10 Early Predictions For The 2019 WWE Hall Of Fame Class
9. LEGACY WING: Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens was such a huge draw at the Cow Palace that he out-drew Elvis Presley, let alone Kenny Omega. The man was a massive deal in San Francisco throughout the 1960s, as much a part of the culture as the beatnik counterculture.
Even if you've never watched an actual Ray Stevens match, you've seen his work; famed for his innovative "Bombs Away" diving knee drop, Stevens is credited for literally elevating the art form with a high-flying arsenal and overarching big-bumping style that inspired the very DNA of modern wrestling in a general sense and, specifically, the flop bump that Ric Flair trademarked but did not innovate. Stevens innovated it, and that is the man's pervading legacy.
Stevens used a ladder, in a celebrated angle, decades before it became commonplace in WWE. He was also, not by design, wrestling first "cool heel". The KTVU TV station surveyed Bay Area fans in 1962 in order to determine the region's most hated and popular figure. Predating a sentiment that would pervade - again, decades later - Stevens was selected in both categories.
Sadly, for myself and the budding historians out there, only his twilight years are available on the WWE Network.