By Mr. Mal Occhio
WRESTLER’S RAMBLINGS
wrestling blog

April 1, 2007 will once again see the Motor City play host to the granddaddy of all professional wrestling events – WrestleMania XXIII at Ford Field – but while it is still too early to even speculate on possible matches, it isn’t too soon to ponder who will enter the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the festivities. Listed below are some of Mr. Mal Occhio’s candidates, some with an obvious Detroit connection (but not all) with a few comments to get the conversation underway.

RANDY “MACHO MAN� SAVAGE – this one seems the most-natural, really. Not only is the man one of the most-legendary performers of all-time, WrestleMania XXIII will mark the 20th anniversary of Savage’s historic WrestleMania III Intercontinental title match with Ricky Steamboat at the nearby Pontiac Silverdome. Working against the pick, however, is the fact that Savage has completely disappeared from the pro wrestling radar, occasionally popping up to challenge Hulk Hogan in some sort of worked-shoot angle, only to disappear again for seemingly years on end. Rumors also abound that Savage is not on good terms with Vincent Kennedy McMahon (perhaps owing to the allegation of an encounter with a very young Stephanie McMahon snappin’ into the Macho Man’s Slim Jim) and really, if Vinnie Mac’s against you, might as well scratch him off the list. Too bad – ‘cause Savage is a true Hall of Famer by any definition. Dig it!

RICKY “THE DRAGON� STEAMBOAT – the other side of the classic match-up, Steamboat now working as a road agent for World Wrestling Entertainment bodes well for his selection, and he’s earned it, frankly. Never a favorite of Mr. Mal while growing up (but one whose matches have aged like fine wine in repeated viewings) Steamboat was the classic babyface that never turned heel – ever. You can look it up. He was also the perfect compliment to many hot-blooded feuds (like Ric Flair in the National Wrestling Alliance and later in World Championship Wrestling). An interesting note is that Steamboat (long retired) allegedly lobbied for a match-up with Flair at last year’s Mania in a “Legends� setting. Could this year’s Mania see a rematch of Savage-Steamboat? Talk about cool. At this stage though? Until I hear about Savage even being on speaking terms with the powers-that-be in the WWE, dare to dream . . .

THE ORIGINAL SHEIK – an icon almost bigger than the sport (and certainly more mythical in that he lived kayfabe until the day he died) the late Ed Farhat deserves a posthumous induction. He was born in the area, promoted in Detroit for many years, and his stamp on the industry is still being felt today. Farhat was hardcore before hardcore was cool (him throwing fire never got old – even when he did). He is even bigger in Japan (even working his last match there – at age 74 in 1998!) – but Mania ain’t in the Orient this year, it’s in Detroit. No place like his hometown to better induct him into the Hall of Fame, really. My pick for the inductee? His nephew Sabu. He’s on the WWE payroll, would be a logical choice, and would no doubt view it as a supreme honor for his legendary uncle (forgetting the fact that he would have to share Hall-time with the likes of S.D. Jones – but that’s another story).

There are plenty of other good candidates yet to go in the Hall gang – what are some of your picks? Use the comments link at the bottom of this post and tell your pal, Mr. Mal! And make sure to tell your friends about WRESTLER’S RAMBLINGS! 

photo copyright WRESTLER’S RAMBLINGS and MR. MAL OCCHIO
-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!!-

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 27th, 2006 at 12:36 am and is filed under Musings from Mal Occhio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.