The Forgotten Observer Awards: The Yearbook Ratings & WON HOF Impact

The annual yearbooks of the Wrestling Observer during the 1980s were where the results of the annual Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards were announced. Right alongside them in each issue was a list of wrestlers under the heading “Wrestling Observer Ratings.” Editor Dave Meltzer had polled a select group of people for a ranking of their top wrestlers at that point in time.

In 1986, the prelude to the ratings specified “these ratings are based strictly on in-ring ability and work-rate when it comes to wrestling skill and athletic ability.” It’s my assumption that this description applies to the ratings prior to 1986, but I have been unable to verify this to date. In previous years, there’s no specification of criteria for this poll.

I can’t find any meaningful discussion of these polls anywhere online, which is a shame, as these provide a nice look back into how wrestlers were viewed during their career. This can be a useful tool for evaluating a wrestler’s career and ensuring that their historical evaluation isn’t forgotten.

It should be noted that 1984 ranked 100 wrestlers, but I excluded 76-100 from that list for the purpose of awarding points later in the article.

Here is a table of all the placements in the lists. The 1981 list is incomplete, only pieced together from listings in later rankings.

You can find every yearbook from 1982 to 1990 on the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/wrestling-observer-yearbook

Wrestler	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Ric Flair	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2
Bob Backlund	2	5	31
Harley Race	3	4	15	27	31	61	56.5
Nick Bockwinkel	4	8	26.5	74	55	67
Andre the Giant	5	14	35
Dusty Rhodes	6	15	64.5
Dory Funk	7	13	29	72
Bruiser Brody	8	6	2	3	5	20	26
Hulk Hogan	9	7	6	41
Antonio Inoki	10	19	71		44
Ted DibIase	11	3	8	20	3	2	7	4	25	21
Mil Mascaras	13	40	60
Ken Patera	14	24	30
Jack Brisco	15	16	41
Tommy Rich	16	38	60
Stan Hansen	17	10	7	9	4	26	37	51	58.5	42
Don Muraco	17	17	34
Greg Valentine	18	37	22	46	53	48
Terry Funk	20	20	50	52	15	41		57	4	16
Pat Patterson	21		56
The Superstar/Masked Superstar	24	12	10	33
Dick Slater	25	28	25	17	42
Ivan Koloff	28	39	43
Jumbo Tsuruta	29	21	28	38	33	32	43	32	13	6
Ricky Steamboat	30	23	21	10	12	8	10		3	32
Killer Khan	31	36	37.5	55	72
Jimmy Snuka	32	2	26.5
Roddy Piper	33	9	18	34	36
Dick Murdoch	34	33	73.5	51	30	36	31	28
Tatsumi Fujinami	35	35	16	8	7	3	8	1	74
Sgt. Slaughter	35	18	4	31
Super Destroyer	37	42	40
Paul Orndorff	39	11	11	13	24
Terry Gordy	40		9	11	8	6	30	23	26	28
Kerry Von Erich	41	44	37.5	19	21
Adrian Adonis	42	31	3	14
Iron Sheik	43	54	64.5	54
Junkyard Dog	44	25	48
David von Erich	45	34	20
Barry Windham	47		36	25	67	11	4	3	29	48
Jerry Lawler	48	30	33	57	61	63	63	48
Rick Martel	49	43	66.5	35	18	38	15		43
Buzz Sawyer	55	26	23	47	50	17	33	53	41
El Canek	56		45	44	41
Kevin von Erich	57	55	32	28	63
Randy Savage	59	74	55	18	10	19	19	16	17	25
Tito Santana	60	56	44				60	58	65	73
Masa Saito	61		24	15			9	20	54	55
Dos Caras	71	64.5	37	64	59
Bob Orton	73	29	12	16	52
Dynamite Kid		47	5	2	2	29		71.5	63
Butch Reed		27	14	7	16	74
Satoru Sayama/Tiger Mask I		22	19	4	32
Chavo Guerrero		67.5	17	22	35	24		59
Riki Choshu			13	6		9	13.5	35	44	31
Animal Hamiguchi			46.5	26	23	42.5
Davey Boy Smith				5	17	23	71		73
Yoshiaki Yatsu			57	30	19	4	40.5	62	65
Akira Maeda				24	13	10	5	13	14	36
The Cobra/George Takano				12	26	54.5	67		52	44
Chris Adams			53	58	11		68.5
Nobuhiko Takada				21	27	7	2	7.5	10	22
Mark Rocco/Black Tiger			51	42	33	35		66	68.5
Kuniaki Kobayashi				32	20	16	47.5	47
Rocky Johnson		58	69		6
Mitsuhara Misawa/Tiger Mask II				47	14	12	11	9		4
Bobby Eaton			73.5	56	9	5	6	7.5	22	3
Jerry Blackwell		49	40	50
Jim Duggan			49	70.5	28	30
Tully Blanchard			70	61	25	13	13.5	17	18
Bret Hart				48	37	15	17	21	21	20
Kengo Kimura				39	49	44	38	38
Magnum TA				45	43	34
Genichiro Tenryu				67	22	22	27	11	5	12
Terry Taylor				65	29	18	18	44		60
Scott McGhee			52	43
Don Kernodle				23
Brad Armstrong				63	39	25	20	22	46	62
Otto Wanz		32
Bad News Allen				40	69	53	50
Hercules Hernandez				36
B. Brian Blair				37
Yoshiaki Fujiwara				68	45	45	24	34	37	63
Steve Williams					38	14	34	52	50.5	45
Buddy Landel					40	42.5				74.5
Mike Rotundo			63	53				36	60.5
Wahoo McDaniel		41
Jimmy Garvin		66	54
Giant Baba		45
Hiro Saito					46	28	58			74.5
Pedro Morales		46
Jerry Stubbs			46.5
Hector Guerrero					47	57	53	73
La Fiera					48	49
Tony Atlas		48
Stong Machine #2				49
Buddy Rose		57		69
Abdullah the Butcher		50.5
Gran Hamada			66.5	60						46.5
Great Kabuki		50.5
Pirata Morgan					51	52	39	39	39.5	37
Steve Kiern		52
Jim Brunzell		53
Ricky Morton					54	21	23	71.5		54
Michael Hayes					56	68		61
Keith Hayward				59	74
Ron Starr				62	71
The Grappler					57
Brett Sawyer			58
Keiji Mutoh/Great Muta/Super Black Ninja					58	39	29	25	15	7
Curt Hennig			59			59	12	24	12	5
Ole Anderson		59
Jay Youngblood		63		73
Robert Gibson					60	70
Ron Bass		60
Billy Robinson		61
Arn Anderson					70	46	35	12	11	19
Dino Bravo			62
Paul Jones		62
Koko B. Ware					64	75.67
Manny Fernandez		64.5						74.5
Super Strong Machine					65	60	59
Dennis Condrey					66	66	74
Lanny Poffo				66
Isamu Teranishi			68	75
Gino Hernandez		67.5
Jesse Barr					68
Blackjack Mulligan		69
Joe LeDuc		70
Kazuo Yamazaki				70.5			16	19	16	40
Superstar Graham		71
Carlos Colon			72
David Schultz		72
Eddie Gilbert					73	62	21	14	60.5	57
Larry Zbyszko		73
Bruno Sammartino Jr.		75
King Kong Bundy			75
Krusher Khruschev					75
Akira Nogami									47
Ashura Hara							70	49
Atlantis								45	55	69
Bam Bam Bigelow						33	44		75
Barry Orton							47.5
Biff Wellington								37
Big Boss Man									49	65.5
Billy Travis							55
Blackman						75.67
Bobby Fulton								31		70
Brian Pillman							72	74.5	28	24
Buddy Roberts						64
Cactus Jack										65.5
Chris Benoit/Pegasus Kid								30	32.5	10
Chris Champion							61.5		71
Dan Kroffatt								46	7	35
Danny Davis								63
Doug Furnas									65
El Dandy										50
El Hijo del Santo						56	46			53
Emilio Charles									62	68
Hiroshi Hase							32		36	18
Jack Victory						37
Jake Roberts						51
Jason the Terrible							64	54
Jeff Jarrett							49	55		49
Jerry Estrada								67.5	45	27
Joe Malenko									57
Johnny Smith								70	48	72
Jushin Liger/Keiichi Yamada						65	28	5	2	1
Ken Wayne								50
Kensuke Sasaki										41
Kenta Kobashi									70	14
Lex Luger									19	38
Lizmark								60	68.5
Mando Guerrero								67.5
Marty Jannetty									31	34
Masa Fuchi						73
Masaharu Funaki							51	41	35	26
Masahiro Chono										46.5
Minoru Suzuki										67
Naoki Sano									6	9
Negro Casas						31	36		39.5	11
Osamu Kido						75.67
Owen Hart						27	3	6	20	23
Pat Tanaka							22	27	56
Paul Diamond								65
Rick Rude									30	33
Rick Steiner						69	52	15	24	29
Road Warrior Hawk							75	64	72
Ron Simmons										58
Ronnie Garvin						71
Sam Houston						40	40.5	40
Samson Fuyuki								42	32.5
Scott Steiner									23	15
Shawn Michaels						54.5	61.5	56	9	17
Shinichi Nakano								69
Shinya Hashimoto									42	43
Shiro Koshinaka						50	25	10	27	39
Shunji Takano						58	65
Stan Lane							42	33		64
Steve Armstrong										59
Sting							45	26	34	56
Super Astro							66		38	52
Super Boy									58.5
Takayuki Iizuka									67
Tama							68.5
Tim Horner						72	56.5
Tom Prichard							54	43
Tommy Rogers						47	73	29	53	30
Tony Anthony										71
Toshiaki Kawada								18	8	8
Tracy Smothers										61
Tsyuoshi Kikuchi										51
Yoshinari Asai									50.5	13

I’ve put together rankings of the various wrestlers covering three consecutive years each, assigning points on the basis of 1^st place being worth 75 points, 2^nd 74 points, and so forth. The grouping is to minimize the effect of a single year on an individual’s ranking.

Wrestler	Sum 82-84	Sum 83-85	Sum 84-86	Sum 85-87	Sum 86-88	Sum 87-89	Sum 88-90
Ric Flair	225	225	225	225	224	224	223
Bobby Eaton	22.5	89.5	158	208	209.5	192.5	195.5
Nobuhiko Takada	55	104	173	192	211.5	208.5	188.5
Ted DibIase	197	197	203	216	215	192	178
Genichiro Tenryu	9	63	117	157	168	185	200
Akira Maeda	52	115	181	200	200	196	165
Owen Hart	0	0	49	122	192	199	179
Bret Hart	28	67	128	159	175	169	166
Barry Windham	91	100	125	146	210	192	148
Randy Savage	81	145	181	180	174	176	170
Jushin Liger/Keiichi Yamada	0	0	11	59	130	193	220
Curt Hennig	17	17	17	81	133	180	187
Mitsuhara Misawa/Tiger Mask II	29	91	155	191	196	132	139
Terry Gordy	132	200	203	184	169	149	151
Keiji Mutoh/Great Muta/Super Black Ninja	0	18	55	102	135	159	181
Arn Anderson	0	6	36	77	135	170	186
Jumbo Tsuruta	141	129	125	120	121	140	177
Ricky Steamboat	174	185	198	198	134	139	117
Riki Choshu	133	133	137	129.5	170.5	135.5	118
Tully Blanchard	21	72	129	176.5	184.5	179.5	117
Shiro Koshinaka	0	0	26	77	143	166	152
Tatsumi Fujinami	169	197	210	210	216	145	77
Kazuo Yamazaki	5.5	5.5	5.5	60	117	177	153
Brad Armstrong	13	50	101	144	161	140	98
Toshiaki Kawada	0	0	0	0	58	126	194
Rick Steiner	0	0	7	31	92	137	160
Negro Casas	0	0	45	85	85	76.5	101.5
Terry Funk	106	111	120	96	54	91	151
Steve Williams	0	38	100	142	128	91.5	80.5
Shawn Michaels	0	0	21.5	36	56	101.5	146
Yoshiaki Fujiwara	8	39	70	114	125	133	94
Pirata Morgan	0	25	49	86	98	110.5	112.5
Masa Saito	113	113	61	67	123	145	99
Eddie Gilbert	0	3	17	72	131	132.5	96.5
Stan Hansen	202	208	189	161	114	81.5	76.5
Terry Taylor	11	58	116	163	148	90	48
Buzz Sawyer	132	108	114	128	125	101	58
Chris Benoit/Pegasus Kid	0	0	0	0	46	89.5	155.5
Masaharu Funaki	0	0	0	25	60	101	126
Tommy Rogers	0	0	29	32	79	73	116
Sting	0	0	0	31	81	123	112
Hiroshi Hase	0	0	0	44	44	84	98
Dan Kroffatt	0	0	0	0	30	99	140
Naoki Sano	0	0	0	0	0	70	137
Ricky Morton	0	22	77	130	112.5	57.5	26.5
Dick Murdoch	70.5	73.5	111	131	133	93	48
Yoshiaki Yatsu	65	122	175	164.5	121.5	60.5	25
Rick Martel	83.5	108.5	137	157	99	94	33
Pat Tanaka	0	0	0	54	103	123	69
Kuniaki Kobayashi	44	100	160	144.5	117.5	57.5	29
Scott Steiner	0	0	0	0	0	53	114
Kengo Kimura	37	64	96	97	108	76	38
Sam Houston	0	0	36	71.5	107.5	71.5	36
Bruiser Brody	217	218	200	177	106	50	0
Brian Pillman	0	0	0	4	5.5	53.5	101.5
Lex Luger	0	0	0	0	0	57	95
Rick Rude	0	0	0	0	0	46	89
Stan Lane	0	0	0	34	77	77	55
Jerry Estrada	0	0	0	0	8.5	39.5	88.5
Yoshinari Asai	0	0	0	0	0	25.5	88.5
Marty Jannetty	0	0	0	0	0	45	87
The Cobra/George Takano	64	114	135.5	80.5	30.5	33	56
Samson Fuyuki	0	0	0	0	34	77.5	77.5
Bam Bam Bigelow	0	0	43	75	75	33	1
Jeff Jarrett	0	0	0	27	48	48	48
El Hijo del Santo	0	0	20	50	50	30	23
Super Astro	0	0	0	10	10	48	62
Chavo Guerrero	121.5	154	147	93	69	17	17
Kenta Kobashi	0	0	0	0	0	6	68
Hiro Saito	0	30	78	96	66	18	1.5
Shinya Hashimoto	0	0	0	0	0	34	67
Dynamite Kid	174	219	195	121	51.5	17.5	17.5
Davey Boy Smith	71	130	183	117	58	8	3
Atlantis	0	0	0	0	31	52	59
Mark Rocco/Black Tiger	59	102	118	84	51	17.5	17.5
Mike Rotundo	36	36	23	0	40	55.5	55.5
Tom Prichard	0	0	0	22	55	55	33
Jerry Lawler	108	77	47	41	54	41	28
Bobby Fulton	0	0	0	0	45	45	51
Bad News Allen	36	43	66	56	49	26	0
Tito Santana	52	32	0	16	34	45	32
Jim Duggan	32.5	80.5	99.5	94	46	0	0
Hector Guerrero	0	29	48	71	45	26	3
Magnum TA	31	64	106	75	42	0	0
Biff Wellington	0	0	0	0	39	39	39
Jack Victory	0	0	39	39	39	0	0
Johnny Smith	0	0	0	0	6	34	38
Big Boss Man	0	0	0	0	0	27	37.5
Kensuke Sasaki	0	0	0	0	0	0	35
Buddy Landel	0	36	69.5	69.5	33.5	0	1.5
Harley Race	182	155	109	79.5	34.5	19.5	0
Jason the Terrible	0	0	0	12	34	34	22
Animal Hamiguchi	79.5	132.5	136.5	86.5	33.5	0	0
Ashura Hara	0	0	0	6	33	33	27
Super Strong Machine	0	11	27	44	33	17	0
Gran Hamada	25.5	25.5	16	0	0	0	29.5
Masahiro Chono	0	0	0	0	0	0	29.5
Akira Nogami	0	0	0	0	0	29	29
Shunji Takano	0	0	18	29	29	11	0
Barry Orton	0	0	0	28.5	28.5	28.5	0
Greg Valentine	123	107	81	51	28	0	0
La Fiera	0	28	55	55	27	0	0
Ken Wayne	0	0	0	0	26	26	26
El Dandy	0	0	0	0	0	0	26
Tsyuoshi Kikuchi	0	0	0	0	0	0	25
Jake Roberts	0	0	25	25	25	0	0
Lizmark	0	0	0	0	16	23.5	23.5
Tim Horner	0	0	4	23.5	23.5	19.5	0
Michael Hayes	0	20	28	28	23	15	15
Emilio Charles	0	0	0	0	0	14	22
Billy Travis	0	0	0	21	21	21	0
Chris Champion	0	0	0	14.5	14.5	19.5	5
Joe Malenko	0	0	0	0	0	19	19
Ron Simmons	0	0	0	0	0	0	18
Super Boy	0	0	0	0	0	17.5	17.5
Steve Armstrong	0	0	0	0	0	0	17
Road Warrior Hawk	0	0	0	1	13	17	16
Tracy Smothers	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
Danny Davis	0	0	0	0	13	13	13
Dennis Condrey	0	10	20	22	12	2	0
Buddy Roberts	0	0	12	12	12	0	0
Paul Diamond	0	0	0	0	11	11	11
Doug Furnas	0	0	0	0	0	11	11
Cactus Jack	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.5
Takayuki Iizuka	0	0	0	0	0	9	9
Minoru Suzuki	0	0	0	0	0	0	9
Nick Bockwinkel	119.5	72.5	32	30	9	0	0
Mando Guerrero	0	0	0	0	8.5	8.5	8.5
Chris Adams	41	106	83	72.5	7.5	7.5	0
Tama	0	0	0	7.5	7.5	7.5	0
Shinichi Nakano	0	0	0	0	7	7	7
Robert Gibson	0	16	22	22	6	0	0
Tony Anthony	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Ronnie Garvin	0	0	5	5	5	0	0
Masa Fuchi	0	0	3	3	3	0	0
Butch Reed	180	191	131	62	2	0	0
Manny Fernandez	11.5	0	0	0	1.5	1.5	1.5
Koko B. Ware	0	12	12.33	12.33	0.33	0	0
Blackman	0	0	0.33	0.33	0.33	0	0
Osamu Kido	0	0	0.33	0.33	0.33	0	0
Rocky Johnson	25	77	70	70	0	0	0
Kerry Von Erich	127.5	150.5	112	55	0	0	0
Paul Orndorff	193	180	115	52	0	0	0
Satoru Sayama/Tiger Mask I	183	173	116	44	0	0	0
Roddy Piper	167	140	82	40	0	0	0
El Canek	63	98	67	35	0	0	0
Dick Slater	158	144	93	34	0	0	0
Antonio Inoki	62	37	32	32	0	0	0
Bob Orton	171	148	84	24	0	0	0
The Grappler	0	19	19	19	0	0	0
Dos Caras	62.5	68	29	17	0	0	0
Kevin von Erich	113	105	61	13	0	0	0
Jesse Barr	0	8	8	8	0	0	0
Ron Starr	14	19	19	5	0	0	0
Killer Khan	99.5	63.5	25	4	0	0	0
Keith Hayward	17	19	19	2	0	0	0
Krusher Khruschev	0	1	1	1	0	0	0
Adrian Adonis	180	135	62	0	0	0	0
Don Kernodle	53	53	53	0	0	0	0
Sgt. Slaughter	175	117	45	0	0	0	0
The Superstar/Masked Superstar	173	109	43	0	0	0	0
Hercules Hernandez	40	40	40	0	0	0	0
B. Brian Blair	39	39	39	0	0	0	0
Hulk Hogan	174	105	35	0	0	0	0
Scott McGhee	57	57	33	0	0	0	0
Stong Machine #2	27	27	27	0	0	0	0
Jerry Blackwell	89	62	26	0	0	0	0
Iron Sheik	55.5	33.5	22	0	0	0	0
Lanny Poffo	10	10	10	0	0	0	0
Buddy Rose	26	7	7	0	0	0	0
Dory Funk	114	51	4	0	0	0	0
Jay Youngblood	16	3	3	0	0	0	0
Isamu Teranishi	9	9	1	0	0	0	0
David von Erich	98	56	0	0	0	0	0
Jimmy Snuka	123.5	49.5	0	0	0	0	0
Ken Patera	98	46	0	0	0	0	0
Bob Backlund	116	45	0	0	0	0	0
Don Muraco	101	42	0	0	0	0	0
Andre the Giant	103	41	0	0	0	0	0
Super Destroyer	70	36	0	0	0	0	0
Jack Brisco	95	35	0	0	0	0	0
Ivan Koloff	70	33	0	0	0	0	0
Jerry Stubbs	29.5	29.5	0	0	0	0	0
Junkyard Dog	79	28	0	0	0	0	0
Jimmy Garvin	32	22	0	0	0	0	0
Pat Patterson	20	20	0	0	0	0	0
Brett Sawyer	18	18	0	0	0	0	0
Tommy Rich	54	16	0	0	0	0	0
Mil Mascaras	52	16	0	0	0	0	0
Dino Bravo	14	14	0	0	0	0	0
Dusty Rhodes	72.5	11.5	0	0	0	0	0
Carlos Colon	4	4	0	0	0	0	0
King Kong Bundy	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Otto Wanz	44	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wahoo McDaniel	35	0	0	0	0	0	0
Giant Baba	31	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pedro Morales	30	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tony Atlas	28	0	0	0	0	0	0
Abdullah the Butcher	25.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Great Kabuki	25.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Kiern	24	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jim Brunzell	23	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ole Anderson	17	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ron Bass	16	0	0	0	0	0	0
Billy Robinson	15	0	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Jones	14	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gino Hernandez	8.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blackjack Mulligan	7	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe LeDuc	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Superstar Graham	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Schultz	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Larry Zbyszko	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bruno Sammartino Jr.	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Let’s use this data to look at some Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame candidates.

Here’s a quick reminder of the instructions to voters:

“The criteria for the Hall of Fame is a combination of drawing power, being a great in-ring performer or excelling in one’s field in pro wrestling, as well as having historical significance in a positive manner.  A candidate should either have something to offer in all three categories, or be someone so outstanding in one or two of those categories that they deserve inclusion.”

Only three people were ranked in all seven groupings – Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, and Terry Gordy. Flair never finished below second and DiBiase never below eleventh. Terry Gordy peaked at third and never fell below 21^st in these three-year intervals. All three of them are in the Hall of Fame. This is also the case for the wrestlers who appeared in six of the seven lists: Ricky Steamboat, Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, and Randy Savage.

There are six wrestlers who appeared in the top 50 for five different three-year periods: Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Bobby Eaton, Bret Hart, and Barry Windham. Of them, Windham is not in the Hall. Windham only appeared on the ballot once in 1998, when he immediately fell off the ballot due to receiving less than 10% of the vote.

When Windham initially appeared on the ballot, it looks like he was largely dismissed as a flash in the pan in terms of in-ring quality. However, for a period of seven years, he was a top 25 in-ring performer according to this poll.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if he were on the ballot again. I don’t feel like there’s a groundswell of support for his induction, but in terms of in-ring, he feels like a decent candidate based off these numbers. His name barely came up in the voting for the Flair/Thesz or Most Outstanding Wrestler awards. He finished fourth in the voting for Best Heel in 1988, and never showed up on those lists again. His historical importance seems tied entirely to his membership in the Four Horsemen.

I hardly feel like he’s an obvious inductee, but there is an argument for his induction and it’d be interesting to see how he performed in 2021.

There are five people who appeared in these lists four times – Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Mitsuhara Misawa, Tully Blanchard, and Genichiro Tenryu. All but Blanchard are in the Hall.

Tully Blanchard is currently on the ballot, but in a backdoor sort of way as he’s grouped with JJ Dillon and Arn Anderson. Despite being a group that was together for about one year, they’ve hung around 40-50% of the vote since going on the ballot in 2017.

Let’s assess Blanchard as an individual. It’s obvious he was an in-ring great in his era, and his promo skills were top shelf. He wasn’t ever a big draw outside of the Horsemen, though, and his career was cut short due to various issues. He feels like a borderline case to me. I’m a big Hall guy, so I wouldn’t be bothered if he did get in, but I also think it’s hardly a miscarriage of justice if he isn’t inducted.

The last individual I’ll specifically point out from these lists is Owen Hart. He finished in the top ten in the ‘86-‘88, ‘87-‘89, and ’88-’90  blocks. If you add the points together for 1986-1990 as one single block, Owen is seventh in that time period – finishing only behind Flair, Eaton, Takada, DiBiase, Tenryu, and Maeda, all of whom are in the Hall. Owen Hart continued to be a fantastic in-ring worker beyond this time period, and went on to have classic matches with his brother Bret.

There is precedence for Halls of Fame ignoring career length requirements for candidates who died tragically early. Addie Joss was a dominant pitcher between 1902 and 1910. Joss died of meningitis in April 1911. The Baseball Hall of Fame decided to waive the ten-year career requirement for him, clearing the way for his induction in 1978.

Ross Youngs was another early baseball player who played from 1917-1926 before dying in 1927 due to Bright’s disease. He was inducted in spite of his early death in 1972.

Drazen Petrovic was a rising star in the NBA in the early 90s who died in a car wreck in 1993, when he was just 28 years old. Though he had only just reached All-NBA levels that year, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

In all three cases, high-level athletes who died mid-career were evaluated not only on what they had accomplished to date, but what they would accomplish moving forward. I think it’s more than reasonable that if you look at Owen Hart and examine how WWE would trend towards featuring higher levels of in-ring work in the years after Hart’s 1999 death, you conclude that he would have particularly benefitted from that time period and moved up the card of the company.

I think Owen Hart is the strongest of the three candidates mentioned in this article. He was an elite in-ring performer for his time period who was destined for greater things. He inspired workers in the next generation and his influence will continue to grow as time goes by thanks to the work of the Owen Hart Foundation.

You can follow Fred’s writing on Twitter @flagrantrasslin and get more of his writing on Patreon.