10 Strangest WWE Hall Of Famers Ever

Historical 'what-iffery' is a tricky business. It's all too easy to say that without Mike Tyson, WWE would never have recaptured the cultural zeitgeist, that Steve Austin's rise would have floundered without the additional fillip, and that WCW would have dominated wrestling for the rest of humanity.

Clearly, that wouldn't have happened, and given the momentum building behind WWE in 1998, it's entirely possible things would have ironed out into a pretty similar texture eventually. But it's doubtless the world-beating boxer gave the whole process a leg-up.

So it's difficult to argue against the World' Baddest Man being in WWE's Hall of Fame - especially given their very particular criteria. That nickname though - there's the rub. Tyson didn't obtain such an unfavourable sobriquet courtesy of a career spent petting rabbits and steering ducks away from traffic - and nor was it entirely down to his in-ring nastiness.

When Tyson was invited to be part of Vince's sideshow, he was in the midst of scandal. His boxing comeback following three years jail time for rape had been marred by him literally biting off Evander Holyfield's ear. The controversy which surrounded him justly led some to becry WWE for their tawdry sensationalism. But that's exactly what McMahon wanted - anything to get people talking about his company.

In 1998, that washed. In 2012, with WWE now a family-facing organisation ultra-protective of its brand integrity, it was peculiar to see a convicted rapist honoured for his contributions to a fake sport - especially given some of the spurious reasons for excluding more deserving folk.