WWE Hall of Fame

The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for wrestlers thought by WWE to be very important. It started in 1993 when André the Giant died. He was the first to go in. Other people have been added in 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Some choices for the Hall of Fame have not been popular like famous people who did not wrestle. Sometimes WWE will show Hall of Fame announcements and ceremonies on TV.

The WWE Hall of Famers
The early Hall of Famers are the ones who helped build WWE and are considered pioneers. These include Arnold Skaaland, Buddy Rogers, Chief Jay Strongbow, Freddie Blassie, Gorilla Monsoon, Antonino Rocca, Ernie Ladd, The Fabulous Moolah, George "The Animal" Steele, The Grand Wizard, Ivan Putski and Pedro Morales. James Dudley was inducted for being a dear friend of the McMahon family and for being loyal to the company for a long time. Vince McMahon, Sr. was inducted because he first started WWE and might be the most important member. It is his family that still owns and runs the company to this day. Bobo Brazil was the first great black wrestling star. Killer Kowalski was a great villain wrestler.

Later inductees
Later inductees included the top stars of the 1980s which was the greatest time in wrestling history. Those wrestlers are Jimmy Snuka, Pat Patterson, Lou Albano, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Hulk Hogan, The Iron Sheik, classic manager Jimmy Hart, Nikolai Volkoff, Paul Orndorff and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. A wrestler who usually lost his matches, Johnny Rodz was also inducted. The famous baseball legend Pete Rose was inducted to the surprise of many wrestling fans.

Wrestlers from the 1970s who were inducted are The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny), "Superstar" Billy Graham and Peter Maivia. "Baron" Mikel Scicluna was inducted despite rarely winning.

More inductees
Other inductees included more great names from the 80s such as Big John Studd, Bobby Heenan, Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Jesse Ventura, Junkyard Dog, Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana and Jim Duggan.

Harley Race, one of the great wrestlers of all time, was inducted during a time when WWE began to think about wrestlers who had more success in places other than WWE. These stars include Dory Funk, Jr., Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Nick Bockwinkel, The Sheik, commentator Gordon Solie, Verne Gagne, who started the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and won the AWA championship belt 10 times and promoter Eddie Graham.

More recent inductees include some of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Eddie Guerrero, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, Ted DiBiase and former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champions Ric Flair and Jack Brisco.

Other inductees include The Blackjacks (Mulligan and Lanza), Gene Okerlund, "Sensational" Sherri, Tony Atlas, Koko B. Ware, Mr. Fuji and The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika). Football star William "The Refrigerator" Perry was inducted for being in a battle royale match at WrestleMania II. 

The rest of the WWE Hall of Fame are as follows:
 Jim Ross, famed commentator 	
 Ron Simmons
 Yokozuna
 Mae Young 
 Rocky Johnson
 Bill Watts, promoter
 Howard Finkel, ring announcer
 Ricky Steamboat
 Stone Cold Steve Austin
 The Von Erich Family (Chris, David, Fritz, Kerry, Kevin and Mike)
 Antonio Inoki
 Gorgeous George 
 Mad Dog Vachon 
 Stu Hart, promoter
 Gerald Brisco 
 Wendi Richter
 Abdullah the Butcher 
 Bob Armstrong 
 "Precious" Paul Ellering · The Road Warriors/Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) 
 Sunny, manager
 Edge 
 Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, James J. Dillon, Ric Flair (his second time) and Tully Blanchard were inducted together as The Four Horsemen
 Mil Máscaras 
Other celebrity inductees:
 Mike Tyson, boxer 
 Bob Uecker, appeared at WrestleManias III and IV.
 Drew Carey, appeared in the 2001 Royal Rumble and did very little. Carey was loudly booed when he was inducted.

Further reading
 WWE Encyclopedia 
 WWE.com
 Not In Hall of Fame.com

1993 establishments
Sports halls of fame
WrestleMania