The U.S. Express Named to 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Class; Joins Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano

Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham, who teamed together as The U.S. Express, were named the latest inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2024 on Friday.

WWE announced that the two-time WWE tag team champions will join a class that already includes Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano.

The U.S. Express was a staple tag team for WWE in the 1980s, competing at the first WrestleMania in 1985.

After first teaming together as part of Championship Wrestling from Florida in 1983, Rotunda and Windham signed with WWE in 1984, and they quickly shot to the top of the tag team division.

The real-life brothers-in-law became WWE tag team champions for the first time in January 1985 when they beat Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch, who were known as The North-South Connection.

About two months later, The U.S. Express dropped the titles to The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in one of the featured matches at WrestleMania I, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

They won the titles back from Sheik and Volkoff in June 1985, and then lost them again in August, this time to The Dream Team comprised of Brutus Beefcake and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.

The U.S. Express folded in late 1985 when Windham left WWE to return to Championship Wrestling from Florida, but both Rotunda and Windham went on to enjoy enormous success apart from each other.

Rotunda, 65, had a lengthy career that included multiple stops in WWE and Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW.

He is perhaps best known for his Irwin R. Schyster (IRS) character, which he played in WWE from 1991 to 1995. As IRS, Rotunda held the WWE Tag Team Championships three times with "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase as part of a team known as Money Inc.

Rotunda was previously in WCW from 1987 to 1991, primarily as part of the Varsity Club stable, holding the NWA World Television Championship three times and the NWA World Tag Team Championships once.

The 63-year-old Windham had his greatest success in JCP/WCW, holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, United States Championship and Television Championship one time each. He was also a four-time NWA/WCW world tag team champion.

Windham is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for a second time, as he already went in back in 2012 as part of the Four Horsemen stable.

The induction of The U.S. Express could also potentially be a clue that WWE plans on inducting the late Bray Wyatt into the Hall of Fame this year. Rotunda is Wyatt's father and Windham is his uncle.

Wyatt, who was a three-time world champion in WWE, tragically died at the age of 36 in August due to a heart condition.

The U.S. Express, Heyman and Nakano will officially be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 5 in Philadelphia following an episode of SmackDown.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.