HOF poll on Observer site

[s@ppisgod]

Regardless, that gate is legendary. $2,200,000! Only card in the same area to gate anywhere NEAR that was WrestleMania VI.

One of the only places in the world you can sell that many seats, and they actually filled it up. It was huge. But for going over there and having the guts to put a PPV with the reputation of Summerslam (at that point in time, not so much anymore), coming off a big boom period. Only like 16 months prior was the huge Warrior/Hogan WM, which I think could have probably sold out Wembley. It's a tremendous feat. But considering where they were, what they were offering, and the Bulldog, I can't say I'm all that surprised that they accomplished it. Still can't believe those stories about Bulldog's condition before/during. What a screw-up....

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Any thoughts on the rest of the poll? Opinions on the others aside from Sting?

Much like you...I'll rank'em...but I'll just say, Sting and Sasaki should have already been in. Seems silly to me that they aren't.

Tanahashi - its just a no brainer to me...he's the Japanese Shawn Michaels...plus, he's a huge fuckin draw (something Michaels never was)...the past two years or so has made him one of the best of all-time. He'd be #1 on the list, for me.

CM Punk - He gets in on work alone, IMO. His past two years are icing on the cake. Despite Tanahashi's run in the past year or so, I still think no wrestler currently has more great matches on their resume than Punker. Definitely no American.

The rest of the guys, I'm not putting in.

I'd probably say no to Dr. Wagner Jr. and Akiyama but they are both very very close.

Suzuki should get in on theme alone, and I love the guy...probably a rational no though.

And, Randy Orton? wtf?

The rest are no's as well.

[FedEx227]

Whoever voted for Randy Orton in that poll needs to go home.

[Warner2BruceTD]

The one thing I saw that was surprising is how little support Tanahashi had. I mean, to me he's a no-brainer. Like an absolute no doubter by the definition of the Hall. Was extra surprised to see Punk ahead of him. While I think Punk has had an awesome career, I think if you put their resumes against one another Tanahashi blows him away.

That's not to discredit Punk at all. I personally prefer Punk but from a business standpoint it's hard not to argue Tanahashi >>>> Punk.

Public poll.

They're both locks at some point. Well, Tanahashi is a lock. Curious how Punk will do because many people hate him.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

If you hate CM Punk...odds are good, I hate you.

[FedEx227]

Public poll.

They're both locks at some point. Well, Tanahashi is a lock. Curious how Punk will do because many people hate him.

Well, yeah, but that still stuck out to me. Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme but it's hard to imagine a ton of people with knowledge of what the Observer HOF is about voting more for Punk than Tanahashi.

As far as the Punk haters, I don't know what you could really hate about the guy. He's done it all, he's played every character, every role and has been extremely successful in all of them.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Well, yeah, but that still stuck out to me. Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme but it's hard to imagine a ton of people with knowledge of what the Observer HOF is about voting more for Punk than Tanahashi.

As far as the Punk haters, I don't know what you could really hate about the guy. He's done it all, he's played every character, every role and has been extremely successful in all of them.

You're assuming the people in the poll have knowledge of the hall of fame. The polls, no matter what the topic, always skew WWE and/or modern heavy, because I would imagine most of the people voting are average fans visiting the site for news updates or whatever.

If 14% or whatever his total was vote for Tanahashi in something like this, I would say maybe 20% of the total voting pool even knows who he is, because I would be comfortable stating that most people who are familiar with Tanahashi's work would think he's a no brainer on match quality alone.

I can't imagine not voting for him, but there are people who didn't vote for Willie Mays. Kenta Kobashi got 98%. Keep on mind those are votes from his own region, so we aren't talking people who never saw him or don't know who he is.How do you not vote for Kenta f'n Kobashi? What did that 2% think he was lacking? Some people are just nuts.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Keep this in mind when we talk about Sting, too. Shawn Michaels, one of the greatest workers of all time, got like 70% or whatever it was, and if I recall did not get first ballot.

For fear of falling I to the same trap as the Foley argument, I'll be diplomatic and say he's a comporable draw to Sting (restraint, Joe, restraint). However, he laps Sting about a thousand times as a worker, this is in no dispute, so you can see where Sting is having trouble with a certain large chunk of voters and why he never ultimately never makes it.

To be fair, Michaels was Punk before Punk in the sense that many voters didn't lime him personally (attitude, dodging doing jobs over the years which old timers hate, even though those m'fers were far more political on that area than the modern guys, not that I'm letting Michaels off the hook), but my basic point stands. People are nuts.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Where do some of you stand on Lex Luger, who at a glance has a pretty similar resume to Sting, but has never even sniffed induction or been taken seriously as a candidate?

Also, Kevin Nash.

[EmpireWF]

Hell no on Luger. He had opportunities on top (before he left for WWF) but he was never able to emerge as the top guy. His WWF run will always be remembered as a failure as a whole. Then, when he returns to WCW, he's almost always relegated to 3rd or 5th top babyface/heel. The one great memory from that period is of course his win on Nitro over Hogan.

He's not known for being a great draw, he obviously was not a great worker and really, the only argument you could make is that he was one of the main names in the business for about a decade. But no, I don't see why he should get in.


Nash is an interesting case.

He has the distinction of being perhaps the worst drawing champion of the 90s in WWF. He's a smart business man in that (largely due to knee injuries) he did as little as possible in the ring, but still managed to be a semi-top guy for a bunch of years. He was involved in one of the hottest storylines in modern pro wrestling and booked himself to end Goldberg's streak.

Actually, I take that back. A big fat no for Nash, too.

[FedEx227]

I'd say no for both. I'd probably put Luger before Nash but neither were ever really THE guy in their company at any point as Empire mentioned. Even when Nash was champ, Hart was still the main guy and regardless that title run was an awful draw and while it's not entirely his fault (King Mabel), we still have to count it against him.

Luger at least had multiple runs, albeit not that successful but still... Nash really had his WWF title run, his business-killing WCW Title run and that was about it.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

An easy no to both.

With that said, from around 88 to 92, Luger was pretty decent in the ring, and still a little underrated in the ring by a lot of people. He couldn't carry anybody, but with a superior worker could put together some really good matches. Then he got into the motorcycle accident and he was never the same again.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Jeff Jarrett
Owen Hart
Sabu
Ultimate Warrior

[SuperKevin]

No on all 4 for me

[EmpireWF]

My first inclination is to say Yes to Sabu based more on his status as a big influence in American pro wrestling (positive or negative, up for debate). Among the old ECW stars, are any of them in the HOF?