Kamala, Dory Funk Sr., Ivan Koloff to Enter WWE Hall of Fame as Legacy Inductees

WWE announced Wednesday that three pro wrestling legends will be part of the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2025 as Legacy inductees.

Kamala, Dory Funk Sr. and Ivan Koloff will all be honored as part of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2025 induction ceremony in Las Vegas on April 18:

WWE began inducting some legendary wrestlers and contributors into the "Legacy Wing" of its Hall of Fame in 2016. No Legacy inductees have been added since 2021, but the concept is returning this year.

Kamala, Funk and Koloff will be the 47th, 48th and 49th members of the Legacy Wing, joining some of the most significant pioneers in professional wrestling history.

Initially, Legacy inductees were primarily top stars from the early days of wrestling, including Lou Thesz, George Hackenschmidt, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Mildred Burke, Judy Grable and June Byers, as well as international icons like Rikidozan and El Santo.

Like Kamala, Funk and Koloff, some of the more recent Legacy Wing inductees were a bit more modern, such as Bruiser Brody, Luna Vachon, Wahoo McDaniel and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams.

Kamala was an active professional wrestler from the late 1970s into the mid 1990s, competing in numerous promotions, including WWE, WCW, Mid-South Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling.

For much of his career, Kamala was a monster heel, going by the nickname "The Ugandan Giant." During his stints in WWE, he had memorable matches and rivalries against top stars such as Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker.

Jim Harris, who was the man behind the Kamala character, died at the age of 70 in 2020.

Dory Funk Sr. is perhaps best known to modern wrestling fans as the father of legendary wrestlers and WWE Hall of Famers Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.

Funk Sr. was a major star in his own right throughout the 1940s and 1950s, though, holding the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship based in Amarillo, Texas, on 17 occasions.

He later went on to become a successful pro wrestling promoter in his adopted home state of Texas before his death at the age of 54 in 1973.

Koloff authored one of the most shocking and significant moments in pro wrestling history back in 1971, beating Bruno Sammartino for the WWE Championship.

The Russian Bear's victory at Madison Square Garden in New York City astonished spectators, as it brought an end to Sammartino's seven-plus-year reign as WWE champion.

To this day, Sammartino's 2,803 uninterrupted days as champion are the most in WWE history.

Koloff dropped the title to Pedro Morales less than one month later, but that one triumph over Sammartino cemented his place in wrestling history forever.

Oreal Perras played the role of a Russian heel despite actually hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to holding the WWE Championship once, Koloff was a three-time NWA Mid-Atlantic heavyweight champion and a one-time NWA Canadian heavyweight champion.

Koloff died at the age of 74 in 2017, meaning all three Legacy inductees will be inducted posthumously.

Kamala, Funk and Koloff are part of a WWE Hall of Fame class that also includes Triple H, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger and The Natural Disasters.

The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at Fontainebleu Las Vegas following SmackDown on the night of April 18.

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