WWE: Should Andy Kaufman Be in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Hogan-Andre. Sting-Flair. Flair-Steamboat. Foley-Triple H. Hart-Austin. Austin-McMahon. Lawler-Kaufman.

That last feud may not seem like it belongs. But it does.

In fact, it might be more important than any other feud on the list.

In a recent interview with The Observer News Enterprise, Jerry Lawler went on record saying that his former arch-rival—the late, great Andy Kaufman—belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame:

"

I’ll tell you who else I think should be in there—Andy Kaufman. He should be in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. (Mike) Tyson got in this year. You’ve got Mike Tyson and Drew Carey. If Drew Carey is in there, Andy Kaufman should be. He was one of the first guys that put wrestling on a national stage. 

"

The King has a point.

If guys like Tyson, Carey, Pete Rose, and The Fridge are in WWE’s Hall of Fame, then Andy Kaufman absolutely must be there too because of the impact he had on the business, specifically as it relates to wrestling becoming a national phenomenon.

Lawler-Kaufman was the original prototype for what could happen if pro wrestling got mainstream attention. If wrestling is rock and roll, and Hulk Hogan was Elvis Presley, then Lawler-Kaufman was Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock.” Like Haley’s song, Lawler-Kaufman tested the waters to see if America wanted to buy into something new and exciting; Hogan, while an incredibly influential performer, did more shining and improving than innovating.

If only for that, Andy Kaufman needs to be in the Hall of Fame.

To take a step back for the younger fans (and those who don’t know what I’m talking about): Back in 1982, long before he was the kindly old commentator who salivated over Divas, Jerry Lawler was one of the biggest wrestling stars around. Before he ever came to WWE, Lawler won a slew of world titles in various promotions, mostly making his name in Memphis.

Around the same time, comedian Andy Kaufman—more known for being weird (and arguably innovative) than being funny—fancied himself the “inter-gender wrestling champion” and wrestled women as part of his act. Kaufman came to Memphis and found himself earning the ire of Lawler; after a match with yet another woman, Lawler attacked Kaufman, leading to a match where Lawler “injured” Kaufman’s neck with a piledriver.

Kaufman would wear a neck brace in many of his ensuing public appearances, including on Saturday Night Live.  Remember: these were the days of extreme kayfabe, and the fact that Kaufman was selling the injury in public made it seem like, perhaps, this injury (and the feud) was legitimate.

The feud came to an infamous head on an episode of David Letterman where Lawler slapped Kaufman (WARNING: strong language after the commercial break), leading to Kaufman threatening to sue NBC; the entire incident was featured prominently on the front page of the New York Times.

The feud would continue for a while longer—Kaufman would turn into the arrogant “Hollywood” heel long before Hogan did it—before Kaufman sadly died of cancer in 1984.  It would be more than ten years before it was revealed that the whole feud was actually a work.

The Lawler-Kaufman feud was influential in so many ways: arrogant outsider heels (the nWo), misogynistic performers (Randy Savage & Elizabeth, Jeff Jarrett & Chyna), pitting the wrestling lifer against the devil-may-care outsider (Cena-Rock, Lesnar-Cena/Triple H), etc.

Had Lawler and Kaufman not set the stage for wrestling garnering national attention, Hogan and Vince McMahon likely never would have been able to establish Rock ‘n Wrestling or Wrestlemania.  Pro wrestling, the billion-dollar business, would almost definitely not be what it is today without Lawler and Kaufman.

So why is Andy Kaufman not in the Hall of Fame?

Special thanks to (http://prowrestling.about.com/od/thebiggestrivalries/a/Lawlervkaufman.htm) for information on this story.