The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) Monday Night Raw television program. On this episode, WWF announced the sole induction of alumnus André the Giant, who had died five days prior. His death was the reason for the creation of the Hall of Fame.
The 1994 and 1995 ceremonies were held in conjunction with the annual King of the Ring pay-per-view events. In 1996, the ceremony was held in conjunction with the 1996 Survivor Series event, after which, the Hall of Fame went on hiatus. In 2004, WWE relaunched the Hall of Fame to coincide with twentieth WrestleMania. This ceremony, like its predecessors, was not broadcast on television; however, it was released on DVD on June 1, 2004. Beginning with the 2005 ceremony, WWE broadcast the final few inductions into the Hall of Fame on Spike TV (2005) and on the USA Network (2006–present); these were aired on tape delay. The first inductions were broadcast on WWE's official website. The 2008 edition of the Hall of Fame was broadcast live on the USA Network. Since 2005, the Hall of Fame ceremony has been packaged as part of that year's WrestleMania DVD release. Although a building has never been built to represent the Hall of Fame, WWE has looked into constructing a facility for the Hall of Fame. In 2008, Shane McMahon, then-Executive Vice President of Global Media of WWE, stated that WWE had been storing wrestling memorabilia in a warehouse for years, with all items categorized and dated in case a facility is created.
Some wrestlers, such as Bruno Sammartino, the longest-reigning WWE Champion in the title's history, have refused to be inducted, despite having been asked several times. However, Sammartino has since stated he would consider going into the Hall of Fame but would need to see more change from WWE.
As of 2012, there have been a total of 107 inductees: 84 members inducted individually, six tag teams, one stable and one wrestling family. Ric Flair is the only Hall Of Famer to be inducted twice, first as a singles wrestler in 2008, then as a part of The Four Horsemen in 2012. Sixteen of the individual inductees have been inducted posthumously.
Read more about WWE Hall Of Fame: Ceremony Dates and Locations
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“The fame of heroes owes little to the extent of their conquests and all to the success of the tributes paid to them.”
—Jean Genet (1910–1986)