Donald Trump to Be Inducted: 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Somehow Becomes More Loaded
The question was posed about one month ago whether or not the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame was the best class ever.
Bruno. Bob. Trish. Mick. It's a small bunch, but one with large accolades. This federation-era fab four had blown away any competing class in terms of cumulative accomplishments.
World titles? Check. Star power? Of course. By night's end, this quartet was to legitimize the WWE Hall of Fame just by agreeing to be honored. Forget about a Hall of Fame class. This was the honor roll. It had to be the best class ever.
But it wasn't. At least not until now.
The great irony is that 2013's most recent inductee is currently the only individual of the group never to hold a world championship. Yet the group still got better.
Donald Trump has been announced as the most recent addition to the WWE Hall of Fame. No, not to recognize his wrestling acumen after that awkward takedown of Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 23. Instead, Trump will go in as yet another induction in WWE's celebrity wing.
Crediting Trump's presence in WWE history as a celebrity is almost insulting. "Contributor" may be a more accurate term. His body of work is hardly comparable to that of fellow inductees like Pete Rose and Drew Carey. They made largely one-off appearances that did nothing but sell tickets.
He helped make history.
From a box office standpoint, owning the only venue to host back-to-back WrestleManias was far from the most impressive feather in Trump's cap.
Trump's involvement in WrestleMania 23 led to the highest buy rate in WrestleMania history to that point. His Battle of the Billionaires showdown against Vince McMahon outdrew the advertised wrestling appearance of pay-per-view giant Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania 24 the following year.
The highest RAW rating of the modern era came during a commercial-free episode of RAW headlined by Trump's fictional purchase of the WWE flagship.
Trump to the Hall of Fame makes so much sense, it's almost cliché. Like the obligatory Twitter jokes about his hairpiece being inducted separately.
Trump has been a pillar in the WWE's ability to draw viewers over history. And just as no wrestler is a more deserving inductee than Bruno Sammartino, no celebrity is more deserving of an induction than Donald Trump.
