Why WWE Must Avoid THIS Huge Mistake Ahead Of WrestleMania 39

4. The Axe And The Return

Rey Mysterio Dominik Mysterio
WWE

The big question some of you may have, is why exactly did the WWF decide to axe the Hall of Fame after that 1996 ceremony.

One of the main reasons for that decision appears to be the financial struggles Vince McMahon's company was starting to experience by '96. With WCW at this point beginning to dominate the WWF when it comes to ratings on Monday nights, the Hall of Fame was deemed an additional, unnecessary cost.

Likewise, 1996 had seen the WWF mock its rival for spotlighting older talents such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, and thus it would be tricky to then celebrate the stars of yesterday in a formal ceremony when your weekly television is dumping on the legacy of names of the past.

In terms of why the Hall of Fame even came into existence in 1993, yes, it was in part to honour Andre the Giant, but more importantly this was seen as a way to exploit nostalgia. With the product of the time being far away from the boom period of the '80s Rock 'n' Wrestling days - both in terms of ratings and revenue - it was hoped that the WWF could grab the attention of lapsed fans by winning them over by reminding them of their old favourites, such as Andre the Giant, Buddy Rogers, 'Classy' Freddie Blassie, Bobo Brazil, Pedro Morales, Ernie Ladd, Antonino Rocca, the Valiant Brothers, Jimmy Snuka, and Lou Albano - all of whom were inducted in those first four years.

Of course, the rebranded WWE would bring the Hall of Fame back in 2004, tying it in with WrestleMania XX. There was no explanation as to why the HOF was back, there was no acknowledgement of it having been away. Instead, it was just a case of "Here's Bobby Heenan, Harley Race, Billy Graham, Junkyard Dog, Tito Santana, Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine, Jesse Ventura, Big John Studd, Don Muraco and, err, Pete Rose - now let's celebrate them, yeah?"

The supposed anniversary of WrestleMania was enough of an excuse to bring back the Hall of Fame as an annual event, but WWE was also now in a position where it would record the HOF and make it available to its TV broadcasters, not to mention include it on the DVD releases of its Showcase of the Immortals as an incentive for fans to purchase said releases.

Additionally, there was also now the opportunity to fully cash-in on nostalgia once more, with the promotion's marketing and merchandising game on an entirely different level than it was in the early '90s.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.