10 Early Predictions For The 2019 WWE Hall Of Fame Class

7. The New Age Outlaws

Michelle McCool HoF
WWE.com

Oh, you didn't know? Your ass better recall that Brian "Road Dogg" James is a key "Creative" figure in WWE, rendering his inclusion a complete inevitability.

Pretending that this matters - is it warranted?

The New Age Outlaws were a perfect act for the time and place, but lost to revisionist history is the fact that this time and place stretched to just one calendar year: 1998. Beyond this brief high point - the Outlaws were subject to the same source of heat as their former stablemate X-Pac in 1999 - Road Dogg and the Bad Ass failed to ignite as singles stars even before the quality of the midcard ranks was elevated immeasurably via the arrivals of Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and the Radicalz.

But when they were hot, they were hot: the Outlaws created a transgressive new genre of storytelling by sending Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie hurtling off the stage ahead of a quality brawl at WrestleMania XIV. Match quality was relatively weak elsewhere, but it hardly mattered; the act was such an engaging, hugely over and often funny call-and-response winner that their symbiotic charisma remains unforgettable over two decades later.

Billy is back in the fold following his release as Performance Center coach in 2015, having appeared at RAW25 earlier this year. There is no longer any flimsy political barrier in his way.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!