I write a wrestling column every Monday and Friday for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review which can be found online at TribLive.com.
Today, I wrote about the WWE Halll of Fame. It's an honest HOF with no statistics or criteria becuase they don't matter. The following is an excerpt:
This year's theme for the WWE Hall of Fame is forgiveness.
Forgiveness and wrestling are like peanut butter and jelly. If there wasn't forgiveness, nobody would make any money. Just ask The Ultimate Warrior and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
Both men have been officially announced as inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. I'm also learning it's likely Scott Hall will go in this year despite his public denial on Twitter.
These guys had to forgive. WWE had to forgive. The fans had to forgive.
You can't come up with a better trio of names in the modern era of professional wrestling who are known for their legacies of extreme popularity in the ring and negativity on the other side of the curtain.
Warrior is the only wrestler WWE ever took the time to produce an entire DVD about to reveal how difficult he was to work with and the downfall of his career. It was titled “The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior.” No hiding from what you're trying to say with that two hours.
Roberts became a star for the wrong reasons in the most famous documentary ever produced on professional wrestling known as “Beyond The Mat.” It showed Roberts living town to town working small wrestling shows while having a dysfunctional relationship with his children and being addicted to drugs.
Hall always was viewed as the coolest of these three with his wrestling persona and place in history. He's become famously documented, notably by ESPN, for his unflattering appearance and dangerous drug abuse. WWE spent more money on his rehabilitation attempts than any other wrestler ever.
All three have resurrected themselves in some way. Warrior has started to work with WWE again on projects. Roberts has lost a ton of weight and improved his health by carrying the DDP Yoga flag. Hall also took part in DDP Yoga, shaping up his appearance and health while mentoring his son Cody, who has broken into the business.
Forgiveness is necessary because that allows the true agenda to be served and satisfied. In wrestling, the agenda is to make money. Some of the best hustlers in the world are those who work in professional wrestling, and they don't hide it.
This year's class theme is forgiveness, but the entire theme of the Hall of Fame is profit.
Major League Baseball wouldn't induct Pete Rose, but WWE did. He sits proudly in the celebrity wing for his many encounters with Kane over the years.
A Hall of Fame for a predetermined genre of sports and entertainment — everything is forgivable, minus the Chris Benoit tragedy.
When Warrior, Roberts and probably Hall take the stage, a lot of shoot comments and mug shots from the past will be treated like a bad dream. It will be because everyone profits. WWE profits. The wrestlers profit. The fans get to pop and chant “one more match,” which to them is a profit.
Click here to read the rest of the column explaining Edge's induction, Iron Sheik's induction and unlikely names you can expect to be inducted in the future.
