5 ECW Stars Who Deserve To Be In The WWE Hall Of Fame

We’re here folks. WrestleMania season has finally arrived and the big event is less than two months away. As we all know, with WrestleMania season comes Hall of Fame induction announcements, and so far this year’s ceremony is shaping up to be exciting with Kurt Angle and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express confirmed for the 2017 class.

There are several other rumored names making the rounds in regards to possible inductees, and today we’re going to talk about 5 names from ECW who should be considered for the WWE Hall of Fame in the future.

ECW had a huge impact on the wrestling industry during the 90s, and fans still chant “E-C-Dub” to this very day. The brand itself is worthy of a WWE Hall of Fame induction, but it was the stars who brought it all together that made it so memorable. Over the next few years it would be nice to see ECW have more of a presence in the WWE Hall of Fame and these are the stars who undoubtedly need to be inducted on the brand’s behalf.

#5 – Taz

Taz is busy nowadays doing his thing with The Taz Show, but back in the day Taz was one of the most intimidating wrestlers in ECW, which is saying something. When ECW was at its peak and The Human Suplex Machine was firing on all cylinders it was truly something special.

His feud with Sabu was one of the cornerstones of ECW and although he didn’t reach great heights as a wrestler in WWE, in ECW he was an icon.

During his wrestling career Taz was also a part of something that had never happened before, and will never happen again, when he defeated Mike Awesome to win the ECW Title. At the time Taz was a WWE contracted wrestler, Awesome was under contract with WCW and they fought for the ECW Title in an ECW ring. It doesn’t get much more controversial than that.

After injuries forced Taz to hang up his boots, he moved to the commentary table and he became one of the voices of the WWE. Taz eventually found his groove when he teamed up with Michael Cole on SmackDown and the Taz/Cole team is considered by some fans out there to be one of the best teams in the history of the blue brand.

#4 – Tommy Dreamer

Tommy Dreamer has truly been a gift to the professional wrestling industry. Over the course of his career he’s always put the fans first and he has always done what is truly best for business.

Dreamer has worked with just about any promotion that will have him, and he continues to do everything in his power to make sure that he’s doing his part to help the business evolve. Dreamer is a giver and that’s been evident from his contributions to the industry both inside and outside the ring.

There’s a reason why Tommy Dreamer can work with several different companies while simultaneously running his own promotion, House of Hardcore, and the reason is that he just loves the business and he’s easy to work with.

Tommy Dreamer has won titles, he was a part of some of ECW’s biggest angles and he’s wrestled at WrestleMania, but that’s never been what wrestling is about for Dreamer. For Dreamer wrestling is about building a community and giving something to the fans, and a WWE Hall of Fame induction would be a great way for the community to give back to him.

#3 – Sabu

Does Sabu deserve to be a WWE Hall of Famer? Yes. Is Sabu going to care if he never gets inducted? Probably not.

During a recent interview Sabu said that he doesn’t consider the WWE Hall of Fame to be a real Hall of Fame. But just because it’s not real to him doesn’t mean he can’t be a part of it, because it’s still real to us, dammit!

Sabu is one of the most unique performers in wrestling history, and although his style might not have worked that well in the WWE, it was perfect for ECW and one of the brand’s main attractions.

WWE owes a lot to ECW, more than Vince McMahon will likely ever admit publicly, but the brand had a big influence on WWE and the wrestling industry in general during The Attitude Era. Sabu was a big part of what made ECW cool, and although he never won the WWE Title or headlined WrestleMania, he’s still legendary in his own right.

#2 – Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam truly is one of a kind and he also happens to be the only man to ever hold the WWE and ECW Titles simultaneously. That alone warrants a WWE Hall of Fame induction.

Rob Van Dam has accomplished a lot during his career, but perhaps his most important accomplishment is the special connection that he made with the fans. Van Dam has a very loyal and dedicated fanbase, and they’re dedicated because they know that RVD always gave it his all every time he stepped in the ring regardless of the circumstances.

Wrestlers come and go, and quite a few have come and gone from WWE over the years, but RVD is one of a kind, and in the eyes of the fans his legacy is even greater than he likely realizes.

#1 – Paul Heyman

If anyone from ECW needs to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, it’s Paul Heyman. Paul is one of the most gifted minds to ever work in the professional wrestling industry and he also happens to be charismatic, entertaining and absolutely brilliant.

During the 90s Paul Heyman had his finger on the pulse of what was cool before anyone else in the industry even knew there was a pulse. He took ECW to a place that no one thought it could go and he influenced promoters everywhere. ECW’s influence was everywhere during the Monday Night Wars and it could be argued that although ECW didn’t air on Monday nights, the ideas that the promotion brought to the table were very much a part of the war.

Unfortunately for Heyman, ECW didn’t survive, but like a true entrepreneur he dusted himself off and moved on. Heyman went on to find success with WWE and he’s also been very successful at running his own businesses with the Heyman Hustle brand and the Looking 4 Larry marketing agency.

Paul Heyman knows how to pull the strings behind the scenes, that’s for sure, but his contributions in front of the camera have also made him one of the most beloved and entertaining performers to ever speak inside a wrestling ring.

The wrestling business is full of talented stars, but every once in a while a star comes along who is just clearly on a different level and forces people to take notice. But Paul Heyman isn’t that guy, because Paul Heyman isn’t just a guy who’s on another level, he’s the guy who invented the next level.