Should Raven & Tommy Dreamer Headline 2024 HOF Class?
It’s WrestleMania season, we’re on the road to WrestleMania XL, the 40th edition of the premiere wrestling event and with that we start to speculate about who will be the next to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This year’s WrestleMania takes place from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, which also marks just the second WrestleMania from the city of brotherly love, the first was WrestleMania XV in 1999.
With WrestleMania in Extreme Championship Wrestling country, it stands to reason that the WWE look to inducting some of the greatest names from the promotion that called East Philly home. There are many names that WWE could induct, but two stand out the most. Two men that personified the ECW spirit and took things to the extreme with their feud.
WWE should look to induct Tommy Dreamer, the man that ate, slept, bled ECW his coming of age in ECW from ‘pretty boy’ jock to the innovator of violence shows why Dreamer is someone that deserves Hall of Fame status, but that’s not all his feud with Raven in ECW was the second-best feud that ECW had.
Raven is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of the sport, with 37 title reigns between ECW, WCW, WWE, and TNA. He’s heled the WWF/E Hardcore Championship an amazing 2 times, he’s had 3 World Title reigns in his career.
Raven was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2022, he was a pat of some of the biggest moments of ECW, including one of the best feuds with The Sandman. He would jump to WCW and bring with him The Flock, soon after he had some classic matches with the likes of Benoit and DDP. Then would go on to feud with Saturn which saw the end of The Flock.
Dreamer managed to wear the ECW World Title despite not wanting to ever wear that belt, he and Raven also became ECW World Tag Team Champions when Raven returned to ECW after a spell with WCW.
Both men deserve to walk into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame, Raven however, was a part of a lawsuit against the WWE for some royalties but despite this his place in the WWE Hall of Fame should come when the WWE has their next WrestleMania from Philadelphia.
They’ve both done a lot for the wrestling business, and both were a big part of what ECW’s energy was and now that should see them rewarded with Hall of Fame status within the WWE. It could also serve as a chance for the WWE to open a new wing in their Hall of Fame for Extreme Championship Wrestling as many of the guys that walked through the doors at ECW would certainly qualify for that, and not the WWE Hall of Fame otherwise.
Guys like Steve Corino, Rhino, Mikey Whipwreck, New Jack, Nova, Mike Awesome, Masato Tanaka and Stevie Richards who all made ECW their home and made their names there. There are some that made an impact in other promotions guys like Rob Van Dam, but there were many ECW originals that deserve to see Hall of Fame status as part of the wonderful world of extreme.
WWE has a habit of burying the hatchet for the best of the business which saw guys like Bret Hart, and The Ultimate Warrior come back after some bad blood and take centre stage in the Hall of Fame.
Time will tell as to who the WWE will actually induct into the Hall of Fame this year, but an ECW feeling to the Hall of Fame being in the old stomping ground of ECW would certainly be a great way to honor what ECW brought to city of Philadelphia and honor the names that made ECW one of the greatest promotions that no longer exists, but has had a lot of amazing history filled with high quality talent that made ECW their home.
