10 Biggest WWE Hall Of Fame Omissions

Today - December 5 - would have been the birthday of Tom 'The Dynamite Kid' Billington, who passed away on (of all days) December 5, 2018 at the age of 60.

One of the best pure in-ring performers ever, Dynamite was revolutionary when he burst onto the scene in the 1970's, having classic matches everywhere from Saskatchewan, Canada to Yokohama, Japan.

Combining the styles he had learned in England, working for Stampede and while plying his trade in the Land of the Rising Sun, Dynamite introduced a hybrid style that would become commonplace many years later, when a generation of grapplers inspired by him decided to get into the business.

He was also a star for WWE, as one half of the British Bulldogs tag team alongside cousin Davey Boy Smith.

While Smith was finally inducted earlier this year, Dynamite was left out in the cold.

While he no doubt deserves to be in there for his impact on the business, Billington's volatile personal life and reputation as a hellraiser preceded him. He was also left confined to a wheel chair and completely broke after being forced to retire due to devastating back injuries.

He was a complicated character and had some major flaws, yes, but so do many others who currently sit in WWE's Hall of Fame.

Despite his faults, many think he should be in there, too. And he's not the only one, either.

10. Sid

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Whether he was a 'Sycho' or 'Vicious', The Master and Ruler of the The World absolutely deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.

A major star in both WWE and WCW in the 90's, Sid held both companies' world titles on two occasions each.

He's not going to win any awards for his ring work (though he was a better worker and had better matches than people give him credit for), but you cannot deny that he was a memorable character and had a star presence.

He's been an often controversial character away from the ring and had a tendency to leave WWE on less-than-stellar terms at awkward times. He also got into that infamous scissor fight with Arn Anderson during a WCW European tour in 1993, which cost him his job with Ted Turner's organisation.

But Sid Eudy has been mostly quiet since suffering that horrific leg injury at WCW's Sin pay-per-view in 2001.

He doesn't show up on shows like Raw Reunion (he actually pulled out days before) and was last seen in WWE in 2012, where he showed up as the surprise opponent of Heath Slater when the One Man Band was targeting legends.

As a man who held the WWE Title on multiple occasions, worked with just about every major star of his day, main-evented pay-per-views and headlined two WrestleManias, Sid really should be in the Hall of Fame.

9. Rick Martel

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A tremendous worker who could play a babyface or heel as effectively as anyone, Rick Martel had a tremendous career spanning twenty-six years and numerous organisations.

Before finding success in WWE, Martel had stints in the NWA, All-Japan and the AWA, where he became their World Champion.

In WWE, he was primarily used as a tag team wrestler, winning the WWE Tag Team Titles on three occasions. His Can-Am Connection team with Tom Zenk and Strike Force duo with Tito Santana were both great value during the mid-to-late 80's.

As a singles competitor, Martel didn't bag any WWE gold but his The Model persona was gold and he had some cracking feuds and matches with the likes of Jake Roberts, Tatanka and Shawn Michaels.

He finished off his career in WCW, where he became the Television Champion, before retiring due to injuries.

A great worker and character, Martel was perhaps hampered by his inability to cut a captivating promo, but his career speaks for itself.

Speaking on an episode of Something to Wrestle With a couple of years back, Bruce Prichard speculated that (due to what he'd heard) Martel had in fact been approached about being inducted into the Hall of Fame but had declined.

Now completely removed from the business, Martel works in real estate and supposedly has no desire to revisit his old life and career.

8. Jim Johnston

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Of course, the WWE Hall of Fame is not just a place for wrestlers but also managers, commentators and other non-wrestling talent that helped to make the company what it is.

I mean, they have a goddam 'celebrity wing', you know what I mean?

One man who may not be a name too familiar to casual fans but had an incredible impact on the company - particularly during the Attitude Era - is former WWE composer Jim Johnston.

The brains behind the iconic themes of the likes of Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Ultimate Warrior, Triple H and countless others, you can hear Johnston's influence all over WWE programming.

Jim was let go by WWE in 2017 after 32 years of service and hasn't been too kind about the company in some of his interviews since.

He did say in an interview with Chris Van Vilet that he would be honoured if he were inducted, but that it would be uncomfortable as there are some people in WWE that he wouldn't like to see.

Perhaps when WWE has an actual physical Hall of Fame then Johnston will get his due, with a dedicated exhibit to his work that truly illustrates his talent.

7. Miss Elizabeth

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Before he was posthumously inducted in 2015, there was outcry amongst WWE fans that Randy Savage wasn't in the Hall of Fame.

If the Macho Man is in then, by rights, Miss Elizabeth should be, too.

Savage's then real-life wife was introduced as his manager while everyone from Bobby Heenan and Mr. Fuji to Jimmy Hart and Freddie Blassie were vying to provide their services.

Liz complimented Randy perfectly, softening his often ranting, paranoid ways. She completed the package and made Savage more of a star than he arguably would have been if he was going solo.

That's not to take anything away from Randy, one of the best ever, but Miss Elizabeth was an important piece of the puzzle. Throughout the eighties and early nineties she would play a pivotal role in storylines and be involved in some amazing moments, such as her reunion with Savage after he lost his 'Retirement Match' to The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII and their 'Match Made in Heaven' wedding (which main-evented SummerSlam 1991).

She had a great second run in WCW, too, resurfacing after leaving the spotlight for a years. In Ted Turner's company she managed Savage, Ric Flair and Lex Luger.

Perhaps it was her tragic death in 2003 at the age of 42 that will prevent her from getting in, as the circumstances surrounding it are murky and cast a shadow over one of WWE's most wholesome characters.

6. Bam Bam Bigelow

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A scarily-agile superheavyweight, Bam Bam Bigelow was a star for WWE, WCW and ECW, as well as in Japan and is widely regarded as one of the best big men the business has ever seen.

A former bounty hunter and graduate of Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory, The Beast from the East was an immediate sensation and was signed by WWE just a year into his career.

He left, became a massive deal in Japan while also working for WCW, but came back to WWE in 1992.

He had an up and down few years while under Vince McMahon's employ and never won any titles, but he was a featured player and was the man chosen to wrestle (more like 'guide') NFL star Lawrence Taylor in the main event of WrestleMania 11.

That would prove to be the peak of his WWE run, but he would go on to have a couple of decent stints in ECW and WCW, winning the ECW Television and Heavyweight tiles and the WCW Hardcore and Tag Team titles.

Bam Bam was far from a savoury character away form the ring and his 2007 death at the age of 45 (due to drugs) may be a reason WWE are hesitant to induct him.

Given who's already in the HOF, those are hardly reasons for exclusion though, and Bigelow's absence is a glaring one.

5. Brian Pillman

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After a brief career in professional football, Brian Pillman cut his teeth in the wrestling business working for Calgary's Stampede promotion, training with patriarch Stu and the Hart boys.

He would catch the eye with his explosive, high-flying style and soon made his way to WCW, where as 'Flyin' Brian' he continued to show off his innovative style as a member of the light-heavyweight crew.

His matches with the likes of Jushin Liger and others demonstrated an athleticism and invention unlike anything else seen in mainstream North American wrestling at the time.

From there, he formed the excellent but criminally short-lived Hollywood Blonds tag team with Steve Austin and then became a member of the Four Horsemen.

Realising that, as a cruiserweight, he had a ceiling performing 'Where the Big Boys Play', Pillman crafted the utterly unpredictable 'Loose Cannon' persona.

Blending reality and fantasy like none before, Pillman worried his colleagues and friends (who were convinced he had gone off the deep end), but he used the situation to engineer a move from WCW to WWE for far better monetary compensation.

Sadly, Pillman's WWE stint was not what it could and should have been, a car wreck destroying his ankle and leaving him a shell of the performer he once was.

Those injuries lead to substance abuse and, ultimately, Brian's death in October 1997, at the age of 35. Since he passed away on WWE's watch and was only a contracted performer there for around sixteen months, he doesn't have such a strong legacy in the organisation, but he changed the business and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame for his contributions to it.

4. Demolition

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WWE's answer to the Road Warriors (before they signed them), Demolition were one of the premier tag teams of the 1980's and early 90's.

Though they added Crush later on and took advantage of the 'Freebird Rule', the original incarnation of Ax (Bill Eadie) and Smash (Barry Darsow) is hard to beat.

The duo caught the eye with their leather attire and painted faces and then held the attention thanks to their dynamite in-ring performances against a variety teams like the Powers of Pain, the Hart Foundation, the Brain Busters and the Powers of Pain.

They won the WWE Tag Team Titles on three occasions and hold the record for most combined days holding them - 698.

Ax left in 1990 never to return and was replaced by Crush, before the team wound down and Smash transitioned into Repo Man.

Asked why Demolition weren't in the Hall of Fame, Barry Darsow was bewildered (though did mention there was a bit of bad blood between the company and his partner).

Saying that, Darsow also said that it would take about $100,000 to get them to the ceremony, so that might have something to do with it. They deserve to go in based on their impressive run, but there are clear stumbling blocks.

3. Lex Luger

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Mick Foley recently made the case for Lex Luger to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and it's hard to argue with what the Hardcore Legend has to say.

Though Lex didn't make too many friends in the industry due to his often aloof nature and the fact that he wasn't a lifelong fan of the business, there's no denying that Luger was a massive star for many years.

And his work - particularly his late 80's WCW matches - is much better than it gets credit for. Was Lex as good as Ricky Steamboat or Ric Flair in the ring? No, but few are, and Luger could have a great match with both (and others).

He was always going to get a big push and correlating pay packet due to his look, but Lex put the work in, too and it's no surprise he was positioned as a headliner and won the WCW Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.

It didn't quite work out for him as hope in WWE, where he was pushed as the red, white and blue second coming of Hulk Hogan, but those were pretty big shoes to fill, brother, and The Total Package wasn't that sort of personality.

After his time in the limelight was over Luger had some major issues and was blamed (unfairly) in some circles - including on the show WWE Confidential - for his involvement in the death of Miss Elizabeth.

Now a born-again Christian who owns his past mistakes and seeks to do good in life, he is a reformed character.

Hopefully the ill will between him and WWE (which likely started when he covertly departed WWE for WCW at the start of the Monday Night Wars) has subsided and the Lex Express can ride all the way to the Hall of Fame.

Given WWE recently postponed/shelved his WWE Icons documentary due to air on the WWE Network, perhaps there are still bitter feelings there, at least on WWE's part.

2. The Steiner Brothers

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Whether individually or, preferably, as a tag team, both Scott and Rick Steiner have done more than enough to earn their place in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Their WWE run, while not terrible, was actually one of the weakest of their careers and they left dissatisfied with their experience.

But between WCW, ECW, Japan, the indies, TNA and everywhere else, the Steiners have left a legacy as one of the most impressive and well-decorated tag teams of all-time.

In the nineties, in particular, Rick and Scott were an unstoppable force and captured the WCW, WWE and New Japan version of the tag team titles on multiple occasions.

Not just that, but their match quality output was consistently high and they routinely put on bangers with a plethora of opponents of different types and styles.

On their own, Rick and Scott were stars in their own right, though the Big Bad Booty Daddy eclipsed his older brother's success by becoming WCW Heavyweight Champion.

While Rick, whose son Bron Breakker currently wrestles for NXT 2.0, might consider going in on his own, Scott has basically been persona non grata at Titan Towers for years and has gone on record noting his disdain for the concept of WWE's Hall of Fame, given that it doesn't have a physical location and thus, in his words, exists only in 'Vince McMahon's mind'.

1. Vader

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It's time, it's time, it's time for Vader to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Like many wrestlers on this list, Vader is another whose WWE run underwhelmed, but whose career elsewhere - especially in Japan and WCW - was exceptional.

Funny that, isn't it?

An incredible big man who not only brutalised opponents with his strikes and signature powerbomb, but also could fly with grace and perform moves like a moonsault, Vader first caught the attention of wrestling fans in New Japan, where he held the IWGP Championship three times and had hard-hitting wars with Antonio Inoki, Stan Hansen and Tatsumi Fujinami (all of whom are WWE Hall of Famers).

He then moved to WCW, where he won the their World Heavyweight Title three times as well. He continued having great matches, too, notably with Mick 'Cactus Jack' Foley, Sting and Ric Flair.

As mentioned, his WWE run didn't pan out as most had hoped (due to a combination of injuries and politics), but he still had his fair share of cracking bouts with Shawn Michaels, Ken Shamrock and Bret Hart.

His post-WWE career mainly took place in Japan, where he continued to be revered and won titles in numerous organisations. His last WWE match was squashing Heath Slater in 2012, though he came back to induct Stan Hansen into the Hall of Fame in 2016.

It's a damn shame he never received the honour while he was alive, because it reportedly meant a great deal to him.

Foley has repeatedly campaigned for The Mastodon's induction, which really should happen sooner rather than later. He would be the perfect person to do the inducting.