10 People WWE Should Remove From The Hall Of Fame
4. Bill Watts
Bill Watts' brand of heel heavy, no-nonsense, no-mats wrestling might have been the very antithesis to the one promoted by WWE - as he discovered during his brief three-month tenure with the company in the 1995 doldrums - but neither that nor the unsuccessful stint stopped him from being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
And nor should it have; the Cowboy's pedigree with the pencil behind his ear was second to none. What should have kept WWE from voluntarily and unnecessarily enshrining Watts in their own, not wrestling's, history books, were the persistent allegations of racism dogging him ever since his acrimonious WCW exit in 1993.
The claims have frequently been countered by the undeniable fact that Watts was amongst the first promoters to push black superstars as his biggest babyfaces - Junkyard Dog, Ron Simmons, and Ernie Ladd were each focal points of the booker's territories. But it was economy, not equality, which motivated Watt's decision; in addition to wanting to capitalise on wrestling's considerable African American following, the Oklahoman also knew the industry would be exposed if it didn't have any top black athletes whilst so many legitimate sports did.
The true colours of Watt's sentiment towards people of colour manifested during an interview in the early-'90s, during which he supported the right of future Governor of Georgia Lester Maddox to close down his restaurant rather than serve black customers. His intolerance extended to vitriolic anti-semitism in the direction of Paul Heyman after taking the WCW reigns in 1993. To cap the problematic trifecta, Watts reportedly lamented the ratings success of Madusa. For him, women being the highest draw was a sign the industry was well and truly buggered.
Watts was ultimately fired from WCW, with his troublesome comments cited as the reason. One can almost understand a desperate WWF offering him an olive branch in 1995; his wrestling track record spoke for itself. But one cannot understand, with his name tarnished by years of revelations, WWE paying homage to Watts 14 years later.