It is a very sad day for the WWE, as one of their greatest superstars of all-time, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka passed away today.  He was 73 years old

Before we get to what has dominated news about Snuka in recent years, let’s take a quick look at his decorated in ring career:

Born in Fiji in 1943, Snuka did not wrestling until 1970.  His first taste of true success in the wrestling industry took place in ’73 when he went to work for Don Owen in NWA Pacific Northwest.  He would win that regional championship six times as well as their version of the tag team titles multiple times with Portland mainstay, Dutch Savage. 

He would spend the bulk of the 1970’s wrestling across various NWA territories.  Superfly would win the Texas Title in 1977 but achieved a higher profile in Mid Atlantic with a tag team with fellow future WWE superstar, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.  Snuka would also win the United States Title from Ricky Steamboat.  Following a run in Georgia he would travel north to New York and become a top performer for Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. 

Debuting in 1982 as a dastardly heel with his manager, Captain Lou Albano, Snuka would main event quickly, receiving title shots against the then World Champion, Bob Backlund.  In a notable steel cage match in Madison Square Gardens, Snuka would attempt a “superfly splash” off the top of the cage, missing the champion but dazzling the fans.  He was just a great athlete and his pioneering aerial skills made it hard for him not to turn face, which he did later in the year, aligning with former Champion Buddy Rogers and then feuding with Albano’s other charge, “The Magnificent Muraco, who was the promotion’s Intercontinental Champion. 

The feud with Muraco, culminated again at MSG, where this time Snuka hit the splash from the top of the steel cage (albeit after the match, which he lost), which even today remain one of the most iconic moments in WWE history. 

Jimmy Snuka would feud with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper for the next year, and at this time Snuka was one of the top faces in the company, and for many fans the top star.  He would appear in the corner of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at the first Wrestlemania, though he would depart the promotion later in the year and work for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association before returning in 1989.

By this point, in his 40’s, Snuka was still popular but no longer a main event player.  His next three years saw him put over stars, such as The Undertaker, Rick Rude and others, and he would join Eastern Championship Wrestling (the eventual Extreme Championship Wrestling) and become their champion.

In 1996, the World Wrestling Federation inducted him into their Hall of Fame, and he even performed in that weekend’s Survivor Series.  He would continue to wrestle sporadically after, and even appeared at Wrestlemania 25, teaming with Piper and Steamboat in a 3 on 1 handicap match against Chris Jericho.  Even in declining health, he wrestled in independents and was a fixture at signings and conventions, however late in his life he was known for a near 34 year old death of his former girlfriend, Nancy Argentino.

Argentino died in 1983, and while Snuka was the prime suspect in her death, no charges were ever laid, though Snuka did lose a civil suit (which he never paid) to the Argentino family.  He was finally charged in late 2014 with third degree murder, but only twelve days ago, he was found mentally unfit to stand trial.

While the last few years of Snuka’s life was certainly controversial, the wrestling fan in us would like to remember the great in-ring moments.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Jimmy Snuka at this time.

The “Superfly” never won a championship of any kind in the WWE, but he never had to.  In fact, Jimmy Snuka is still best known for his “Superfly” leap off the top of a Steel Cage onto the Magnificent Muraco in Madison Square Gardens; a match in which he lost!   Snuka did many have many wins in wrestling, but he was best known for his classic moments than classic matches.  This could be why Jimmy Snuka is still considered a legend today, and remains a revered figure among up and coming wrestlers.

There have been two new updates regarding the WWE Hall of Fame, one regarding a potential future entry and the other on a Celebrity Wing inductee who has a movement against him to remove him.

On Ric Flair’s podcast, Sting discussed the WWE Hall of Fame and whether he would he would be going in soon, possibly as soon as 2016 in Texas.  While he did not say anything about when, or even if it was discussed with him, he did reveal that Ric Flair would be the one to induct him should that occur.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else doing the honors right?

While Sting may be going in, an on-line petition is gaining steam to try take Donald Trump out.

Rather than trying to explain the motivation behind it, let’s lift the bulk of the verbage written by Grace Lin from New York City, who is created the petition that as of this writing is closing in on 7,500 names.

“Consistent with this statement, WWE should remove Donald Trump from the Hall of Fame for his derogatory comments about Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, Muslims and other minority groups.

WWE not only employs Muslim and Middle Eastern talent, but has also recently launched the Network in the Middle East. The WWE must realize how many of its fans are Muslim. What message does it send to them to honor Donald Trump on the WWE's Hall of Fame?

And Mexico is one of WWE's biggest international markets - the WWE has a history of working with Mexican professional wrestling promotions as well as recruiting some of Mexico's top wrestlers. Many of WWE's most beloved superstars representtheir Mexican heritage in the ring.

Donald Trump has no place in the prestigious WWE Hall of Fame. The WWE Universe has continually expressed outrage at his induction, even booing him off the stage during his induction ceremony in 2013. He is a stain on WWE's ability to be a positive influence to its 650 million fans worldwide.

Hulk Hogan's immediate dismissal and removal from WWE's online properties due to racist comments have shown us that WWE will not tolerate those who disrespect their commitment to celebrating diversity. This is a critical moment for the WWE to scrub its ties with Donald Trump immediately.”

It should be noted that Hogan was removed on the WWE Hall of Fame website, but no statement had been made regarding his official dismissal from the Hall.  The same is true for Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka who is not on the site either following his arrest for the 1983 arrest of his then girlfriend, Nancy Argentino.

It should be noted that the WWE Hall of Fame has no physical presence and as it is only online at the moment, simply scrubbing anyone from the section is easy, and can easily be put back in without drawing instant criticism.

Should you be interested in signing the petition, you can do so here.

Wrestling fans all known that Hulk Hogan hasn’t been having a good year.  In light of his recent scandal in which he uttered racial slurs towards African-Americans, he was released from his contract and was removed from many aspects of the WWE’s media platform and his name is not on the company’s Hall of Fame website.

It needs to be noted that the WWE has never publically stated that they have removed Hogan from the Hall (nor have they with Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka who will go to trial for the murder of his mistress from over thirty years ago), however from comments he has just made on Ric Flair’s podcast, he appears to think that he has been removed:

“That Hall of Fame ring is my life and it’s just so sad that I’ve been taken out of the Hall of Fame and I don’t have a presence anymore in the wrestling business. But I’m going to cherish that Hall of Fame ring.”

While it is still unclear as to whether Hogan is or is not in the WWE Hall of Fame, his passion towards it shows how much many of the professional wrestlers hold it dear. 

In the fall of 1983 there were no monthly Pay Per Views in Professional Wrestling. The matches that were shown on regular television were predominantly top stars against enhancement talent. This was by design, as promoters believed that if fans wanted to see top wrestlers compete against each other it would have to be at the arena. This was actually a logical business model for 1983, as it was the live ticket gate that dictated the bulk of the revenue at the time.