With Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, the US Express, and Muhammad Ali having already been confirmed for the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame, Thunderbolt Patterson is the latest name to be announced for this year's class.
First announced by Andscape, WWE has since moved to comment on this news, welcoming Claude 'Thunderbolt' Patterson into its Hall of Fame.
A massively influential figure in the wrestling business, Patterson debuted in 1964 and worked in various territories, including notable spells in Georgia, Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas. A magnetic presence on the microphone, Thunderbolt inspired so many who came in subsequent decades, with Dusty Rhodes in particular someone who pulled plenty from the promo work of Patterson.
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Thunderbolt Patterson fought hard for better working conditions for those in the wrestling industry, pushing for fairer pay, racial equality, and also for pro wrestling to be regulated. Some took umbrage with this, and Thunderbolt found himself blacklisted by certain individuals, with elements of racism clearly at play at a time when the Jim Crow era was still being felt.
Since calling time on his wrestling career, the now-81-year-old Claude Patterson has become a minister and mentor in Georgia.
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While Claude 'Thunderbolt' Patterson is the latest name confirmed for the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame, others rumoured for an induction are Haku and Lia Maivia. The 2024 HOF ceremony will take place on Friday 5 April, directly after that night's edition of WWE SmackDown.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.
