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WELCOME TO THE RA WRESTLING HALL OF FAME!!!
RA'S FAVORITE WRESTLERS
RA'S HALL OF FAME
It's as simple as this: If you don't know Wahoo McDaniel, you don't know wrestling. Spend some time on the internet and get to know one of the toughest men on the planet who also inspired, influenced, and shared the stage with the greatest wrestler of all time, Ric Flair. Wahoo was one of my early favorites from the 70's.
If you watched wrestling in the 80's you are bound to remember Nikita Koloff. He had an amazing feud with Dusty Rhodes. Nikita was one of the top guys when I was at my viewing peak. I would watch Mid-Atlantic Wrestling on Sat.am, TBS at 6:05pm, and more NWA at 11:30pm!
I am just amazed that Abdullah the Butcher and Kamala seem to keep on going! They have been around forever and are still at it in 2009! I watched mostly Mid-Atlantic/ Georgia/ WCW wrestling but would tune into the AWA or WWF just for these guys! Update: sadly in 2011 Kamala lost a leg to diabetes.
Again to the 80's: Magnum T.A. was to become the next great legend. Unfortunately a wreck cut his in ring career short. He is still involved behind the scenes with the WWE.
Hate to put a person on the spot but a lot of people claim to be a big fan of Eddie Guerrero and/or Jimmy "Boogie Woogie" Valiant. If you are, you better know this guy!
I have a lot of respect for strong ring technicians. Brad (on left) and his father Bobby Armstrong were among the best. They were not as flashy as a Warrior or Hogan but were darn good at what they did. Update: Bullet Bob was inducted into the WWE Hall of fame in 2011!
Hector Guerrero is Eddie's brother and was a former tag team partner of Boogie's in the 80's! He is also known for being the Gobbledy Gooker from WWE!
He has also been working as an
announcer for TNA.
I'd just about have to kick you off this site if you don't know who these legends are..but for you young'uns I'll give you a break. Mr. Wrestling 1 (Tim Woods on left) and Mr. Wrestling 2 (Johnny Walker) were the cream of the crop in the South, just ask former President Jimmy Carter!
Jake the Snake is known the world over as much for his in ring performance as for his out of ring problems with his family and drugs. For highlight video do a search for him on youtube.com. For some insight into his lows rent the documentary "Beyond the Mat".
Jimmy Garvin was the man, and Precious was the woman! Jimmy was associated with the great Fabulous Freebirds and cousin to Mr. Hands of Stone, Ronnie Garvin.
The Hardy Boys are simply amazing and sure to end up in the many Hall of Fames. They put their bodies on the line and changed tag team wrestling.
January 2007 the list began with three names: Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, and Hulk Hogan. I could go on for days about Ric, but let me keep it simple, he is THE MAN! Check out how many awards he has from The Wrestling Observer and Pro Wrestling Illustrated. I hated him most of his career and love him for it!
By the time most of today's fans got to see Andre he was in so much pain he could barely move but he kept on giving to us. Check him out on you tube from the 70's with his huge hair and huge talent! One of the few performers who could go anywhere in the world and his name alone would fill an arena.
O.k, I'll admit it, in the 80's I was a Hulkamaniac and I couldn't stand it when WWF was so hard for me to find on t.v. (except for the cartoons, I could see those!). Over the years I
have drifted away from Hulk and even cringe when I hear his name. But it would be wrong for anyone to deny he was the biggest name in wrestling..and may still be. While Ric is known by his peers and wrestling fans as the best worker, Hulk is just plain known...by eveyone...in the world! THUNDERLIPS..HO!!!!! (anyone get that?)
CLICK MY LINK BELOW AND SEND ME YOUR FAVORITE WRESTLERS AND VOTES FOR THE NEXT HALL OF FAME CLASS!!!
I'll post results before Wrestlemania
Dusty has been at this for years. He was already a seasoned veteran when Ric was a rookie in 1972. He has excelled as a wrestler and backstage as a booker. He is famous (and maybe hated) for the "Dusty Finish". I learned to hate Ric from his feuds with the "American Dream".
Yes, Jim Ross is great, but for my money Tony Schiavone was the greatest. I am biased. Growing up I always heard Tony's voice on TBS. When I hear him I automatically think WCW and great memories. Speaking of memories, click here for the old TBS intro:
I am considering starting a wrestling blog. I would write live from select WWE shows (pay perviews, special tv shows). Also do some writing on past stars and shows.
Click the email link on the left side and let me know if you would be interest. If enough people would like it, I'll get started before WrestleMania.
On the left are my favorites. The RA Hall of Fame members are on the right.
Please also use the following link to check out my business web site and help keep me in business.
If you are from the North you know this man as "Handsome"; if you are from the South it's "Boogie". You call him what you want but he is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the world. Jimmy Valiant has wrestled in 5 decades, continues to referee matches with other legends, and runs a wrestling school in Shawsville, VA where he is beloved by the community for giving much of his time to local charities.
The Undertaker blasted onto the scene in 1990 (but has been around since 1984) and has been on top ever since; creating arguably the best "gimmick" of any wrestler in history. His undefeated streak at Wrestemania stands at 19-0.
Love him or hate him you can't deny that Vince changed the game forever. Vince bought the WWWF from his father, basically eliminated the territorial system, brought about the Rock and Wresting Connection, the Attitude Era, and won the Monday Night Wars. Plus he had some great moments in the ring!
The Road Warriors, also known as The Legion of Doom, are considered by most the number one tag team of all time. Hawk, Animal, and Paul Ellering. My favorite matches had them on top of a 20 foot scaffold battling the Midnight Express. Late in their career they added Droz as a member. Sadly Hawk died early and Droz was paralyzed in the ring.
Jim Crockett Jr. shaped my vision of what wrestling is, and what is should be. Jim took over his father's company in 1973. He ran territories throughout the south east and central US. He bought a time slot from Vince McMahon that became my favorite wrestling show on TBS.
The greatest skill Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson possessed was his interview. I find interviews today are mostly boring, stale, dare I say dead. Check out the Rock on YouTube to see how an interview should be done.
Do you think its too early to induct the Rock?....IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK JABRONI!!! The Rock says this: The people's champion is here!
THE FOUR HORSEMAN!!!
There have been teams, gangs, stables, and such in wrestling but there was something that put the Horsemen over the top. It could have something to do with its founding members being some of the greatest performers of all time. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Ole and Arn Anderson, with J.J. Dillion created a force that would spawn not only later incarnations of their group, but laid the foundation for the NWO, Evolution, and many more. At one time each member of the Horsemen held the top belts, Ric the Heavy Weight Champ, Arn and Ole the Tag Champs, and Tully the TV Champ. A couple of lesser known facts: Jim Crockett Jr. bought Georgia Championship Wrestling from Ole, J.J. Dillion was a wrestler earlier in his career, and Tully is now an evangelical minister.
Too Sweet! The NWO. I find alot of younger wrestling fans got their start watching Kevin Nash and Scott Hall taking over the WCW in the mid 90's. They became not only wrestling greats but marketing gold. T Shirts, key chains, they had as much items on store shelves as boy bands of the day! Everyone wanted to be NWO. Soon there were spin off groups: NWO Wolf Pack, Red and Black, and Latino.
I got my start watching Shawn Micheals when he was part of the AWA sensation, The Rockers. I thought they were a good knock off of the Rock N Roll Express. Shawn later went on to solo fame, kicking his former partner through a window, and became "The Heart Break Kid", "Mr. Wrestlemania", "HBK", or simply one of the best in the business. I find his style blends the best of old school wrestling (moves, storyline) with the new school flash and dazzle.
There is a picture somewhere in my Mom's house of me and my brother dressed up as Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, the Rock N Roll Express. Along with the Midnight Express these guys laid down the foundation for quick paced, high flying tag team wrestling. Ricky had a great angle challenging Ric Flair. They are still at it today on the legends and independent circuits.
I always cheered for the Rock N Roll Express but the truth is the Midnight Express may have been the better performers. They had a couple different line ups but my favorite was Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane. Jim Cornette by the way is fantastic in an interview!
Here are two guys who are sure to make the not only this Hall of Fame but many others. Sting and Triple H. Sting got his start with The Ultimate Warrior (who I first saw as the Dingo Warrior in the AWA). Sting got a huge push from Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions.
HHH is great! Not only is he fun to watch in the ring, funny as hell with Degeneration X, but he has a real love of the profession.
The Junk Yard Dog for me was bigger than life. He seemed to be both a down in the trenches wrestler like Ole Anderson but also a big action star beside of Rowdy Piper and Hulk Hogan. JYD's life came to a tragic and too early end when he fell asleep at the wheel.
John Cena's wrestling skills have come along way. His mic skills have always been hot. He has worked hard to become a crowd favorite and I salute him.
If I haven't made this clear yet I feel in the mid 80's we had 2 kinds of wrestling stars: the flashy big TV stars in the WWF and the on the mat heroes of the NWA. Some like JYD and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat seemed like they belonged in both worlds. That made them the perfect wrestlers in my eyes.
I have a very special place in my heart for those mid card wrestlers and jobbers who did a great job at making the big guys look great. A few of my favorites are The Italian Stallion, The Mulkeys, and Rocky King. Rocky by the way was homeless when he was hired by WCW!
The Fabulous Freebirds are among tag team royalty and are responsible for the "Freebird Rule" where any of the three or more members of a wrestling team can compete in a tag match. PS Michael Hays still works behind the scenes for the WWE. Did you know they appeared in the movie "Highlander"?
I hated Hot Rod Rowdy Rody Piper almost as much as I did Ric Flair in the 80's. Flair and Piper came up together in the 70's and are still good friends. They have a good shoot interview from High Spots.
Here are two wrestlers who were greats on their own but also we good members of the Four Horsemen! Barry Windham is a second generation star, son of WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan. He was one of my favorite "cowboy types" along with Dustin Rhodes (now Gold Dust).
Over the years I loved or hated Lex. It was always exciting when he had someone on "the rack". My favorite match of his was in WCW when he threw JJ Dillion out of the ring, turning on the Horsemen, and winning the Bunkerhouse Stampede.
Oh my, are you old enough to remember having a crush on Baby Doll? I was lucky enough to be pushed into her chest at a match in Roanoke! She, along with Precious, where two of my favorite valets.
