Why WWE Must Avoid THIS Huge Mistake Ahead Of WrestleMania 39

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.