Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, Muhammad Ali, The U.S. Express, Lia Maivia and Thunderbolt Patterson receive WWE's highest honor as they are enshrined into WWE’s Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
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Paul Heyman is an American entertainment executive and performer. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as Special Counsel for Roman Reigns. Heyman owned and was the creative force behind the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion from 1993 until its closure in 2001. Before running and owning ECW, he was a manager under the ring name Paul E. Dangerously in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and other promotions. He is the co-owner of the Looking4Larry Agency in New York City, and was personally named one of Advertising Age's Top 100 Global Marketers. In WWE, Heyman has managed or has served as manager for a record six world champions: WWE Champions, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Critics have praised his abilities at managing and on the microphone. Heyman has also competed sporadically in matches, including the WWE Championship main event of the 2002 Rebellion pay-per-view.
better known as Bull Nakano, is a Japanese professional golfer and former professional wrestler. She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) as a teenager under the ring name Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain, who often teamed with her mentor Dump Matsumoto. In Japan, she held several of AJW's singles and tag team championships. After being phased out by the company in the early 1990s, she traveled to North America, where she first competed in Mexico's Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), becoming its first World Women's Champion. In 1994, she made her way to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where she had feuded with Alundra Blayze over the WWF Women's Championship. After holding the title once, she also competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1998, Nakano began competing as a professional golfer, and in 2006, she joined a tour with the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). She is an overall one time champion in WWE. After she stopped working for AJW, Nakano traveled to Mexico in June 1992, where she was a finalist in a 12-woman battle royal and later defeated Lola González to become Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's first World Women's Champion. She lost the title to Xóchitl Hamada in March 1993. She then made her way to the United States and competed for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) once again. Debuting as an associate of Luna Vachon, Nakano competed against the WWF Women's Champion, Alundra Blayze in August 1994 at SummerSlam, but failed to win the title. Nakano eventually defeated Blayze for the title on November 20, 1994 in Tokyo at the Big Egg Wrestling Universe event. Nakano held the title for approximately five months, until losing it back to Blayze on the April 3, 1995 episode of Raw. The WWF had planned on bringing in Bertha Faye to feud with Nakano while Blayze got plastic surgery on her nose and breasts, but Nakano was found in possession of cocaine and quickly fired from the company. Retirement Due to injuries, Bull Nakano retired from professional wrestling in 1997. On January 8, 2012, Nakano produced her own professional wrestling event, titled "Empress", which saw her recreate her most famous matches with her old opponents. The event ended with Nakano's official retirement ceremony, though she had not been an active wrestler for several years. RISE Wrestling (2017) It was announced at RISE Wrestling's Bellatrix 26/RISE 4 event on September 15, 2017, that Bull Nakano would join the promotion as a facilitator, along with Cheerleader Melissa and Madusa, Nakano's former rival. Nakano turned heel during her appearance at RISE 6 on December 1, when she attacked Melissa during her match against Kikyo, and formed a modified version of her heel faction, Gokumon-To; aligning with Kikyo, Dynamite DiDi, and Kris Wolf. Nakano appeared later in the event as a heel manager for Kris Wolf in her match against Shotzi Blackheart (who had Madusa in her corner), and provided interference that led to Wolf defeating Blackheart.
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In NWA/WCW, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time Television Champion, a one-time Western States Heritage Champion, a four-time NWA (Mid Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Champion and a one-time NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin. In WWF, he was a two-time World Tag Team Champion with his brother-in-law, Mike Rotunda. On March 31, 2012, Windham was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen. In his last World Championship Wrestling run, Barry Windham was originally brought back to WCW by Eric Bischoff who had him turn on Ric Flair. Barry was then loosely associated with Bischoff's nWo Hollywood for a while before forming a tag team with Curt Hennig. At SuperBrawl IX, Hennig and Windham defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in the finals of a tag team tournament to win the vacant WCW World Tag Team Championship. Barry reinjured his knee during this period but would return as part of "The West Texas Rednecks" in mid-1999. They were supposed to be a heel group to feud with rapper Master P's "No Limit Soldiers" but the southern fans of WCW cheered the Rednecks, going against what WCW management and booking had hoped for, and the angle was eventually dropped. The group consisted of his brother Kendall Windham, Curt Hennig, and Bobby Duncum Jr.; Duncum was replaced by Curly Bill after he was injured and shortly before the group was disbanded and the Rednecks storyline was dropped. On August 23, 1999 edition of Nitro, the Windham brothers defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) to win their final WCW World Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles back to Harlem Heat at Fall Brawl 1999. Both Barry and Kendall were shortly after released by WCW. By the end of 1999, they all had left WCW and Barry worked for Ted DiBiase's promotion WXO and World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he won the latter's World Tag Team Championship in Puerto Rico with brother Kendall. Windham worked as a producer for WWE. In 2007, he appeared on the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD. Barry was also seen during the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame broadcast, sitting next to former partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield. In June 2007, Windham did the introduction of SuperBrawl Windham has a son named Callan and a daughter named Abigail with his ex-wife, Kebra. He is also the maternal uncle of present-day WWE wrestlers Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. On October 26, 2011, it was reported that he was hospitalized for either a very serious stroke or a massive heart attack and was in an ICU unit. He was found at his ranch by his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda.His family confirmed that Windham suffered a heart attack. His father Blackjack Mulligan posted a message to Facebook saying "I have a son near death". He was later moved to a facility in Orlando, Florida for a MRI on his neck due to the fall he took from the heart attack.
Lawrence Michael Rotunda is a former American professional wrestler, perhaps best known under the name Irwin R. Schyster or I.R.S. for short, a play on the abbreviation of the Internal Revenue Service. He works with the WWE as a road agent and makes occasional appearances on WWE shows as Irwin R. Schyster. Rotunda (as Mike Rotunda) joined All Japan Pro Wrestling in the summer of 2000, shortly after the Pro Wrestling Noah exodus. He reunited the Varsity Club, this time with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. The team won the 2000 World's Strongest Tag Determination League[13] and also challenged for the World Tag Team Championship, against Taiyō Kea and Johnny Smith on February 24, 2001, but lost. In late 2001, Rotunda returned to Team 2000 as part of the All Japan branch and returned to New Japan for one match, on October 28, teaming with Chono to defeat Tencozy. Rotunda finished the year teaming with Williams in the 2001 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, which they finished in 5th place with 6 points. Rotunda retired from wrestling to run a security company with his wife in 2004. Rotunda was rehired by WWE as a road agent in 2006, and has made guest appearances as Irwin R. Schyster. One such appearance was on the August 6, 2007 edition of WWE Raw; Mr. McMahon was discussing his IRS troubles with Jonathan Coachman, and when the conversation ended, Rotunda lowered the paper covering his face (Financial Times) and revealed himself. Rotunda appeared as I.R.S. on the December 10, 2007 15th Anniversary edition of Raw, winning a 15-man Battle Royal, only to be paid by his former tag team partner Ted DiBiase to eliminate himself and I.R.S. appeared on the September 7, 2009 edition of "Raw," of which Bob Barker was the guest host. Rotunda was a contestant in a pricing game (similar to the "One Bid" qualifying segment of The Price Is Right) along with Santino Marella, Jillian Hall, and Chris Jericho, bidding on a "Best of SmackDown" DVD. Rotunda overbid $50.00 (including tax); the DVD's actual retail price was $18.99. Chris Jericho won the pricing game with a bid of $1.00 (as erroneously proclaimed by Bob Barker). I.R.S was, later that night, one of the contestants during the second round of the pricing game. A. J. Pierzynski of the Chicago White Sox filled in the vacated spot Chris Jericho held. This time the bid was for a travel package to WrestleMania XXVI in Glendale, Arizona. Rotunda bid $2,000.00 for the package. The actual retail price was $1,247.00, making Santino the winner after a bid of $1,200.00 Rotunda appeared on an episode of Monday Night Raw as a lumberjack in the "'80s Legend Lumberjack Match", in which Christian defeated Ted DiBiase Rotunda is married to Stephanie Rotunda (née Windham), the daughter of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, and sister of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham. They have two sons, Windham and Taylor, who are professional wrestlers working for WWE under the ring names Bray Wyatt (former WWE Champion, former SmackDown Tag Team Champion with The Wyatt Family which at the time included Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Randy Orton, and former Raw Tag Team Champion with Matt Hardy) and Bo Dallas (former NXT Champion and former Raw Tag Team Champion with Curtis Axel). The couple also has a daughter named Mika and two granddaughters named Cadyn and Kendyl
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X. Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi is an American professional wrestler and former professional gridiron football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the current and longest reigning WWE Universal Champion in his second reign. He is part of the Anoaʻi wrestling family, which also includes his father Sika Anoaʻi, brother Rosey, and cousins Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Rikishi, The Tonga Kid, and the late Yokozuna and Umaga. Highly regarded by industry veterans, his heel run has been regarded as one of the greatest character arcs of professional wrestling. After playing college football for Georgia Tech, Anoaʻi started his professional football career with brief off-season stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2007. He then played a full season for the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football. He then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Under the ring name Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The trio teamed together until June 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition. Reigns is a five-time world champion in WWE, having held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Universal Championship twice. In 2022, he became the longest reigning Universal Champion at 581+ days, which is recognized as the sixth-longest world championship reign in the promotion's history. He is also a one-time WWE United States Champion, a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner, and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series match with four in the 2013 event and also previously held the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship, he became the twenty-eighth Triple Crown Champion and the seventeenth Grand Slam Champion. Reigns has headlined numerous pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania five times (31, 32, 33, 34, and 37). Additionally, Reigns was ranked number one in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500 list of the top 500 singles wrestlers in 2016. From 2014 onwards, WWE attempted to establish Reigns as their next "face of the company", positioning him as a heroic character, which was met with intense disapproval by audiences and critics. However, following his return in August 2020, Reigns was repackaged as a new villainous character, "The Tribal Chief", which has generally been met with acclaim by fans and critics alike. His revamped persona was named Best Gimmick by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2021
Debrah Ann Miceli, better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. As of 2015, she has been the commissioner of Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. In professional wrestling Miceli is also known by the ring name Alundra Blayze, which she used while in WWE. Outside of WWE, she wrestled under her professional name of Madusa, which was shortened from "Made in the USA". Her early career was spent in The American Wrestling Association, where she once held the AWA World Women's Championship. In 1988, she was the first woman to be awarded Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year. The following year, she signed a contract with All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, making her the first foreign wrestler to do so. She later joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where she was a member of The Dangerous Alliance, a group of wrestlers managed by Paul E. Dangerously. In 1993, she joined the rival WWE under the name Alundra Blayze. In the WWE, she feuded with Bull Nakano and Bertha Faye, while holding the WWE Women's Championship three times. Two years after joining WWE, Miceli returned to WCW, showing up on an episode of Monday Nitro to throw the WWF Women's Championship belt into a trash can; she was blacklisted by the WWF for the next 20 years as a result.[8] In her second WCW run, Miceli feuded with Bull Nakano and Oklahoma, and became the first woman to hold the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. After training wrestlers such as Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, and Nora Greenwald (Molly Holly) at the WCW Power Plant, she left the company in 2001. On March 28, 2015, she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015, under the Alundra Blayze moniker. Miceli competes in the world of monster trucks. She drives a truck named Madusa, and won the 2004 co-championship at the Monster Jam World Finals for freestyle in the first-ever three-way tie. The following year, she was the only female competitor in the Super Bowl of Motorsports, and she won the Racing Championship in the Monster Jam World Finals.
Ettore Ewen is an American professional wrestler, signed to WWE where he wrestles under the ring name Big E as part of the tag team stable The New Day. He is a former NXT Champion in WWE's developmental territory NXT, as well as a multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion. Ewen is also a national powerlifting champion who has set multiple national and state records in the raw division.
Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah, is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working on the SmackDown brand. Since competing for WWE, he has won the Intercontinental Championship two times, the United States Championship once, and the World Tag Team Championship once with CM Punk.
Austin Watson is an American professional wrestler and is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Xavier Woods as part of the tag team stable The New Day. Upon joining the company, he was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Watson has also previously worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Consequences Creed, as well as NWA Anarchy and other independent promotions under the ring name Austin Creed.
An American and Canadian actor, producer and semi-retired professional wrestler, signed with WWE. Johnson is half-Black and half-Samoan. His father, Rocky Johnson, is a Black Canadian, from Nova Scotia, and part of the first Black tag team champions in WWE history back when it was known as the WWF along with Tony Atlas. His mother is Samoan and the daughter of Peter Maivia, who was also a pro wrestler. Maivia's wife, Lia Maivia, was one of wrestling's few female promoters, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband's death in 1982, until 1988. Through his mother, he is considered a non-blood relative of the Anoa'i wrestling family. On March 29, 2008, The Rock inducted his father and his grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame. As of 2014, Johnson has a home in Southwest Ranches, Florida as well as Los Angeles, California. He also owns a farm in Virginia. In 2009, Johnson gained citizenship in Canada in honor of his father's background. Though Johnson was previously registered as a Republican, he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 United States presidential elections and is now an independent voter. He stated he did not vote in the 2016 U.S. election. In recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Johnson had the noble title of Seiuli bestowed upon him by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there in July 2004. He received a partial Samoan pe'a tattoo on his left side in 2003,and, in 2017, had the small "Brahma bull" tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger half-sleeve tattoo of a bull's skull. Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997. Their only child together, a daughter named Simone, was born in August 2001. On June 1, 2007, they announced they were splitting up amicably. Johnson then began dating Lauren Hashian, daughter of Boston drummer Sib Hashian. They first met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. Their first child together, a daughter, was born in December 2015. Their second child, another daughter, was born in April 2018. Johnson attended the 2000 Democratic National Convention as part of WWE's non-partisan "Smackdown Your Vote" campaign, which aimed to influence young people to vote. He also had a speaking role at the 2000 Republican National Convention that same year. In 2006, Johnson founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, a charity working with at-risk and terminally ill children. On October 2, 2007, he and his ex-wife donated $1 million to the University of Miami to support the renovation of its football facilities; it was noted as the largest donation ever given to the university's athletics department by former students. The University of Miami renamed the Hurricanes' locker room in Johnson's honor. In 2015, Johnson donated $1,500 to a GoFundMe to pay for an abandoned dog's surgery. In 2017, he donated $25,000 to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. In 2018, Johnson donated a gym to a military base in Oahu, Hawaii. After the 2018 Hawaii floods, he worked with Malama Kauai, a nonprofit organization, to help repair damages caused by the floods.
Mark LoMonaco is an American professional wrestler. He currently wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Bully Ray, where he is the President of the Aces & Eights stable. LoMonaco wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1999 under the ring name Buh Buh Ray Dudley and for World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) as Bubba Ray Dudley from 1999 to 2005. He began performing with TNA in 2005 as Brother Ray before adopting his current ring name in 2010. Along with his kayfabe half-brother D-Von/Devon, LoMonaco is one-half of the tag team the Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D). Characterized by their unorthodox ring apparel and usage of tables in their matches, Team 3D are recognized as 23-time world tag team champions. Along with 10 WWE Hardcore Championship reigns, and his TNA World Heavyweight title reign, LoMonaco has held 34 total championships between WWE, ECW, TNA, and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
Taylor Michael Rotunda is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda and uncles Barry and Kendall Windham were all professional wrestlers. While in WWE's developmental territories Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and NXT, he was a three-time FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion, a two-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champion with his brother, and a one-time NXT Champion. He was promoted to WWE's main roster in 2014, where he won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (with Curtis Axel as part of The B-Team) and the WWE 24/7 Championship once.
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965; ht. 6'10"), better known by his ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed under a 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 to World Wrestling Entertainment. The Undertaker is one of the most recognizable figures in the history of professional wrestling. His tenure with WWE (formerly WWF) spans 30 years and is the longest of any wrestler in the company's history. His retirement in 2020 left him as the only remaining active wrestler to appear on the first episode of 𝘞𝘞𝘍 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘙𝘢𝘸 (now 𝘞𝘞𝘌 𝘙𝘢𝘸) in 1993. He began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He end up in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous by 1989. When WCW did not renew his contract in 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF later renamed WWE). After debuting as Kane the Undertaker, he shortened it to simply The Undertaker making his television debut at WWF's Thanksgiving themed pay-per-view event the Survivor Series 1990. At the 1990 Survivor Series, The Undertaker would debut alongside The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase as part of DiBiase's team in one of the Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Matches that the annual event is known for. He would eventually go on to be managed by Paul Bearer who would help propel him to the WWF World Title just a year after his debut. During his time with the WWE, he would go on to hold many championships and accolades most notably a 21-match-long winning streak at WWE's biggest annual event, WrestleMania. Respected amongst fans and peers a like, the Undertaker has one of the most celebrated and long-running careers in all of professional wrestling. We can be sure that for time in memoriam he will be considered one of the greatest of all time.
