Bad News Brown Announced for 2026 WWE Hall of Fame Class by Triple H, Joins AJ Styles, More

Bad News Brown was named the latest member of the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2026 on Thursday.

WWE head of creative Triple H announced Brown's selection as part of the WWE Hall of Fame's legacy class in a post on X:

Brown, whose real name was Allen Coage, died at the age of 63 in 2007, following a long and successful pro wrestling career that spanned over two decades from 1977 to 1999.

Before embarking on his wrestling journey, Brown was a world-class judoka, who won a bronze medal in judo at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Brown's wrestling career started in Japan in 1977, but he truly made a name for himself as part of Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in the 1980s under the name Bad News Allen.

After holding the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship four times, Brown was signed by WWE in 1988, and he transitioned to the Bad News Brown name and gimmick.

While Brown never won a title in WWE and was only with the company from 1988 to 1990, he made a major impact in a short amount of time.

Originally from New York City, Brown was billed as hailing from Harlem, New York, and he established himself as one of the toughest heels in WWE during his tenure.

Some of Brown's most notable accomplishments included winning the battle royal at WrestleMania 4, feuding with "Macho Man" Randy Savage over the WWE Championship, facing "Rowdy" Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 6 and clashing with Jake "The Snake" Roberts at SummerSlam 1990.

After departing WWE in 1990, Brown kept wrestling for nearly a decade in Japan and on the independent circuit in Canada.

Brown will join AJ Styles, Stephanie McMahon, Demolition, Dennis Rodman and fellow legacy wing inductee Sid as part of the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2026, with the induction ceremony taking place on April 17 in Las Vegas.