The Fabulous Freebirds Will Be Inducted into 2016 WWE Hall of Fame

The WWE announced Monday that the Fabulous Freebirds will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class.

The Freebirds were one of the most legendary tag teams of the 1980s, with Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin most synonymous with the group during its run in NWA and WCW. Buddy Roberts and Terry Gordy will be joining Garvin and Hayes as part of the induction.

Hayes provided his reaction to the news on Twitter:

With this year's ceremony in Dallas, the Freebirds are an appropriate addition given their ties to the region. They first rose to prominence as a result of their feud with the Von Erich family in Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling:

As wrestler Gregory Helms argued, the Fabulous Freebirds were the forerunners for a number of legendary factions in professional wrestling:

The so-called Freebird Rule, which allows any members of a three-man team to defend a tag team championship, is still being used today, most recently by The New Day:

Hayes continues to leave a legacy in professional wrestling in his role behind the scenes with WWE. In his interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the Stone Cold Podcast (via Sean Hopkins of Wrestling News World), Triple H called Hayes one of the more underrated legends in the business given his overall contributions.

Now, Hayes and his fellow Freebirds will be receiving their just due in Dallas.