So, we have one less WWE Hall of Famer?

Batista was scheduled to enter the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the COVID-19-pushed back Class of 2020.  As we have learned, due to scheduling conflicts, the former multi-time WWE Champion will not be inducted this year. It had been speculated as Batista was no longer listed as part of the Hall on WWE.com, and the “Animal” himself, confirmed it on Twitter:

To the @WWEUniverse Unfortunately due to previous obligations I am unable to be a part of the @WWE #HOF this year. By my request they have agreed to induct me at a future ceremony where I’ll be able to properly thank the fans and people who made my career possible #DreamChaser” 

We assume that Batista will be part of a future class.

The 2020 Class now comprises the Bella Twins, JBL, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and the New World Order (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Sean Waltman.  Eric Bischoff and Molly Holly have already been named to the 2021 Class.

We will be paying close attention to see who else will be part of the 2021 Class, and we will revise our Notinhalloffame WWE list after Wrestlemania.  

Less than an hour ago, it was announced that the New World Order (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman) will be entering the WWE Hall of Fame.  It has how been announced that Dave Bautista will be joining them in the Hall. 

Dave Bautista cut his teeth in the WWE farm promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling as “Leviathan”, and the 300 pound behemoth would be brought up shortly as “Deacon Batista”, the henchman of D-Von Dudley when he was doing his reverend gimmick.  That didn’t last, and he was moved to the RAW brand and placed in a faction with Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton.  As his wins piled up, his momentum shot up, and he was placed in a program against his mentor, Triple H, who he defeated in the main event of Wrestlemania 21 for the first of what would be six World Heavyweight Championships. 

Batista left in 2010 to pursue an acting career, and he came back in 2014, winning the Royal Rumble, but he would not stay long.  He returned to acting, and became very successful, most notably as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Batista made one last comeback, and lost to Triple H at Wrestlemania 35

The Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on April 2, 2020, as part of the Wrestlemania 36 weekend.

Batista was ranked #9 on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame.  He will be removed when we do our revisions in April.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our congratulations to Dave Bautista for his impending induction.

After his No Holds Barred Match loss to Triple H at Wrestlemania 35, Dave Bautista announced on Twitter that he was officially retired from Professional Wrestling.

Bautista (50) had left the WWE before due to creative differences and pursuing what is now been a successful career in Hollywood.  He had long since said that he wanted to end wrestling with closure, which he was able to do competing against his longtime friend and on screen adversary, Triple H.  

We had already ranked Bautista on our Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame as he reached our minimum age of 46.  We are currently in the process of revamping our list as the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony occurred this past Saturday.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com wish Dave Bautista continued success in his acting career.

First off, our apologies as this took longer than anticipated, but we are finally ready to unveil our new WWE list of those to consider for their Hall of Fame. With the exception of our Rock and Roll list, the 375 wrestling performers we have ranked are the largest that we have here at Notinhalloffame.com.

While the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame saw twelve of our ranked wrestlers (28. Bill Goldberg, 36. Stan Stasiak, 40. El Santo, 43. Jim Londos, 45. Jeff Jarrett, 65. Mark Henry, 84. Lord Alfred Hayes, 104. Hillbilly Jim, 180. Ivory, 182. Sputinik Monroe, 188. Hiro Matsuda and 191. Boris Malenko) selected however nobody from our top 25 was chosen. As such there is not much of a difference between last year’s list and this one.

Still, we always adapt and we have made some changes that we are excited to tell you about!

Here is the new top ten:

       1. Vince McMahon. Love him or hate him, he is the WWE and the reason why many of us watch professional wrestling. McMahon was ranked #1 last year and will likely hold this spot until he is  
       dead. Triple H said that the only reason he isn’t in is because Vince wouldn’t let him! Literally this is the case of “over his dead body”.

      2.  The Undertaker. Speaking of the dead, The Undertaker returns at #2. The “Deadman” is certainly on the last leg of his career though we don’t know how many matches he has left in him. This
           is only a matter of time as he will likely go in as soon as the WWE feels that he is finished.

3. The Rock. From one of the most popular professional wrestlers to one of the most successful movie stars, Dwayne Johnson likely has a standing invitation for the WWE Hall of Fame. The only question is if he can fit it into his busy schedule!

4. Triple H. Because of his position as COO, it would be hard for it not to be considered shady if he gets into the Hall of Fame, but his body of work in the ring is worthy and just on his work in the re-creation of NXT alone he has won over many of his harsh critics. We think he is likely to take the Vince McMahon approach in that he won’t let himself get inducted…at least for now.

5. Ivan Koloff. Born in Quebec but representing the Soviet Union, Ivan Koloff wrestled for decades and was the man who ended Bruno Sammartino’s eight year run as the WWWF World Heavyweight Champion. Koloff wrestled everywhere in the U.S. and Canada and was a bona fide headliner everywhere. Sadly any induction for him now would be posthumous, as he died a couple of years ago.

6. Chris Jericho. Jericho may be very much active (he just recently won the IWGP Intercontinental Title) but we have a rule on our Notinhalloffame.com wrestling list that once you reach the age of 46 you automatically move from the futures to the main list. Jericho likely still has many more small runs in him in the WWE but will be a main event inductee when he is ready.

7. Bruiser Brody. Brody famously died when he was stabbed by a fellow wrestler in Puerto Rico, which ended the career of the best brawler in professional wrestling history. Brody was a true rebel of the industry and while he was not associated with the WWE his legend fits in that institution.

8. Kane. Notably the above seven have the same ranking as last year. Kane however has moved up from #11 to #8. Like Jericho, Kane is still somewhat active in the WWE, though the man named Glenn Jacobs is focusing more on his political career. Like Chris Jericho, Kane’s age places him on our main list as opposed to the Futures.

9. Batista. Batista dropped one spot from #8. While his last run was not a career highlight the former multi-time WWE Champion has been vocal about wanting one more run followed by an official retirement. Hopefully he succeeds in obtaining that wish.

10. Owen Hart. Hart moved up from #12 but as long as there is Martha Hart the odds of Owen making the WWE Hall of Fame seems slim. Owen remains one of the locks that the WWE is afraid to pull the trigger on. Honestly, who can blame them?

While there were no additions in our top 100 there are certainly new names on our Notinhalloffame.com WWE list.

The highest new entry is R-Truth, who based on our mandatory age limit (discussed above with Chris Jericho) is now on our main list. Truth debuts at #189.

As always we here at Notinhalloffame.com continue to look at others who we may have missed. As such we have some new entries on our now Notinhallofame.com WWE 375.

Former AWA World Heavyweight Champion, The Mighty Igor debuts at #244. Former regional faux Japanese headliner Kenji Shibuya makes his first appearance at #271. Former Cleveland legend Johnny Powers debuts at #313. The final three entries, which are new are Count Billy Varga #373, Neff Maivia #374 and Akira Taue at #375.

Notably Daniel Bryan who was ranked #9 has been put back into our futures.

You know what we want you do to!

Take a look at our new list and cast your votes and offer us your opinions.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thanks you for all of your support!