man Randy Savage.

So a little respect for the "Human Orchid"

http://www.pwhf.org/halloffamers/bio...ics/george.jpg

This thread makes my penis hurt.

Neither one of them should be below top tier.

If you won a major world title then you are a top level guy.

Even Ron Garvin?

Good to know that you think David Arquette is a top tier wrestler.

oh boy, I didn't see that comment being made a mile away. Not on TPWW.

Your just mad that I got it in before you did.

Also, nice quick edit you had there LC. Way to throw in the sarcasm.

no, I was actually waiting for some idiot to post that right after I read Rob's response. Still waiting for someone to make a McMahon comment too.

TPWW humor at it's finest

I was going to throw the McMahon one in as well, but Arquette takes the cake. And of course it was obvious someone was going to say it, so I just took the oppurtunity to be Capt. Obvious for once.

Edit- Besides, Rob should have thought his statement through a bit more, if you ask me. There are quite a few shitty people who have held a major belt at some point in time. He generalized a bit too much there and was pretty much asking for it.

What about Russo?

lol @ no votes for Giant Baba, although sadly not surprising.

Flair is the shoo-in here, in my opinion.

I don't think too many people here know the history of Japanese wrestling. I don't actually watch that much of it, but I have read quite a bit about the history of Japanese wrestling.

Can't BELEIVE nobody is voting for Andy the Giant? How many 7 foot 500 pound wrestlers were as nimble as he was?

He wasn't very nimble

It's not surprising at all. Like Steele said, most people on here don't know Japanese wrestling. Furthermore, even if you do, there are better choices this round. I think he's extremely influential, but I didn't vote for him either. Hell, I mainly ignored influence and went for personal bias on my own vote and went with HBK.

Even if you went on influence, you would have to pick Lou Thesz or Gorgeous George over Baba.

Oh, there are more influential people. Thesz definiately. Not sure about George though. He's influential, but more on the gimmick end. Baba is influential in the style of wrestling (King's Road), much like much credit is given to Inoki (strong style.)

George is more influential in America though, since the only company wrestling remotely close to King's Road style is ROH. Many indy feds bastardize King's Road horribly though, to the extent of "American" Strong Style ( a name I hate btw, because it has nothing to do with strong style.)

But I digress.

If we were going off influence though, Thesz would definately win. If I would have nominated him, it would have been between Thesz and Rikodozan in terms of influence.

Anywho.

I voted based on impact on wrestling and outside of it for the first one. I looked at his popularity with the fans and with his peers, how much he drew, and the impact he has had outside of wrestling.

It came down to Hogan and Rock, I ended up picking Rocky due to the fact that almost no one has had a bad thing to say about him. He drew BIG and continues to be a sought after actor in Hollywood.

I just sent almost all of you an e-mail discussing the final voting and what not. Please look at your e-mail address that you have on file here.

I did not have e-mail addresses for The One, Kayfabe and mrslackalack.

Had to go with Flair. WOOO!!

I still stand by it. If you wanna make David Arquette a HOF talent then go ahead. Winning a world title doesn't automatically make you better than anyone. Most of the better world champions out there like Guerrero and Benoit for example didn't come close to drawing what Roddy Piper did and he never had a world title.

you can't have the right email for me either then

yea, you it via PM. It bounced back to me

For those that are curious, Steve Austin appeared on the most nominating ballots with seven. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan each had six. Bret Hart got four, while The Rock got 3.

oh wow, Hart and Flair right now. awesome.

I voted for Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was always the name I heard when people talked about wrestling. No doubt Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Giant Baba, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Roddy Piper will follow, but Stone Cold Steve Austin is a great center, in my opinion.

And Rob is right, winning a World Title makes you a top tier guy. Sure, you have Vince McMahon, Vince Russo and David Arquette, but those guys aren't really wrestlers. Their reigns were just stunts. A wrestler who wins a World Title instantly has their stock go way up. Even someone like Justin Credible or The Great Khali.

Also, as ridiculous as his reign might have seemed to some, I do not know how David Arquette has not been inducted into the celebrity wing yet. He was an actor who won a World Championship. That is slightly more deserving than Pete Rose right there.

Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper helped build Mania. Mike Tyson coming to WWF helped them take over WCW and Kevin Greene was a scary good wrestler for his lack of experience. LT wasn't bad either.

p.s. Randy Savage main evented (world title match) at 3 Wrestlemanias. His match with Steamboat is considered by fans and insiders as one of the greatest ever. The guys probably the second most recognizable and well known wrestler of his generation. His popularity and legacy has gone obscure because of snobbish smarks and Vince's mafioso-like control over such things. Nonetheless, the guy is a legend.
He doesn't deserve to win this poll, but he deserves to be one of the choices by far.

hey all, back from vacation. I'm not sure if the committee did the final voting without me, but if not, I'll PM everyone tomorrow and then work on the first induction. I've got a lot of ideas from people that I need to read through and see what will work best for everyone.

thanks to everyone who voted in this. I was actually surprised at the amount of voters.