|
WWE Hall Of Fame (2016)
WWE Hall of Fame (2016) was the event which featured the introduction of the 17th class to the WWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by WWE on April 2, 2016 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event took place the same weekend as WrestleMania 32. The event aired live on the WWE Network, and was hosted by Jerry Lawler. A condensed one-hour version of the ceremony aired the following Thursday on USA Network, after ''WWE SmackDown, SmackDown''. Event Due to the launch of the WWE Network shortly before WrestleMania XXX, this event featured the third ever "Red Carpet" event as a one-hour pre-show prior to the start of the event. The pre-show was hosted by Michael Cole (wrestling), Michael Cole, and Maria Menounos. The Godfather (wrestler), The Godfather was inducted by his long-term friend whom he often traveled the road with, the members of The Acolytes Protection Agency, John Layfield, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Ron Simmons. Stan Hansen was inducted by his o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Airlines Center
The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association and the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. The arena is also used for concerts and other live entertainment. It was opened in 2001 at a cost of $420 million. History and construction By 1998, the Dallas Mavericks, then owned by H. Ross Perot Jr., and the Dallas Stars were indicating their desire for a new arena to replace the aging and undersized Reunion Arena. Dallas taxpayers approved a new hotel tax and rental car tax to pay for a new arena to cover a portion of the funding, with the two benefiting teams, the Mavericks and the Stars, picking up the remaining costs, including cost overruns. The new arena was to be built just north of Woodall Rodgers Freeway near Interstate 35E on the site of an old power plant. On March 18, 1999, American Air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Hansen
John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his Glossary of professional wrestling terms#S, stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to his poor eyesight. He is also known for his Gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmick as a loud, violent cowboy who wanted to fight everybody, which he further emphasized by appearing in interviews with a cowboy hat, leather vest and Bull riding#Rider equipment, bullrope while often Chewing tobacco, chewing on tobacco. Considered the most successful and popular gaijin in Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling history, he became more well-known and revered in Japan than in his native United States. In Japan's All Japan Pro Wrestling, AJPW professional wrestling promotion, promotion, he held seven different championships. Overall he is a ten-time Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world champion. In 1989, he played a small role in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name. The Freebird lineup of Hayes, Roberts, and Gordy was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015, and members Hayes, Roberts, Gordy, and Garvin were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. History The Fabulous Freebirds started performing together in 1979 when Mid South Wrestling promoter Bill Watts put together the duo of Michael "P.S." Hayes and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy. Though originally meant to be a tag team, he soon added Buddy "Jack" Roberts into the mix, and they became a "three man gang" type of tag-team—an unusual concept at the time. They invented a concept that is now called The Freebird Rule in their honor, in which any two of three members can defend the team's championships. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sailor Art Thomas
Arthur Thomas (January 30, 1924 – March 20, 2003), better known as Sailor Art Thomas or Seaman Art Thomas, was an American Merchant Mariner, bodybuilder, and professional wrestler. A former WWA World Heavyweight Champion, Thomas was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. Early life Thomas was born in Gurdon, Arkansas, as the son of Alfred and Jessie (Lunon) Thomas. In 1935, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin. After his mother's death he was raised in a Wisconsin orphanage and in foster homes. Military career Thomas spent 27 months in the United States Merchant Marine. Serving in a construction battalion, Thomas helped build an airstrip in Guam. Professional wrestling career After leaving the Merchant Marine, Thomas worked for Greyhound Lines before becoming a professional bodybuilder. After joining a bodybuilding troupe, he began touring the United States. After being spotted by promoter Jimmy Demetral, Thomas trained as a professional wrestler. He made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 days) – longer than anyone else in history. Considered to be one of the last true shooters in professional wrestling and described as the "quintessential athlete... a polished warrior who could break a man in two if pushed the wrong way", Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and the single greatest wrestling world champion in history, and probably the last globally accepted world champion. In Japan, Thesz was known as the 'God of Wrestling' and was called ''Tetsujin'', which means 'Ironman', in respect for his speed, conditioning and expertise in catch wrestling. Alongside Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson, Thesz later helped train young Japanese wrestlers and mixed martial artists in catch wrestling. A s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat O'Connor (wrestler)
Patrick John O'Connor (22 August 1924 – 16 August 1990), was a New Zealand amateur and professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the premier workers of his era, O'Connor held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championship simultaneously, the latter of which he held for approximately two years. He was also the inaugural AWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is an overall two-time world champion. Early life Patrick John O'Connor was born on 22 August 1924 in Raetihi, New Zealand, to parents John Frederick and Isabella. While he attended high school at Feilding Agricultural High School, he also helped tend to the sheep and cattle on his parents' farm. He later attended Massey Agricultural College, and later served for six months in the New Zealand Royal Air Force in 1945. Amateur wrestling career Before entering the world of professional wrestling, O'Connor was an amateur wrestler. He trained under Dave Scarrow, and later Don Anderson, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Robert Herman Julius Friedrich (June 30, 1891 – August 8, 1966), better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and overall recognised officially as a five-time world champion. Considered to be one of the most iconic and recognizable sports stars of the 1920s, often alongside boxer Jack Dempsey and baseball player Babe Ruth, Lewis notably wrestled in over 6,000 matches (many of which were real contests) and lost only 32 of them. He was posthumously inducted as a charter member into the following hall of fames: ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Professional Wrestling, George Tragos/Lou Thesz and WWE's Legacy Wing. One of the most legitimately feared grapplers of all time, Lewis was known for his catch wrestling prowess and trained many future champions, most notably Lou Thesz, Danny Hodge, Dick Hutton and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Hackenschmidt
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt ( – 19 February 1968) was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman, professional wrestler, author, and sports philosopher who is recognized as professional wrestling's first world heavyweight champion. Hackenschmidt launched his professional career in Reval (Tallinn), Estonia (then part of Russian Empire), at the time when contests were largely legitimate, and lived most of his life in London, England, where he gained the nickname of "The Russian Lion". He is believed to be the creator of the professional wrestling version of the bear hug as well as the person who popularised the hack squat, a deadlift with arms behind the body, Hackenschmidt is also atributed as the creator of the bench press. He was known for his impressive strength, fitness and flexibility and, later in life, wrote many books on physical culture, training and philosophy. Early life Georg Hackenschmidt's grandfather, Christian Philipp Hackenschmidt, a Prussian dyer, acc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Gotch
Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1877 – December 17, 1917) was an American professional wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and he is credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States. He competed back when the contests at championship level were largely legit (see catch wrestling), and his reign as World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion (from 1908 to 1913) is one of the ten longest in the history of professional wrestling. He became one of the most popular athletes in America from the 1900s to the 1910s. ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' described Gotch as "arguably the best North American professional wrestler of the 20th century". Early life The son of Frederick Rudolph and Amelia Gotch, and of German ancestry, he was born and raised on a small farm three miles south of Humboldt, Iowa. He took up wrestling in his teens, earning a reputation by beating locals. He adopted the toe hold a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mildred Burke
Mildred Burke (August 5, 1915 – February 18, 1989) was an American professional wrestler. She is overall a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions. Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, when she held the NWA World Women's Championship for almost twenty years. Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals. She was managed by her second husband, promoter Billy Wolfe. She is a charter member of WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' Hall of Fame. Early life Born Mildred Bliss on August 5, 1915, in Coffeyville, Kansas, at age 15 she dropped out of school and began to work as a waitress on the Zuni Indian Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. She lived there for three years, before leaving for Kansas City after agreeing to marry her boyfriend. He took her to a professional wrestling event, which sparked her interest in the sport. Burke, who was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D-Von Dudley
Devon Hughes (born August 1, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works backstage as a producer. Hughes wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1999 and for the WWF/E from 1999 to 2005 and from 2015 to 2016 as D-Von Dudley and Reverend D-Von. He performed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2005 to 2014 as Brother Devon and Devon. Characterized by their unorthodox ring attire, hard-hitting style and usage of tables in their matches, The Dudley Boyz are one of the most successful tag teams in the history of professional wrestling, recognized by TNA as 23-time world tag team champions, and were the first tag team inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. They are considered one of the major teams that revived tag team wrestling during the Attitude Era. Including his two TNA Television Championship reigns, Hughes has held 25 major championships between ECW, WWE, TNA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bubba Ray Dudley
Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag team under the ring name Bubba Ray Dudley during his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Debuting in 1991, LoMonaco came to prominence when he joined ECW as a member of The Dudley Brothers in 1995. He formed a tag team with D-Von Dudley called The Dudley Boyz, who became eight-time ECW World Tag Team Champions. In 1999, they moved to the WWF (now WWE) and became eight-time World Tag Team Champions, as well as one-time WWE Tag Team Champions and WCW World Tag Team Champions. They are considered one of the major teams that revived tag team wrestling during the Attitude Era. Dudley also held the WWE Hardcore Championship 10 times before both men left in 2005. They joined TNA later that yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> D-Von Dudley")
