The Barbwire Hall Of Fame

I often ask myself; "Wouldn't be cool if I started my own Hall Of Fame?"

And I was thinking; "That would be cool."

Back in 1996, Dave Meltzer began the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame by choosing a list of 120 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.

The GERWECK.NET Hall of Fame, started in 2007, is intended to include the elite members of the wrestling community that deserve to be inducted into a prestigious hall of fame without prejudice or politics. Areas of consideration for induction should include (but not be limited to) a wrestler’s drawing power, wrestling ability, impact or influences on the business, longevity, and passion/drive for the industry. Non-in ring performers (such as promoters, announcers, referees, etc.) should also be judged by a similar criterion, based on the highest standards for their areas. Remember, this is not a popularity contest. This hall of fame will only include the best of the best. Readers should e-mail names of candidates worthy of consideration. The name with the highest number of suggestions will be considered for voting the following month. Thus, twelve names will be considered per year, and the number of inductees for the year is totally up to the GERWECK.NET readers. If a subject doesn’t qualify for induction, he or she will remain off the consideration list for twelve months. If a subject receives 70% or higher, he or she will be inducted.

Mine is this.

1. Voting criteria include the length of time spent in wrestling, historical significance, ability to attract viewers, and wrestling ability. They will be divided into divverent catergories; Male, Female, Announcers, Managers, Tag Teams, Promoters, and Journalists.

2. Inductees must have at 10 years of experience, with the candidate starting no less than December 31, 2002.

3. Suggestions will be made through a Blue Ribbon Panel.

4. There will be 10 additional names added, known as the "Editor's Choice."

If you have any suggestions, feel free to tweet me at twitter.com/matthewhollie and I'll see to that I will can consider.