10 Ways WWE Has Warped The Minds Of Fans
3. The Hall Of Fame Doesn't Mean Anything
It also does.
It means a great deal to those inducted because, in an industry that moves by so quickly and never ends, it's nice for the veterans to register that which they've accomplished. Provided they aren't mickey-slipping n*nces, you can't really blame them for taking for 52 straight minutes. It's a night on which every painful bump and plane journey that they paid for is rewarded in front of their peers.
But it also doesn't mean sh*t because induction is decided upon unilaterally by Vince McMahon, and not said peers. A waning 75 year-old force who doesn't recognise the term "wrestling" might not have the best determination. Kenta Kobashi isn't in it. Don't have the rights to the footage, do we?
Best not bother.
It's bad enough that certain fans take it seriously as an institution, but that's fine. Nice, even. It's all very respectful, until the Owen Hart Guys ooze out from under a rock and, for f*ck's sake, criticise his widow for not allowing WWE to properly monetise his legacy.
Wrestling fans have access to his incredible legacy. His peers talk of him as a great, and his work is so timeless that the generations (plural) that followed him still look to his matches for influence. He doesn't need to be in it, but that isn't for your writer to say.
It's for his widowed wife.