Review the World

Never Hand Over
Hall of Fame

Class #2
August '07

Too Cold Scorpio
Too Cold Scorpio is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. When he debuted as Ron Simmons’ partner at the November ’92 Clash of the Champions, complete with goofy rap video package shot at a neighborhood basketball court, I was hooked. His athleticism, agility, and unorthodox style are still fresh to this day. Arguably best known for his work in ECW, there’s no doubt he did shine there, winning titles and awing audiences. Too Cold also had a nearly six-year run in Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, where he was finally treated with the respect he so richly deserved. If that’s not enough, according to Mick Foley’s autobiographical books, Scorpio has the biggest cock in wrestling history, too.
- Brian

Barry Windham
When you speak of a prodigy in sports, you think of Larry Bird, or Ken Griffey jr. or Joe Montana, or Tiger Woods. I'm a lifelong wrestling fan so I think of men like Brian Pillman or Kurt Angle. A prodigy is a man who exudes natural talent and picks up his particular trade effortlessly where so many others struggle to excel and even fail before given adequate time or training. My first pick for 2nd class of NHO Hall of Fame is my favorite wrestling prodigy of all time, Barry Windham. The 6'6, Sweetwater Texas native has always been one of my favorite wrestlers to watch, not because he's one of the flashiest, or prettiest or most innovative, but he moves around a ring as graceful as a dolphin in water. They guys is like living breathing silk, his movements are crisp and smooth and high impact. The awesome thing about Windham is he has almost always been at the top or near the top of the card during his years in NWA/ WCW, and unlike many other stars, he was at his finest against the best in the world. His feuds with Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Arn Anderson, Steve Austin, and Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat, Brian Pillman and Great Muta were all awesome wrestling matches, despite whatever story line he was involved in. Windham's success speaks for itself, as in 1993 he won the prestigious NWA World Title from Great Muta in a classic match, a landmark acheivement for Barry, as winning a world title is a goal that eludes so many wonderful and gifted athletes in their careers. I remember watching the match originally on scramble vision PPV, and screaming when I saw he won, and calling my cousins to pass on the good news. Congrats, Barry, you're in good company.
- Jessie

Bret Hart
The most prominent son of the famous Hart family out of Calgary, Bret Hart made his TV debut on the 9/15/84 episode of Maple Leaf Wrestling teaming with the Dynamite Kid to win a squash match. In early 1985, he was teamed up with Jim Neidhart to form the now famous Hart Foundation tag team. The duo would last for six years and have many great battles with The Killer Bees, The British Bulldogs, Demolition, The Legion of Doom, and The Nasty Boys. During this time, Bret would also have singles bouts against The Spoiler, Ricky Steamboat, and Rene Goulet among others. Following the Hart Foundation split, Bret found singles success in the Intercontinental title division and eventually won the title two times. During this run, he had matches against “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. After losing the Intercontinental title to Smith at SummerSlam 92, Bret turned his focus to the WWF World Title. On October 12, 1992, Bret won his first of five WWF World Titles by beating then-champion Ric Flair in Saskatoon, Sasketchewan. Bret would hold the title until WrestleMania IX when he lost to Yokozuna. From mid-1993 to late-1995, Bret would only hold the title once more but had fantastic matches against the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Diesel, Jerry Lawler, Bob Backlund and Hakushi. At WrestleMania XII, he defended the WWF Title against Shawn Michaels in the now legendary Iron Man Match. Bret missed most of 1996 but came back at Survivor Series that year and began his long running feud with Steve Austin which culminated in the famous submission match at WrestleMania XIII. In mid-1997, Bret re-united the Hart Foundation with his former partner Neidhart, brother Owen, brother-in-law and one time opponent Smith, and family friend Brian Pillman. The five men ran rampant over the WWF in 1997 until Bret signed with WCW which led to the infamous “Montreal” incident. Bret showed up on the scene in WCW as a referee for the Eric Bischoff vs. Larry Zbyszko match at Starrcade 1997 and then had brief feuds with Ric Flair, Curt Hennig, Randy Savage, and Booker T through the middle part of 1998. Bret then won the United States title and had notable matches with Diamond Dallas Page and Sting. He re-emerged in WCW in mid-1999 and won the WCW World title at Mayhem 99 by beating Chris Benoit in a tournament final. He suffered a career-ending concussion at Starrcade 1999 in his match with Goldberg. Since then, Bret has been all but retired from wrestling with the exception of the occasional appearance here and there. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 and now we induct him into the NHO Hall of Fame.
- Adam

"Ravishing" Rick Rude
“Ravishing” Rick Rude was a prominent character, consummate performer, and the guy fans loved to hate for his pompous arrogance. He’d slowly remove his robe before his matches, inciting anger amongst the men, in squeals of pure satisfaction amongst the females. His feuds with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Ultimate Warrior in WWF were legendary. He continued being successful in WCW in a stint from ’91 to ’94. Debuting as the masked Halloween Phantom at Halloween Havoc ’91, he was a major member of The Dangerous Alliance, and had brilliant programs with Sting and Ricky Steamboat. After suffering a career ending injury in Fukuoka, Japan in ’94, Rude later had non-physical roles in ECW, and later returned to both WWF and WCW. I was there in Cincinnati, OH where the infamous November 17, ’97 episode of WCW Monday Nitro emanated from, where Rude shocked the wrestling world, appearing both at the live WCW show, while simultaneously appearing on the pre-taped WWF Raw is War show. Rude will be remembered most vividly by me for his great in-ring work, his ridiculous tights, often featuring airbrushed images of women or his own face, and his signature maneuver, the “Rude Awakening”, a devastating neckbreaker variation.
- Brian

Jushin "Thunder" Lyger
My 2nd pick is the pentulimate junior weight in the world for the last 20 years, Jushin "Thunder" Lyger. As soon as he debuted in Japan, dressed in his full body suit, green with gold trim, adorned with a massive face mask with twirling unicorn like horns, he was a success. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular wrestlers ever from Japan, he had, at different points in his career, a magazine, an animted show and heaps and heaps of merchandise available everywhere. Lyger become the first Junior weight star to come to America from Japan. I can still remember watching his highlight package on WCW when he was about to debut. He won one of the original versions of the WCW Cruiserweight Title on Christmas Night in 1991 and went on to have a stellar feud with fellow HOF'er Brian Pillman. Lyger helped popularize so many devastating moves in the US, including the brainbuster and the running powerbomb, nicknamed the Lyger bomb. Another cool thing about him is that he has traveled to so many different promotions and plyed his trade, he knows virtually every wrestling style in the world. His resume includes WCW, IWGP, Michinoku Pro, AAA, EMLL, NOAH, Toryumon, WAR, ROH, TNA and I'm sure the list will grow. If you throw in the fact that he has possibly one of the coolest outfits in all of wrestling history and you have one kick ass Hall of Famer who throws the deadliest palm thrust that I know about.
- Jessie

"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
One of the most underappreciated wrestlers of 80’s and 90’s, Smith had four tenures in the WWF, two in WCW, and one in Japan. He first made waves in the WWF on the Maple Leaf Wrestling program in the mid-1980s and competed on the very first wrestling pay-per-view ever, Wrestling Classic, in November 1985. Throughout the remainder of the 80s, he teamed with the Dynamite Kid to form The British Bulldogs and won the WWF Tag Team titles at WrestleMania II. From 1986 to 1988, the Bulldogs had notable battles against The Hart Foundation, Demolition, and The Rougeau Brothers. The duo competed in the WWF through 1988 when they left for Japan. It was here that Dynamite suffered a career-ending back injury, leaving Smith to tend for himself. He returned to the WWF in 1991 and had a long-standing feud with The Warlord through the rest of that year. He won the Intercontinental Title from his brother-in-law, Bret Hart, at SummerSlam 92 but would only hold the belt for a matter of months before losing it to Shawn Michaels on the final episode of the original Saturday Night Main Event. Smith jumped to WCW in 1993 and mainly battled Vader during his tenure. He returned to the WWF in 1994 and captured the Tag Team Titles with Owen Hart in September 1996 and became the first European Champion in February 1997. Smith once again left the WWF following the “Montreal” incident and had a brief run in WCW, competing primarily in the undercard. He returned to the WWF for one final run in September 1999 as a surprise entrant in the suicide six man match at Unforgiven 99. He had another run with the European title and a brief reign with the Hardcore title before disappearing in mid-2000. Sadly, Davey Boy Smith passed away in May 2002. He may have been underappreciated during his career but the NHO Hall of Fame is proud to recognize his achievements.
- Adam

The Great Muta
The Great Muta blew the young fragile minds of my brother and I in the 80’s upon first discovering him on an episode of NWA’s television show. He was squashing some pasty white jobber, and sporting such an exotic look that we couldn’t look away. He won the match with a moonsault, the first either of us had ever seen, and they even re-played the move several times for our exultant enjoyment. Then, he sprayed a green mist from his mouth! Outrageous! Muta’s NWA stint, managed by Gary Hart, was my favorite of his storied career, where he had nail bitingly exciting feuds with Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and his biggest rival, Sting. Using his real name, Keiji Mutoh, he’s won all kinds of accolades and had a very successful career in Japan; but, it’s the Great Muta that is being inducted into our Hall of Fame, for being such an imaginative and unique character, one that will be emulated but never duplicated. Muta is also renowned for having his own scale named after him, titled the “Muta Scale”, it’s used to described how much a professional wrestler bleeds in a given match, compared to Muta’s horrific bloodbath with Hiroshi Hase (Dec. 14, ’92) in NJPW.
- Brian

Mick Foley
A cult favorite among fans of hardcore wrestling for many years, Foley’s first big break came in the early 90s with WCW under the moniker of Cactus Jack where he engaged in memorable matches with Sting, Paul Orndorff, Vader, and the Nasty Boys among others. After losing to Kevin Sullivan at Fall Brawl 94, Foley moved on to ECW and Japan. While in Japan, he competed in the now-legendary deathmatch tournament in which he fought Terry Funk in the finals. Meanwhile, with ECW, he won the ECW Tag Team titles with Mikey Whipwreck and had matches against The Sandman and Sabu. His final ECW match was at the Big Ass Extreme Bash where he fought his former championship partner. Foley joined up with the WWF in 1996 and made his TV debut on the April 1st Raw. It was here that he would go on to his greatest fame, winning the WWF World Title on three occasions and fighting many unforgettable matches with The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair. He would also become a best-selling author and write three autobiographies (Have A Nice Day, Foley is Good, Hardcore Diaries). No one has worked harder than Mick Foley and his spot in the NHO Hall of Fame is truly deserved.
- Adam

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper
Miracle Violence Combo
My 3rd entrant in the HOF is our first Tag Team, one of my favorite sub-classes of wrestling. I have chosen one of the hardest hitting teams to ever compete in the Miracle Violence Combination, made up of Steve "Dr. Death" Williams and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy. Both men were bred from different backgrounds: Doc was an NWA competitor and Gordy was the silent brute of the Freebirds, but when they joined in Japan, they became an unstoppable duo, dominating the tag team scene in All Japan wrestling for several years. It wasn't until 1992 when Bill Watts brought the roughneck team into WCW to feud with the Steiners that America and me got to see their combined awesome power. Up until that point, the Steiner Brothers were unscathed and ruled WCW Tag Team division with an iron fist. But, Doc and Gordy absolutely ran through them and won both the WCW and NWA tag team titles, the first team to ever combine those championships. I've always been a big fan of Doc, and it was this powerful team that first got me on his bandwagon. Brian and I are both such big fans we even made a psuedo-rock song about them called, appropriately enough "MVC." Both these guys had stiff styles and were known for punishing their opponents. They also went on to have a series of matches with Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes in WCW, and had a brief stint in the cultish-ECW against the Eliminators. I hope Doc and Gordy can pave the way for more tag teams to join, in my mind, the most prestigious Wrestling Hall of Fame out there because it is an important part of wrestling history and culture. Congrats to these guys and everyone else joining our second class.
- Jessie

Too Cold Scorpio Too Cold Scorpio is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. When he debuted as Ron Simmons’ partner at the November ’92 Clash of the Champions, complete with goofy rap video package shot at a neighborhood basketball court, I was hooked. His athleticism, agility, and unorthodox style are still fresh to this day. Arguably best known for his work in ECW, there’s no doubt he did shine there, winning titles and awing audiences. Too Cold also had a nearly six-year run in Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, where he was finally treated with the respect he so richly deserved. If that’s not enough, according to Mick Foley’s autobiographical books, Scorpio has the biggest cock in wrestling history, too. - Brian	Barry Windham When you speak of a prodigy in sports, you think of Larry Bird, or Ken Griffey jr. or Joe Montana, or Tiger Woods. I'm a lifelong wrestling fan so I think of men like Brian Pillman or Kurt Angle. A prodigy is a man who exudes natural talent and picks up his particular trade effortlessly where so many others struggle to excel and even fail before given adequate time or training. My first pick for 2nd class of NHO Hall of Fame is my favorite wrestling prodigy of all time, Barry Windham. The 6'6, Sweetwater Texas native has always been one of my favorite wrestlers to watch, not because he's one of the flashiest, or prettiest or most innovative, but he moves around a ring as graceful as a dolphin in water. They guys is like living breathing silk, his movements are crisp and smooth and high impact. The awesome thing about Windham is he has almost always been at the top or near the top of the card during his years in NWA/ WCW, and unlike many other stars, he was at his finest against the best in the world. His feuds with Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Arn Anderson, Steve Austin, and Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat, Brian Pillman and Great Muta were all awesome wrestling matches, despite whatever story line he was involved in. Windham's success speaks for itself, as in 1993 he won the prestigious NWA World Title from Great Muta in a classic match, a landmark acheivement for Barry, as winning a world title is a goal that eludes so many wonderful and gifted athletes in their careers. I remember watching the match originally on scramble vision PPV, and screaming when I saw he won, and calling my cousins to pass on the good news. Congrats, Barry, you're in good company. - Jessie
Bret Hart The most prominent son of the famous Hart family out of Calgary, Bret Hart made his TV debut on the 9/15/84 episode of Maple Leaf Wrestling teaming with the Dynamite Kid to win a squash match. In early 1985, he was teamed up with Jim Neidhart to form the now famous Hart Foundation tag team. The duo would last for six years and have many great battles with The Killer Bees, The British Bulldogs, Demolition, The Legion of Doom, and The Nasty Boys. During this time, Bret would also have singles bouts against The Spoiler, Ricky Steamboat, and Rene Goulet among others. Following the Hart Foundation split, Bret found singles success in the Intercontinental title division and eventually won the title two times. During this run, he had matches against “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. After losing the Intercontinental title to Smith at SummerSlam 92, Bret turned his focus to the WWF World Title. On October 12, 1992, Bret won his first of five WWF World Titles by beating then-champion Ric Flair in Saskatoon, Sasketchewan. Bret would hold the title until WrestleMania IX when he lost to Yokozuna. From mid-1993 to late-1995, Bret would only hold the title once more but had fantastic matches against the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Diesel, Jerry Lawler, Bob Backlund and Hakushi. At WrestleMania XII, he defended the WWF Title against Shawn Michaels in the now legendary Iron Man Match. Bret missed most of 1996 but came back at Survivor Series that year and began his long running feud with Steve Austin which culminated in the famous submission match at WrestleMania XIII. In mid-1997, Bret re-united the Hart Foundation with his former partner Neidhart, brother Owen, brother-in-law and one time opponent Smith, and family friend Brian Pillman. The five men ran rampant over the WWF in 1997 until Bret signed with WCW which led to the infamous “Montreal” incident. Bret showed up on the scene in WCW as a referee for the Eric Bischoff vs. Larry Zbyszko match at Starrcade 1997 and then had brief feuds with Ric Flair, Curt Hennig, Randy Savage, and Booker T through the middle part of 1998. Bret then won the United States title and had notable matches with Diamond Dallas Page and Sting. He re-emerged in WCW in mid-1999 and won the WCW World title at Mayhem 99 by beating Chris Benoit in a tournament final. He suffered a career-ending concussion at Starrcade 1999 in his match with Goldberg. Since then, Bret has been all but retired from wrestling with the exception of the occasional appearance here and there. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 and now we induct him into the NHO Hall of Fame. - Adam	"Ravishing" Rick Rude “Ravishing” Rick Rude was a prominent character, consummate performer, and the guy fans loved to hate for his pompous arrogance. He’d slowly remove his robe before his matches, inciting anger amongst the men, in squeals of pure satisfaction amongst the females. His feuds with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Ultimate Warrior in WWF were legendary. He continued being successful in WCW in a stint from ’91 to ’94. Debuting as the masked Halloween Phantom at Halloween Havoc ’91, he was a major member of The Dangerous Alliance, and had brilliant programs with Sting and Ricky Steamboat. After suffering a career ending injury in Fukuoka, Japan in ’94, Rude later had non-physical roles in ECW, and later returned to both WWF and WCW. I was there in Cincinnati, OH where the infamous November 17, ’97 episode of WCW Monday Nitro emanated from, where Rude shocked the wrestling world, appearing both at the live WCW show, while simultaneously appearing on the pre-taped WWF Raw is War show. Rude will be remembered most vividly by me for his great in-ring work, his ridiculous tights, often featuring airbrushed images of women or his own face, and his signature maneuver, the “Rude Awakening”, a devastating neckbreaker variation. - Brian
Jushin "Thunder" Lyger My 2nd pick is the pentulimate junior weight in the world for the last 20 years, Jushin "Thunder" Lyger. As soon as he debuted in Japan, dressed in his full body suit, green with gold trim, adorned with a massive face mask with twirling unicorn like horns, he was a success. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular wrestlers ever from Japan, he had, at different points in his career, a magazine, an animted show and heaps and heaps of merchandise available everywhere. Lyger become the first Junior weight star to come to America from Japan. I can still remember watching his highlight package on WCW when he was about to debut. He won one of the original versions of the WCW Cruiserweight Title on Christmas Night in 1991 and went on to have a stellar feud with fellow HOF'er Brian Pillman. Lyger helped popularize so many devastating moves in the US, including the brainbuster and the running powerbomb, nicknamed the Lyger bomb. Another cool thing about him is that he has traveled to so many different promotions and plyed his trade, he knows virtually every wrestling style in the world. His resume includes WCW, IWGP, Michinoku Pro, AAA, EMLL, NOAH, Toryumon, WAR, ROH, TNA and I'm sure the list will grow. If you throw in the fact that he has possibly one of the coolest outfits in all of wrestling history and you have one kick ass Hall of Famer who throws the deadliest palm thrust that I know about. - Jessie	"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith One of the most underappreciated wrestlers of 80’s and 90’s, Smith had four tenures in the WWF, two in WCW, and one in Japan. He first made waves in the WWF on the Maple Leaf Wrestling program in the mid-1980s and competed on the very first wrestling pay-per-view ever, Wrestling Classic, in November 1985. Throughout the remainder of the 80s, he teamed with the Dynamite Kid to form The British Bulldogs and won the WWF Tag Team titles at WrestleMania II. From 1986 to 1988, the Bulldogs had notable battles against The Hart Foundation, Demolition, and The Rougeau Brothers. The duo competed in the WWF through 1988 when they left for Japan. It was here that Dynamite suffered a career-ending back injury, leaving Smith to tend for himself. He returned to the WWF in 1991 and had a long-standing feud with The Warlord through the rest of that year. He won the Intercontinental Title from his brother-in-law, Bret Hart, at SummerSlam 92 but would only hold the belt for a matter of months before losing it to Shawn Michaels on the final episode of the original Saturday Night Main Event. Smith jumped to WCW in 1993 and mainly battled Vader during his tenure. He returned to the WWF in 1994 and captured the Tag Team Titles with Owen Hart in September 1996 and became the first European Champion in February 1997. Smith once again left the WWF following the “Montreal” incident and had a brief run in WCW, competing primarily in the undercard. He returned to the WWF for one final run in September 1999 as a surprise entrant in the suicide six man match at Unforgiven 99. He had another run with the European title and a brief reign with the Hardcore title before disappearing in mid-2000. Sadly, Davey Boy Smith passed away in May 2002. He may have been underappreciated during his career but the NHO Hall of Fame is proud to recognize his achievements. - Adam
The Great Muta The Great Muta blew the young fragile minds of my brother and I in the 80’s upon first discovering him on an episode of NWA’s television show. He was squashing some pasty white jobber, and sporting such an exotic look that we couldn’t look away. He won the match with a moonsault, the first either of us had ever seen, and they even re-played the move several times for our exultant enjoyment. Then, he sprayed a green mist from his mouth! Outrageous! Muta’s NWA stint, managed by Gary Hart, was my favorite of his storied career, where he had nail bitingly exciting feuds with Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and his biggest rival, Sting. Using his real name, Keiji Mutoh, he’s won all kinds of accolades and had a very successful career in Japan; but, it’s the Great Muta that is being inducted into our Hall of Fame, for being such an imaginative and unique character, one that will be emulated but never duplicated. Muta is also renowned for having his own scale named after him, titled the “Muta Scale”, it’s used to described how much a professional wrestler bleeds in a given match, compared to Muta’s horrific bloodbath with Hiroshi Hase (Dec. 14, ’92) in NJPW. - Brian	Mick Foley A cult favorite among fans of hardcore wrestling for many years, Foley’s first big break came in the early 90s with WCW under the moniker of Cactus Jack where he engaged in memorable matches with Sting, Paul Orndorff, Vader, and the Nasty Boys among others. After losing to Kevin Sullivan at Fall Brawl 94, Foley moved on to ECW and Japan. While in Japan, he competed in the now-legendary deathmatch tournament in which he fought Terry Funk in the finals. Meanwhile, with ECW, he won the ECW Tag Team titles with Mikey Whipwreck and had matches against The Sandman and Sabu. His final ECW match was at the Big Ass Extreme Bash where he fought his former championship partner. Foley joined up with the WWF in 1996 and made his TV debut on the April 1st Raw. It was here that he would go on to his greatest fame, winning the WWF World Title on three occasions and fighting many unforgettable matches with The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair. He would also become a best-selling author and write three autobiographies (Have A Nice Day, Foley is Good, Hardcore Diaries). No one has worked harder than Mick Foley and his spot in the NHO Hall of Fame is truly deserved. - Adam
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper	Miracle Violence Combo My 3rd entrant in the HOF is our first Tag Team, one of my favorite sub-classes of wrestling. I have chosen one of the hardest hitting teams to ever compete in the Miracle Violence Combination, made up of Steve "Dr. Death" Williams and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy. Both men were bred from different backgrounds: Doc was an NWA competitor and Gordy was the silent brute of the Freebirds, but when they joined in Japan, they became an unstoppable duo, dominating the tag team scene in All Japan wrestling for several years. It wasn't until 1992 when Bill Watts brought the roughneck team into WCW to feud with the Steiners that America and me got to see their combined awesome power. Up until that point, the Steiner Brothers were unscathed and ruled WCW Tag Team division with an iron fist. But, Doc and Gordy absolutely ran through them and won both the WCW and NWA tag team titles, the first team to ever combine those championships. I've always been a big fan of Doc, and it was this powerful team that first got me on his bandwagon. Brian and I are both such big fans we even made a psuedo-rock song about them called, appropriately enough "MVC." Both these guys had stiff styles and were known for punishing their opponents. They also went on to have a series of matches with Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes in WCW, and had a brief stint in the cultish-ECW against the Eliminators. I hope Doc and Gordy can pave the way for more tag teams to join, in my mind, the most prestigious Wrestling Hall of Fame out there because it is an important part of wrestling history and culture. Congrats to these guys and everyone else joining our second class. - Jessie