It was announced this past Monday that KoKo B. Ware was going to be inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment’s conception of the Hall of Fame. As a fan of professional wrestling, and being someone who can appreciate that it takes a special kind of someone to be a professional wrestler I would be remiss if I did not congratulate the Birdman on his induction.
KoKo B Ware over the immortal Iron Mike Sharpe; ca. 1989
However, that being said, I have to express a sentiment that I think most fans of the old WWF have been saying since this announcement was made: ‘huh?’
I am a fan of the WWE’s Hall of Fame roll call. I am always interested in hearing whom the latest professional wrestling icon, and there have been many, will be that’s enshrined next to the likes of Andre the Giant, Superstar Billy Graham & Hulk Hogan (gimmick inductions like The Fridge and Pete Rose aside). As a wrestling fan/pseudo-historian, the 2009 class of Steve Austin (he will always be Stunning Steve to me, as much as I loved the Stone Cold moniker before it became a cliche); the Funk Bros., the great Terry and Dory; Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat and Cowboy Bill Watts was shaping up to be great. I don’t like to read the news boards that leak out whom the latest Hall of Famer will be, as this announcement is becoming more and more one of the few reasons to turn wrestling on anymore (but that’s another blog in the making). So when I heard that KoKo B. Ware was going in I was… well, I really don’t know what I was. But whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
As it is in any Hall of Fame, there are a few who get let in who are not really deserving because of politics or friends who are in the election committees (i.e. Bill Mazeroski in baseball, Dan Hampton in football). Surely they were great all-stars in their day, but when you look back on it, to put people like this in a Hall of Fame hurts the credibility of the repsective Hall of Fame they are in. It also hurts the individual. Instead of saying what a heck of a ball player Hampton or Mazeroski was, people say, ‘Maz/Hampton, good players – but yeah, but he’s no hall of famer.’ That’s a terrible thing, when what it should be, is more like: ‘Yeah, he was a heck of a player. Would you say he’s a hall of famer?’ That is a tremendous compliment to somebody.
Now I don’t want to be accused of comparing professional sports to the show/exhibition of professional wrestling. I simply make the comparison to demonstrate my point concerning KoKo B. Ware.
The fact is, if there was an annual WWF All-Star roster from 1986-93, I couldn’t conceive of placing KoKo B. Ware as an all-star any year he was ever in the company. He was colorful, vibrant, and could cut a promo sure. But really, so what? The WWF was big on bringing animals down to the ring in those days for the kids, Jake had Damian, the Bulldogs had Matilda, even Steamboat brought down a reptile of some sorts if I remember correctly. Ko Ko had Frankie. I am sorry to say it, but that was the spectacle of KoKo B. Ware – he brought a bird down with him to the ring. He could do a lot of things in the ring, no doubt. The man was a good solid worker. But if you wanted to see a highflyer you waited to see The Rockers do their thing, or watch a majestic Randy Savage elbow-drop. If you wanted to see a great dropkick, you watched Mr. Perfect or even Jim Brunzell. If you wanted to see someone bring a lot of energy to the arena, you waited for the Ultimate Warrior match. These were all attributes that KoKo had and could do better than most, but other wrestlers were better at doing them nonetheless.
When I think of wrestlers I’ve seen in my day I try to think of a match I saw them have that I thoroughly remember. There are plenty for each and every member of the the WWE’s Hall of Fame that I am old enough to have seen. When it comes to KoKo B. Ware I had a hard time thinking of any. What I remembered most were his entrances more than anything, arms flapping with Frankie. I then also remember all of the Bobby Heenan quips he’d make on Superstars; and Wrestling Challenge; Saturday and Sunday mornings back in the day, and he had some classics over the years in regards to KoKo (asking Gorilla if he knew whom KoKo’s mother was, to which Gorilla took the bait-asking who, while Heenan gleefully answered Tupper, or mentioning that around his house Frankie could be found in a Shake n’ Bake bag, as an exasperated Gorilla would say ‘will you stop!’). I remember he teamed with Owen Hart for a year or so, and nothing ever came of it. The fact is, there is not one match I could remember KoKo in off the top of my head. I had to think long and hard and I finally remembered that KoKo was part of Dusty Rhodes’ team at the Survivor Series back in 1990. What I remember most about that match is that it was The Undertaker’s debut on WWF television (or ppv in this instance); and that’s the only reason why I remember KoKo in it. If I’m not mistaken, KoKo was quickly dispatched by ‘Taker mere moments into the match.
That was basically the KoKo B. Ware story in the WWF. He wasn’t a jobber. He’d have his squash matches on the early morning programs, sure – but that fact is that KoKo was nothing more than a babyface stepping stone for the new heel ‘superstar’ who found his way to New York.
I honestly don’t know the answer to this, but did Piledriver go gold back in 1987? That would be the biggest claim to fame KoKo ever had in the WWF. Even so, KoKo’s vocals may have been good for a professional wrestler, but as a recording artist they were far below par.
I hate to keep piling it on KoKo here, because I think he is genuinely a good person, whom the kids loved in the day. I’ve never heard anyone have anything bad to say about the man (then again I’ve never heard anyone say anything about him at all really) and I always loved the name of his finisher, the ghostbuster. (I was a big fan of Ghostbusters; and The Real Ghostbusters cartoon back in the later 80s)
Now KoKo B. Ware was not a mere flash in the pan, he did accomplish a few things in the industry. For instance, he was Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s; Rookie of the Year award winner the year of my birth (1979). Most notably he held Jerry Lawler’s USWA’s Unified Heavyweight Championship on two occasions as well as its Tag Team Championship with some unknown (I could look his name up, but dont’ particularly care to). Now if you look up the history of the USWA Title, you’ll see it changed hands at least once every other week it seemed. Jerry Lawler is credited with 28 title reigns in ten years before the USWA went under in 1997 – but it was a title held by Lawler, Randy Savage, Scott ‘Razor Ramon’ Hall & Terry Funk at one point or another – so the USWA Title was nothing to sneeze at.
But again, these are not Hall of Fame credentials, someone known as Mike Rapada, aka The Colorado Kid once held that USWA Title while Maven and Johnny B. Badd have also won the PWI; Rookie of the Year honors.
I don’t understand how KoKo is getting in the Hall. I do; understand that it is Wrestlemania 25, and you want to have a big class of people who are still alive there to be there to be inducted (so probably no posthumous inductions this year). That being said, why not induct The Honky Tonk Man, the wrestler who is slated to induct KoKo? Honky Tonk wasn’t the greatest wrestler either, but compared to KoKo – well, there really is no comparison. Honky Tonk held the WWF Intercontinental Title longer than anyone, and that was when the title really meant something. Surely he’d show up for the induction, hell, he’s there to induct KoKo.
With professional wrestling, it’s all show and pageantry. The WWE has a video game called Legends of Wrestlemania coming out later this month (and I’m not a video game player, anything past the old school NES game system is far too sophisticated for me). But is KoKo being inducted simply to promote the video game? The fact KoKo is actually in the videogame is kind of funny (for that matter so is Michael Hayes, a great wrestler, but never appeared on one Wrestlemania card as a wrestler as far as I know). Is KoKo the only wrestler who’d go up to the Hall of Fame podium to pitch a product? Is that why he’s going in? You should see the physique they give Honkey in this videogame, that might explain why he’d be willing to induct him if such is the case. I surely hope this is not the case – but for the life of me, it’s the only thing I can come up with.
I can’t really say the WWE Hall of Fame took a hit with its credibility as an outsider looking in. As I’ve already mentioned William Perry & Pete Rose are in because the Fridge participated in Wrestlemania 2′s battle royal and Pete Rose took a few bumps from Kane for a payday. But from the emic account of the industry, there must be a lot of question marks and head-scratching. So if Bruno Sammartino had a problem with the WWE including Johnny Rodz in the Hall back in the 1990s, I wonder what he’s saying now.
Again folks, I love the concept of the WWE Hall of Fame, but try to wrap your head around this: KoKo B. Ware; Johnny Rodz; Baron Mikel Scicluna and Cowboy Bob Orton are in the Hall of Fame. Fomer WWF megadraws who are not include: Bruno Sammartino; Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage; Bob Backlund; Stan Stasiak; The Ultimate Warrior, Ted DiBiase, Mike Rotondo (The U.S. Express was big and Money Inc. was a top heel tag-team foil for the Steiners) and The Road Warriors.
If Damien DeMento could have ever kept his criticisms to himself he might have been up for induction one year. Outlaw Ron Bass in the Hall for 2010?
