One of the most thrilling highlights during WrestleMania weekend is the WWE’s annual Hall of Fame ceremony, a night dedicated to paying tribute and showing reverence to the iconic figures in the wrestling industry.
Each year, WWE gathers some of the most legendary stars to have ever graced the squared circle, providing fans and their fellow wrestlers with an opportunity to express their admiration.
While there is a multitude of deserving legends awaiting the prestigious Hall of Fame induction, the limited available slots eac year make the selection process both unpredictable, occasionally drawing names unexpectedly, and sometimes even perceiving them as undeserving (Yes, I’m looking at you Queen Sharmell).
The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024 could be one of the most star-studded in years. Being hosted live from Philadelphiathis year, expect some hardcore icons to be inducted, as well as the honoring of one late WWE wrestler, and maybe even a returning legend whose name has been in the headlines recently – but not for the right reasons.
Here are my predictions for the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024, set to be inducted on the night before WrestleMania 40, on April 5, 2024.
Bray Wyatt
After his shock death in September 2023, WWE has gone out of their way to honor the memory and legacy of Bray Wyatt throughout the rest of the year. This will likely culminate in Bray Wyatt being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024.
Even before his death, Wyatt was a shoo-in for the WWE Hall of Fame. He was a multi-time world champion, winning the WWE Championship and Universal Championship titles (both as Bray Wyatt, and as “The Fiend”), and led The Wyatt Family to become one of the best teams in modern history in the WWE.
Having legendary matches against John Cena, Daniel Bryan and many more, Bray Wyatt captivated the audience both on the ring and in his promos. He was arguably one of the greatest talkers in wrestling history, and deserves to be recognized as such in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Bray Wyatt would have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame if he hadn’t died. He earned his spot among the immortals of wrestling history, and it is just sad that his induction will come much, much earlier than everybody expected.
Lex Luger
You may be shocked to hear that Lex Luger is not yet part of the WWE Hall of Fame. He may be one of the biggest names not yet inducted into those hallowed halls, and that fact seems utterly bizarre.
It is not like Luger was not a favorite of Vince McMahon – the WWE Chairman tried pushing Luger as the next-Hulk Hogan. While his rivalry with Yokozuna was disappointing to say the least (celebrating beating him by count-out at Summerslam, while he didn’t take home the WWE Championship, was pathetic), Luger went on to wrestle many years as one of the top wrestlers in WCW.
In fact, his WCW debut was one of the most famous. Lex Luger was the first man to defect to WCW in the era of the Monday Night Wars. He appeared during the first match on the first ever WCW Monday Nitro, walking out in front of an excited crowd to fire the first shot in the Monday Night Wars.
For years, WWE have refused to induct Lex Luger into the WWE Hall of Fame, due to the injuries he sustained in professional wrestling. Click here to learn about why Lex Luger isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Cyndi Lauper
With the WWE inducting a celebrity into the WWE Hall of Fame on an annual basis, there is a huge hole in the hall of fame that can only be filled by 1980s pop sensation Cyndi Lauper.
Lauper was one of the biggest singers in the world in the 1980s, with songs like “Time After Time”, “True Colours” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” taking over the radio waves during her peak.
However, she also made a huge name for herself in wrestling. Off the back of her friendship with “Captain” Lou Albano, Lauper helped the WWE sign a TV deal with MTV for “Saturday Night’s Main Event”, and made huge strides in promoting not only the first WrestleMania event, but women’s wrestling as a whole.
She managed Wendi Richter in her battles against the Fabulous Moolah (and sexism) over the WWE Women’s Championship, and did more for women in the WWE than anybody who had come before her. It is long overdue, which is why Cyndi Lauper deserves to be the celebrity inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Paul Heyman
With WrestleMania 40 (and with it the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony) hosted in ECW’s home territory of Philadelphia, it is the perfect opportunity to induct some ECW legends into the Hall of Fame.
With the Bloodline storyline winding down, splitting at the seams as tension brews between Roman Reigns and his family, Paul Heyman would be the perfect man to be a part of the class of 2024. He has spent the last decade as the manager of multiple WWE superstars, including CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, helping them earn multiple world title belts between them.
His supreme mic work has elevated anything his clients have done in the ring, hyping up their matches like nobody else before. This does also not even include his work on commentary alongside Jim Ross in 2001, nor his earlier WWE run as the manager of Big Show, Kurt Angle and the debuting Brock Lesnar.
However, Paul Heyman’s biggest achievement was turning ECW into one of the most influential wrestling promotions of all time. The envelope-pushing, hardcore wrestling promotion inspired WWE’s in creating The Attitude Era, while his use of stars from Japan and Mexico was stolen by WCW (literally, as WCW signed most of their talent) to form their iconic Cruiserweight division.
Tommy Dreamer
If Paul Heyman does not want to be inducted into the Hall of Fame quite yet, ECW legend Tommy Dreamer would be the perfect addition to the WWE Hall of Fame.
He would be one of the most deserving members of ECW who could appear as part of the class of 2024. As a former ECW Champion and member of both the original ECW and the 2006 reboot, he has more experience in Extreme Championship Wrestling than anybody else alive.
While recent comments about Ric Flair caused major controversy with Tommy Dreamer, costing him a role with AEW, he has since returned to work with Impact Wrestling, and would surely be welcomed back to the WWE with open arms for his Hall of Fame induction.
CM Punk
Despite being fired by AEW for fighting backstage at their biggest event ever, CM Punk has more than earned his WWE Hall of Fame induction.
There is zero doubt that he has had a WWE Hall of Fame-level career. CM Punk held the WWE Championship multiple times, with one reign lasting 434 days. He had iconic matches with the likes of John Cena, The Rock, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker – including wrestling in the WWE’s first five-star match in over a decade.
CM Punk changed the business in many ways. He opened the door for indie talent like Daniel Bryan to sign for the WWE, based on his own success. The famous “Pipebomb” promo ushered in a new era of wrestling in the WWE, and him walking out after the 2014 Royal Rumble allowed Daniel Bryan to main event WrestleMania XXX.
Even if we ignore his ROH career, or his two AEW Championship reigns in 2022, CM Punk has earned a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024. However, it could be too early for the Chicago native, and he probably deserves a headline induction in his hometown in a few years time.
Although, who knows if he’ll have burnt his bridges with the WWE by then – it may be better to get him inducted quickly, and before anything can go as badly as it did in AEW.
AJ Lee
Irrespective of her husband (CM Punk) being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, there are few women who deserve an induction more than former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee.
Coming through the NXT game show in WWE, the odds were stacked against AJ Lee. Yet somehow, she managed to punch through a glass ceiling and get involved in some of the biggest angles the WWE has ever seen.
As a manager, she helped some of the all-time greats win World Championships in the WWE. She was involved in a variety of on-screen relationships with the talent she managed, and led the likes of Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler to become World Champions. Her love triangle with Bryan, CM Punk and Kane made for some scintillating television, but it was on her own where AJ Lee truly shown.
AJ Lee was ahead of her time. While the rest of the women were models, hand-picked by Johnny Ace for their looks over ability, she stood out as a true grafter in the ring and a top women’s wrestler. Her matches were the best in this era, and even stood up to the men’s bouts, while the rest of the divas lagged behind.
Taking queues from CM Punk, she also had a “pipe bomb” of her own in her. The promo on Raw where AJ Lee runs down all of the “Total Divas” cast, in the middle of her record-setting run as Divas Champion, showed that she was one of the best talkers in the wrestling business.
AJ Lee has had nothing to do with the WWE since her retirement in 2015, but hopefully she can mend some fences and accept a long-overdue WWE Hall of Fame induction as part of the class of 2024.
William Regal
After his recent return from a year-long “excursion” to AEW (a return he may well regret, following the WWE’s merger with UFC), English legend William Regal would be a huge addition to the WWE Hall of Fame this year,
With a career spanning nearly 40-years, Regal has seen it all. He wrestled Big Daddy on World of Sport, toured the world during the end of the territory days, wrestled for WWE and WCW and even nearly became the WWE Champion.
The former King of the Ring winner is also one of the best minds in the business, as well as being one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time. Regal is often considered one of the best wrestlers to never win the WWE Championship, so truly deserves his flowers by gaining his Hall of Fame induction.
If WWE do run a WrestleMania event in London, a UK-induction for William Regal would be ideal. However, with no guarantee that London will ever host the yearly event, this year would be perfect to induct William Regal into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Vince McMahon
The headline act to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024 has to be Vince McMahon.
While he is a former WWE Champion, ECW Champion and Royal Rumble winner, that is not the reason he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as the marquee name for 2024. Vince McMahon spent nearly 50-years as the sole man at the top of the WWE, until he sold the company in 2023 in a $9 billion deal.
After buying the company from his father for just $1 million, Vince McMahon soon changed professional wrestling forever. He killed the territory system in America by poaching all the top talent, buying out TV deals and expanding his TV shows to broadcast across the entire country.
Despite various controversies like the Steroid Trial and the Ring Boy Scandal, Vince McMahon is still revered as “The Godfather” of the WWE. While he previously refused any attempt to induct him into the Hall of Fame, now that Vince McMahon does not own the WWE he may be more receptive to being the headline act in the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024.