Just before I forget about this for a year, I thought I should bring up the new nominees for next year, because there are quite a few lucha names on the new list.
– Gran Hamada: I’ve seen maybe 3 Gran Hamada matches in my life, and have no valid opinion
– Vampiro: probably won’t go in, probably in the middle of too much stuff right now to have a permanent opinion here
– Karloff Lagarde Jr.: I assume it’s Jr. (he just turned 35 last year), but Dave has it listed as “Karloff Lagrade”, and adding a guy who was a big star in the 60s to the list with no explanation is just weird.
– Universo 2000: I think there were be a vocal minority for Universo, but the general perception of him is so strongly negative, they’re kinda wasting their time.
– “Rey Mysterio”: again, I think this is Jr. If it is, it’s a no doubter for me (and Rey Sr. has a strong case as a trainer, I guess.)
– “Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero”: this is five years too soon for either guy, clearly. As singles and trending towards the future, Ultimo’s on an arc to make it and Rey’s not (but, again, it’s far too soon). As a team, I’d like to see Tarzan included as well (and I know I’m the only one), but it’s mostly meaningless since very few teams get in as teams. They’re not getting in and I’m not sure if I’d vote for them, but I worry that getting swept off the ballot quick will hurt them when they get back on the ballot more deservingly around 2011.
(Non-lucha names include the Dudley Boys, Satoshi Kojima, the Rock and Rob Van Dam. One name on that list is getting in for sure.)
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Has to be Karloff Sr. b/c the Jr. is ALMOST as embarassing to the name as Lizmark Jr. is to the Lizmark name.
Gran Hamada: I’d vote yes solely based on the fact he brought Lucha Libre to Japan and popularized the style which is the only reason feds like M-Pro, Toryumon(and all the spinoffs) and Osaka Pro exist.
Vampiro: Definitely not. Unless RXLL takes off and draws record breaking crowds for the next year. So yeah… definitely not.
Karloff Lagarde: I see nothing that made him any special to deserve being in the HOF but I’m not exactly a Lucha history buff.
Universo 2000: Meltzer has always associated “Los Hermanos Dinamita” with the shitty 1993 team led by the awful(at the time) Cien Caras. So I can’t see him voting for Universo or pimping him all that much. Personally, while Universo is a fine worker and big star – shouldn’t you need more to be in the HOF? He really hasn’t stood out over his career aside from the recent(ish) Perro/Perro Jr. feuds.
Rey Misterio Jr.: No-brainer. Only people that would oppose this are the idiots that say he isn’t a high flyer like he used to be in 1995/1996 which: a) isn’t the truth and b) isn’t much of an argument.
Rey Misterio Sr.: I’d have to think about it in-depth but off the top of my head it would be a no.
Ultimo Guerrero: Like you said, wait 5 years. He’s missing a huge singles run on top, some memorable matches and a big mask win.
Rey Bucanero: If Ultimo doesn’t qualify yet, Rey obviously doesn’t. After he jumps to AAA and becomes a mega-star the likes of Latin Lover, then he will probably qualify. Seriously, I can see Bucanero vs Pirata in a hair match headlining El Toreo or a huge bullring in due time. Intocable vs Bucanero would be huge as well.
Are Bucanero/Guerrero being nominated TOGETHER and not seperately?
Together, as a tag team, and not seperately.
If Karloff Lagarde suddenly got X amount of votes, I think he’s back on the ballot.
But how can you get votes if you’re not on the ballot?
If it’s the original Karloff Lagarde, it had to be at Jose or Steve Sims (or someone along those lines) request, and if one of those gusyt hinks he should be in, why do a vote?
(I’m not such a big fan of this HOF concept.)
I’m confused as to why they are nominated as a tag team but I’m also not a huge fan of the HOF concept so yeah… whatever.
Can they not be voted in by themselves now?
I emailed Mletzer, and he says it’s Sr. I should have asked how he got back on the ballot, but forgot to. I think he explained how people get back on the ballot in the Hall of Fame issue, and I’ll check later on today.
As Gran Hamada was probably the most significant person in bringing lucha libre back to Japan in a serious way (not to mention he’s always been a solid wrestler), I’d say he should definitely be in. The careers of so many big names in Japanese junior heavyweight wrestling can be traced directly back to him.
Vampiro? His case is probably about the same as The Rock. Rock’s career was just too short to warrant consideration, and Vampiro’s meaningless stint in WCW, as well as his retirement/music period knock a couple years out of his career when he would’ve probably been on top somewhere in Mexico. Like Rob said, if RXLL takes off and becomes the next AAA, then there’d be a case. He almost seems to have duplicated Canek’s career, only skipping the whole 30+ years of popularity and going straight to the top card freelancer who really doesn’t matter anymore stage.
Rey Misterio Jr. should be a lock.
“If [the nominees] get less than 10% of the vote, they are automatically off the ballot for at least two years. At that point, they can be added back onto the ballot if a voter petitions they be reinstated and there are plausible reasons why they may fare better, either adding to their career legacy, or hindsight seeming to make them a stronger candidate than they were originally.”
So, that really didn’t answer how he got back on the ballot.
Probably Lagarde got voted off 2 years ago and recently Jose or Sims wrote something about him that improves his chance of getting in?
Kurt Angle is in the HOF. That kind of makes it pointless in some ways. Gran Hamada and Rey Jr. should be locks…but then there are so many more wrestlers that deserve to be in that aren’t already.
Only three more years until Tigre Blanco is eligible! Felino should *probably* :) go in before him though. I’m picturing busts with the wrestlers’ faces lining the halls at the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Parts Unknown. Felino’s can have real fur on it.