WWE WrestleMania 29: Predicting the 2013 Hall of Fame Class

Don't look now, but we are exactly 50 weeks from the next WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. The night before WrestleMania, which will be April 6, 2013, the WWE will pay tribute to those who have come before them and honor some of the great names in the business with a place in their Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame currently holds a total of 107 individuals, including some of the most iconic superstars of all-time. However, there are a bunch of omissions over the years. Some of the longest-reigning champions in history are not in the Hall of Fame.

Some of them have been invited, but have refused invitations to the honor. Other men have burned their bridges with WWE over the years and do not wish to mend those ties at all.

It all still leaves us with some obtainable Hall of Fame prospects that make for good classes annually. As we are still about a year away from the next Hall of Fame ceremony, it means we are only just months away from actually crowning someone who is going to be enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame.

If given every rule in the book and throwing them out the window, the WWE Hall of Fame could have a lot of superstars that can bring prestige and honor to the Hall of Fame. That's just not how it happens.

Not every great will be in the Hall of Fame. Some who may not deserve it may get that honor bestowed upon them. Here is a look at what a realistic Hall of Fame class could look like for next year.

Mick Foley

This is Mick Foley's time. WrestleMania is returning to the New York area, an area that Foley calls home. It also seems probable that WWE will be done embarrassing him by then.

Much like other superstars that leave the company for a rival, especially TNA, Foley has put up with his fair share of embarrassment. From dressing like Santa to being backstage with a guy from Deadliest Catch, Foley hasn't been his glorious sock-yielding legendary self.

Foley has stated that he believes he has one more big bump left in him, but would choose to have it against someone who respects him. This is the opposite of what it seems like Dean Ambrose has been for Foley. The two have taken to social media and have even been seen talking to one another in person, caught on camera by nearby fans.

Ambrose has also apparently been sent home from backstage of shows due to issues between the two. This is either a real rift between the two or an absolutely flawless build for a storyline.

Ambrose is slated to debut in the next few weeks as yet another fresh face in WWE. What's to say that Foley can't seem to "break the fourth wall" and show actual displeasure for Ambrose making the main roster? It could lead to a great feud with the two, giving Foley one great bump at WrestleMania 29, on the weekend that he is inducted.

Rick Rude

Rick Rude is one of those big-time omissions in my mind that should probably be repaired and can be done rather easily. The whole world would prefer that I say Randy Savage instead, but there is a lot more to a Savage induction and Rude's snub is easier to rectify.

I can imagine that Rude's rift with the company, which prompted him to leave WWE and jump ship to WCW, is something that can be forgotten, especially with both companies owned by Vince McMahon now.

The Sexiest Man Alive was a part of the original formation of D-Generation X. On one night where RAW was pre-recorded, Rude appeared for the final time with DX in the ring, sporting a full beard. One hour earlier, Rude appeared on WCW television with just a mustache, talking badly about WWE.

Rude is the only man to pull off being on both shows in the same night, outside of the McMahon conversation upon the final episode of WCW Nitro.

Rude is one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions ever and one of the best heels in the early 1990s. His spot in the Hall of Fame is overdue as he will go in posthumously.

Unfortunately, his admittance of taking steroids in the early 1990s, followed by his death from heart failure a few years later, could be the reason WWE prefers to steer clear of admitted drug abusers.

John Bradshaw Layfield

The former WWE Champion just inducted his friend, Ron Simmons, this past year. It's time for JBL to get his own moment in the spotlight. The self-proclaimed Wrestling God has stood the test of time, dominating the tag team ranks and having a solid career with The Acolytes.

Layfield also enjoyed a nice career as a stock market analyst. It helped create his new persona, modeled after his real-life status as an entrepreneur and successful businessman.

JBL would sport a cleaner look, wear his cowboy hat, come to the ring in a limo with horns on it and bill himself from (you guessed it) New York City.

JBL had his final match in WWE at WrestleMania XXV in his home state of Texas. Now, his second home can be the site for JBL's placement along his friends in the Hall of Fame.

Toots Mondt

It's time for the annual "I've never heard of that guy" entrant. Toots Mondt is a very important part of wrestling history and WWE history. Without Mondt's insight, what Vince McMahon owns and what WrestleMania stands for would probably never have come to fruition.

Mondt was a close partner with McMahon's father, Vince McMahon Sr., and helped him form the World Wide Wrestling Federation, the promotion that would one day be known as WWE.

In that picture, Mondt stands in the middle. The man on his left is Vince McMahon Sr., while the man on the right is Bruno Sammartino, a staple of early WWE and a man who has refused an induction in years past.

Mondt helped spread professional wrestling throughout the Northeast and was a big reason that Madison Square Garden began hosting wrestling events at all.

Mondt couldn't quite get situated with altering the product for broadcast television, but Mondt was there right alongside of the elder McMahon in helping to build the first real pieces of today's WWE.

From the little things, like creating the fictional tournament that Buddy Rogers won the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in, to the big picture topics, like convincing McMahon to build the company around Sammartino, Toots Mondt had his fingerprints all over the start of the WWE and absolutely deserves a spot in this Hall of Fame class.

Vader

It's Time! It's Time! It's Time of Vader to get into the Hall of Fame!

Vader recently graced the screens of WWE '12 users as an unlockable character, his first appearance in a WWE game since appearing as downloadable content for Smackdown vs RAW 2009. This shows that Vader and WWE are on good terms right now.

This is also made to be certain since Vader's son, also a professional wrestler, is currently signed to the developmental territory of FCW, known down there as Jake Carter.

Vader made many appearances on television shows and was always known as a menacing man throughout his wrestling career.

A three-time world champion in WCW, Vader shockingly never won a championship in WWE. The least that WWE could do is make Vader a deserving Hall of Famer.

Lawrence Taylor

Your annual induction into the celebrity wing will have ties to the New York/New Jersey area. Lawrence Taylor is beloved in the area for his contributions as a menacing linebacker for the New York Giants

He is still one of the most iconic Giant players in history. WrestleMania XXIX takes place in MetLife Stadium, the current home of the Giants and the property next to Giants Stadium, where Taylor played his entire football career.

Taylor headlined WrestleMania XI, facing and defeating Bam Bam Bigelow. It was a big deal for Taylor, who was still a current player, to be the first celebrity since Mr. T to compete directly in the main event of a WrestleMania.

Taylor was the first true example for the running rule of thumb at WrestleMania: if you're a celebrity, you're going to win.

Sure, Taylor has had drug issues and criminal charges in the past few years that may give him or WWE a black eye for this. If WWE could make peace with everything Mike Tyson has done and still does, Taylor can be good enough to accept his place in the Hall of Fame.

Who do you think will be in the next Hall of Fame class? Comment below of tell me on Twitter, which you can access with the button below. Please try to keep your suggestions for the Hall of Fame as realistic as possible.

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