Mr. T: Should He Ever Be Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?

Mr. T should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, period. If not this year, then perhaps within the next two years, right in time for WrestleMania 30.

A bold statement, right?

Yeah, I know. Mr. T is the last person people mention, let alone take seriously, when the topic of pro wrestling comes up. Depending on how you look at it, you could either give T credit or blame him for his role in ushering what we now know as sports entertainment. I honestly believe that he deserves recognition for his contributions to the business. He risked his career in order to help Vince McMahon, Jr. take his vision to the global level he wanted.  

At the height of his popularity, Mr. T was one of the biggest stars to emerge during the 1980's, making him a pop icon. With starring roles in hit films like Rocky III and the hit television series The A-Team, T became an international superstar. Kids looked up to him; he even had his own cartoon series, as cheesy as it sounds.

With his tough-guy image combined with a positive message, a heart of gold, fondness for children, flamboyant style and a distinctive Mohawk haircut, you couldn't find a more unique role model at that time. Mr. T was tailor-made for the 80's, and more importantly, tailor-made for Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation.

If it wasn't for Mr. T's involvement , the media coverage for The War to Settle the Score and WrestleMania would not have been as strong. These events would have been blips on the radar.

Well maybe not. Yes, pop sensation Cyndi Lauper had already been involved with the WWF, managing female wrestler Wendi Ritcher in a feud against Fabulous Moolah and Lelani Kai. Although she was a huge star, her stepping into the ring to actually wrestle wasn't even a consideration. That would have drawn media attention, but not the kind McMahon was looking for. 

Someone huge with a tough guy image was needed to be at the center of everything. Someone who, if necessary, would be willing to step inside the wrestling ring as a credible tag-team partner for Hulk Hogan to face Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. People would pay money to see just how bad ass Mr. T really was. That was the draw.

T was willing to do whatever was necessary to help make WrestleMania successful, from making appearances on WWF programing to personal appearances on talk shows, plus making a memorable appearance on Saturday Night Live along with Hogan. All this plus continuing to star on The A-Team. He gave the business all the publicity it could ever want and then some.

Did he take a lot of heat from the media for committing what looked like career suicide? Of course, but nonetheless, T did things on his terms. His dedication to doing business for the sake of the business went a long way. And let's not forget that to this day, WrestleMania remains the biggest event in wrestling today.

His involvement with the WWF didn't end at WrestleMania as expected. It would continue at WrestleMania 2, when he would again face Piper, one on one, in their much-lauded boxing match. The hatred between the two was explosive, making for an interesting match to say the least. Again, Mr. T being in a ring with a wrestler like Piper would be the hook to bring people in. Love him or hate him, T came through.

I can't stress just how important Mr. T is to the history of sports entertainment. People may be divided on this one. Good or bad, T's involvement with the WWF was at least entertaining, which has now become the bottom line.

Was he believable in his role as a performer? Well, T was being T if you know what I mean; there wasn't a real stretch between the man and the actor. But I do give him credit for stepping into enemy territory and giving us his all.  

I'm not saying that he's wrestling's savior by any means. He definitely had help putting over the main event at WrestleMania; he wasn't a one-man show. He could have easily been embarrassed by either Piper or Orndorff, but they played ball because they knew how important WrestleMania was for the future.  

Out of all of the participants in the main event, including Jimmy Snuka and Cowboy Bob Orton, T is the only one not to be included in the Hall of Fame. Give him his due; it's time, and he more than deserves it.

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