The WWE Hall of Fame has reactivated its legacy wing for the Class of 2025, and Kamala, Ivan Koloff, and Dory Funk Sr will be inducted.
This is the first time the Legacy Wing has been used since 2021, and it has been criticized in the past as many of the inductee's families were not aware of the induction until it was announced publicly. It is not known now if this is the case for these three.
Born James Harris in Mississippi, Harris first began wrestling in 1978 but adopted the Kamala gimmick in 1982 under the advice of Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler. It was a money maker, with Harris taking the gimmick across the country through multiple territories, including the WWE, where over three runs in 1984, 1986-87 & 1992-93, he had multiple main event runs and challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. He passed away in 2020.
From Quebec, Oreal Perras debuted in 1963 and first gained success as the Irishman Red McNulty, but it was not until he became “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff that he achieved stardom. Koloff joined the WWWF in 1969, and in 1971, he shocked the wrestling world when he pinned Bruno Sammartino to win the World Heavyweight Title. It was a brief run, as Pedro Morales dethroned him three weeks later, but throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Koloff worked in the WWWF/WWF and was often at the top of the card. He also succeeded in the NWA throughout the 1980s, leading the Russian faction while winning Tag Team gold. He passed away in 2017.
Dory Funk Sr. is best known as the father of Terry and Dory Funk Jr., who both became NWA World Heavyweight Champions, but the family's patriarch ran a successful territory in North Texas for decades. This is also a posthumous induction, as he passed away in 1973.
While we are happy for these selections, Kamala and Koloff could have easily been done when they were both alive.
We will be revising our Notinhalloffame WWE list after Wrestlemania.
