10 Early Predictions For The 2019 WWE Hall Of Fame Class
8. LEGACY WING: The Crusher
A spiritual antecedent to The Sandman, Steve Austin and Roman Reigns - the latter bound at some point to walk to the ring with a cold one, since WWE has tried near enough everything else to get him over - The* Crusher created the beer-swilling working class hero archetype, a role he both played and lived, having worked as a bricklayer and meatpacker to support his income before he made it big.
He made it big, after a not at all inconsiderable heel run, by adopting a man's man gimmick he literally embodied with his barrel-chested physique. He'd bolster that physique by "running along the Milwaukee waterfront" with a beer barrel hoisted across his shoulders, which found itself empty as he ran his last steps. Gauging by the immaculate patter recorded on his Wiki page, he was also something of an inspiration on Ric Flair, having promised to "have a party, take all the dollies down Wisconsin Avenue and go dancing," the sheer objectification of which is made oddly endearing through his earnestness.
A star for decades, his appeal glows through this touching YouTube tribute video, in which he struggles to say the word "humiliate". It's not at all humiliating, because his folksy grit and complete unpretentiousness was the magic stuff that served an enduring career.
*"Da".