WCW's Forgotten Hall Of Fame Ceremonies, Explained
Sophia Bowman 
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Modern wrestling fans will be aware of WWE’s Hall Of Fame ceremony which happens every year alongside WrestleMania. WWE created their Hall of Fame in 1993, upon the death of Andre The Giant, they wanted to honor the wrestling legend and used the Hall of Fame to do so. Therefore, on WWF TV, Andre The Giant was announced as the first-ever inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame along with a nice video package. There was no real ceremony or event back then like they do today.
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The First WCW Hall Of Fame Ceremony
In fact, the first actual Hall of Fame ceremony came from WCW. A few months after WWE created their Hall of Fame with Andre, WCW decided to make one too, and they made their Hall Of Fame much more of an event compared to WWE’s simple video package.
The idea of a WCW Hall of Fame came from Ole Anderson and was the first wrestling Hall of Fame to be televised, and the event aired alongside WCW PPV Slamboree 93. The ethos of the WCW Hall Of Fame was to celebrate talent from the National Wrestling Alliance, as well as all other promotions, who had officially retired from the sport. All the inductees were chosen by a committee headed up by legendary wrestling announcer Gordon Solie, who would also act as the emcee for the ceremony.
While WWE didn’t, and still doesn’t, have an actual building for the Hall Of Fame, WCW planned to have theirs inside the CNN Centre based in Atlanta, Georgia. All Hall Of Fame Inductees would receive a commemorative plaque with their faces on it, a $150 appearance fee, plus travel expenses. There was also a dinner and meet and greet the night before the ceremony called ‘Slam Fest.’
The first Hall Of Fame Class in 1993 was headlined by Lou Thez, a deserving headliner who had dominated wrestling from the mid-20th century. Other inductees in the first year were Verne Gagne, Mr. Wrestling II, and a posthumous induction for Eddie Graham, who like Andre, had passed away too soon.
WCW would also hold Hall Of Fame ceremonies for the next two years alongside Slamboree 94 & 95 and overall there are 17 names in the WCW Hall Of Fame, including:
1993
Lou Thesz
Verne Gagne
Mr. Wrestling II
Eddie Graham
1994
Harley Race
Ernie Ladd
The Crusher
Dick the Bruiser
Ole Anderson
Masked Assassin
1995
Dusty Rhodes
Wahoo McDaniel
Antonio Inoki
Angelo Poffo
Terry Funk
Big John Studd
Gordon Solie
The events were a success, so much so that WWE started doing actual ceremonies for their Hall Of Fame, introducing a Hall of Fame ceremony alongside King of The Ring 1994, which interestingly was in the same month as WCW’s Hall Of Fame. That is not the only time to two Hall Of Fames would overlap however, Ernie Ladd was the first black wrestler to be inducted into WCW’s Hall Of Fame in 1994 and just one month later, Ladd would induct Bobo Brazil into the WWE Hall Of Fame. A year later, Bobo Brazil would return the favor and induct Ernie Ladd into the WWE Hall Of Fame, making Ernie Ladd the only person to be inducted into both WCW and WWE Hall Of Fames while they were both active.
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WCW’s Hall Of Fame Ends In Scandal
WCW’s Hall Of Fame was discontinued in 1996 for a surprising reason. In what would be the final ceremony in 1995, Gordon Solie, the head of the Hall Of Fame committee, was strongly against the induction of Angelo Poffo. Solie felt that recent WCW signing Macho Man Randy Savage was leveraging his political power to induct his own father into the Hall Of Fame. Some speculate that Solie was also against it because Angelo Poffo and his family founded International Championship Wrestling, one of the National Wrestling Alliance’s direct rivals.
However, WCW went over Solie’s head and inducted Angelo Poffo anyway. To appease Gordon Solie, they decided to induct Gordon Solie himself into the Hall Of Fame, and he would become the only non-wrestler to receive the honor. Solie accepted the induction but was still furious that WCW went over his head and would quit WCW soon after.
Now that Solie was gone, WCW had nobody to lead the Hall Of Fame selection committee and Eric Bischoff decided to cancel the entire thing, claiming they were running out of legitimate inductees anyway.
