The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

, editor of the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

''. Like many other wrestling halls of fame, such as the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

, ROH and

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

halls of fame, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not contained in a building, and there are no ceremonies for inductions other than a highly detailed biographical documentation of their career in the newsletter. Inductees include wrestlers/fighters,

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, promoters, trainers, and

commentators Commentator or commentators may refer to: * Commentator (historical) or Postglossator, a member of a European legal school that arose in France in the fourteenth century * Commentator (horse) (foaled 2001), American Thoroughbred racehorse * The Co ...

. On ten occasions, groups, either

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

s, ''trios'', or quartets, have been inducted rather than the individual members of the group. This first occurred in 1996, when

The Fabulous Kangaroos :''This team is not to be mistaken for the similarly named team The Royal Kangaroos of Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III'' The Fabulous Kangaroos were a professional wrestling tag team who existed in various forms from 1957 until 1 ...

and

The Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in t ...

entered the hall.

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 ...

, The Midnight Express,

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...

, The Assassins,

The Holy Demon Army The Holy Demon Army (HDA) was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue. The HDA competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s and is considered the most successful and dominant team in the history of Al ...

The Sharpe Brothers The Sharpe Brothers was a Canadian professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe, best known for their tenures wrestling in the territories of Northern California and Japan. Both men were tall in stature with ...

Los Misioneros de la Muerte Los Misioneros de la Muerte (Spanish for the Missionaries of Death') was a Mexican ''Lucha libre'', or professional wrestling Trio that has been credited with making the two out of three falls six-man tag team match the most common match form in ...

, and

Los Brazos The Alvarado wrestling family, also referred to as ''La Dinastia Alvarado'' ("The Alvarado Dynasty") in Spanish, is a Mexico City based family of professional wrestling, professional wrestlers. The family works primarily in Mexico but have made app ...

all also entered as groups. On occasion entire wrestling families have been inducted into the hall. This first occurred in 1996 when

The Dusek family The Dusek family is a professional wrestling family. The Dusek Family real surname is Hason. The Dusek family started with four brothers Ernie, Emil, Joe, and Rudy Dusek. The other two members are Wally and Frank Dusek. Both men are not Dusek by b ...

entered the hall; in 2022, the five man familial team of Los Villanos was inducted. Meltzer began the Hall of Fame by choosing a list of 122 inaugural inductees in 1996. Since then, wrestlers from past and present, others employed in the professional wrestling industry, and wrestling journalists and historians have been selected by Meltzer to cast secret ballots to determine annual groups of inductees. Voting criteria include the length of time spent in wrestling, historical significance, ability to attract viewers, and wrestling ability. Inductees must have at least 15 years of experience in the wrestling business or be over 35 years old and have 10 years of experience. To gain membership in the hall, potential inductees must receive 60% support on the ballots from their geographic region. Any person that gets less than 10% of the vote is eliminated from the ballot. If a person fails to get inducted 15 years after being put on the ballot, they must get 50% of the vote or be eliminated. There are 248 inductees, including the multiple teams, ''trios'', and stables. In 2008, a recall vote was held asking if 2003 inductee

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...

, who killed his wife and son before committing suicide in June 2007, should remain in the hall. To have Benoit removed, Meltzer required that 60% of voters must agree with the proposal. Although the majority voted for Benoit's removal, they only represented 53.6% of the votes, falling short of the number required. Benoit remains on the list of inductees.Meltzer, Dave, ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', September 8, 2008, p. 6.

Inductees

Footnotes

References

; General * ; Specific

External links

Online listing of the WON Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall Of Fame 1996 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1996 Professional wrestling halls of fame Sports hall of fame inductees Halls of fame in California

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...