WWE Hall of Fame 2020: Early Projections for Next Year's Class of Legends

D-Generation X headline a 2019 WWE Hall of Fame class Saturday night that features some of the greatest teams in wrestling history, an all-world heel and one of the more polarizing female inductees in recent time.

As The Hart Foundation, Harlem Heat, The Honky Tonk Man and Torrie Wilson get ready to take their places in immortality, it is never too early to begin thinking about the 2020 class and who fans can expect to see walk across the stage and accept WWE's ultimate honor.

Taking historical significance into consideration above all, followed by star power and any connection to the host city of Tampa, it became obvious that there are any number of acts that have earned their place in WWE's Hall of Fame.

From revolutionaries to innovators, a simply flawless female competitor and a beer-drinking badass-turned-New York businessman, these are the Superstars who should find their ways into the history books at this time next year.

New World Order

Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Booker T have all been enshrined twice in the WWE Hall of Fame, first as individuals, then as members of all-time-great tag teams or factions. If there is any single Superstar who has earned the right to join them with that distinction, it is Hulk Hogan.

Considering WWE is now recognizing entire factions for their contributions to the industry, it is unimaginable that the company would not honor the revolutionary act that was the New World Order.

The NWO sparked an 83-week undefeated streak for WCW at the height of the Monday Night Wars and much of that was the direct result of Hogan's unconscionable heel turn in 1996.

Hogan was the centerpiece of the group and the star around whom the entire faction revolved, but Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were the foundation of the group. Had their arrivals in WCW never came, there would be no NWO, no war with Sting and perhaps, no Attitude Era within WWE to counteract that edgier content pumped out by Ted Turner's company.

A merchandising juggernaut, the NWO helped make wrestling cool again. It made WCW a ton of money, helped elevate Eric Bischoff's stock in the industry and nearly put the mighty Vince McMahon out of business.

If ever there was a faction beyond the Four Horsemen that deserved recognition in the Hall of Fame, the Hogan-led NWO is it.

Throw in Hogan's Florida roots, and the fact that WrestleMania 36 will emanate from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and this is a no-brainer.

John Bradshaw Layfield

When scrolling through the modern era of WWE, there are few champions more unlikely than John Bradshaw Layfield.

A career midcarder, primarily in the tag team ranks, Layfield rose to prominence in WWE as one-half of the Acolytes with Ron "Faarooq" Simmons.

First hell's henchmen for The Undertaker, the team evolved their characters and developed the Acolyte Protection Agency, hitmen-for-hire who loved to drink beer and play cards as much as they loved kicking ass.

He emerged from a five-year run with Simmons at a crossroads, with no real future for him in the role he had filled for half a decade. It was against that background that a new Layfield emerged, a southern businessman who denounced illegal immigrants, bragged about his stock portfolio and flaunted both his success and excess.

It was as if J.R. Ewing himself stepped off the set of Dallas and into the squared circles of WWE.

The rest, they say, is history.

An unlikely WWE Championship reign, feuds with all-timers like Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker, and newfound life as a main event attraction for the remainder of his career with the company helped put an exclamation point on a career deserving of Hall of Fame recognition in 2020.

As if his incredible promos had not already. 

Michelle McCool

If ever someone should not have succeeded in the world of WWE, it was Michelle McCool.

The Palatka, Florida, native already had the dubious distinction of being a 2004 Diva Search contestant on her resume, not to mention a demeanor that seemed way too...nice...for professional wrestling.

A serious athlete, though, she stuck around for a few years before emerging on SmackDown as one of the bright young stars produced by the blue brand in 2007.

Over the next four years, she embarked on a run that saw her become the first Divas champion, turn heel, form LayCool with fellow Diva Search alumnus Layla and become one of the most consistently entertaining villains in the industry.

Most importantly was McCool's in-ring development, which helped her lay the groundwork for an evolution of women's wrestling in WWE. While the company still exploited women for their looks, McCool brought a certain quality to her ring work that slowly changed perceptions of the sport.

Her matches with Natalya, Beth Phoenix and Melina were infinitely better than the shlock that had preceded her rise to that position in the company and gave fans a taste of things to come.

Though she waved goodbye to the industry in 2011, turning her focus toward her family with WWE icon The Undertaker, her work to bring athleticism and wrestling back to a women's division in shambles cannot be denied.

She has earned her place among the best, and in 2020, in front of a home-state crowd, she should be immortalized.

Brother Love

The late 1980s in WWE was a breeding ground for larger-than-life characters, many of whom remain vividly etched in the minds of fans who remember gathering around the television to watch them every Saturday or Sunday morning.

One such character was the red-faced knockoff of a televangelist named Brother Love, portrayed by the great Bruce Prichard.

For years, The Brother Love Show was home to some of the most memorable moments in WWE TV history, including Earthquake's vile and ruthless assault on Hulk Hogan that left some wondering whether The Hulkster would ever set foot in the ring again.

It was also the setting for the disgusting attack perpetrated by Rick "The Model" Martel on Jake "The Snake" Roberts in which the villain sprayed "Arrogance," his brand of cologne, in his rival's eyes, nearly blinding him.

Love was an expert instigator, a brilliant antagonist and a heel who does not get nearly the attention he probably deserves.

With Prichard recently returning to WWE, the goodwill is there and the time is now to enshrine the greatest wrestling talk show host since his idol, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Tommy Dreamer

After years of neglect, ECW gets its first significant inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame in the form of the heart and soul of the revolutionary company, Tommy Dreamer.

The Innovator of Violence was at the forefront of the promotion for its entire existence, engaging in some of the most compelling storylines of the 90s, including an intensely personal one with Raven.

Dreamer would go on to find moderate success in WWE, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.

He has been a wrestler, a booker and now owns his own promotion, House of Hardcore.

An incredibly tough, gutsy and determined wrestler, Dreamer's influence can be felt across the industry, from the most prominent company in the business to the smallest independent promotion in the country.

For that, he has more-than-earned his way into the Hall.

Bam Bam Bigelow

Today's wrestling landscape is chock full of talented big men who can move with the speed and agility of a cruiserweight. We see it nearly every TakeOver special out of The War Raiders' Hanson and will continue to out of guys like Keith Lee.

That was not always the case, though.

It was not commonplace in the 1980s and 90s to see superheavyweights performing cartwheels in the middle of the match or hitting the ropes with the speed of a much smaller athlete.

Bam Bam Bigelow did that. He could hang with superheavyweights like Andre the Giant or Diesel while mixing it up with smaller Superstars like Bret Hart or the 1-2-3 Kid.

Perhaps Bigelow's greatest attribute was his adaptability. The native of Asbury Park, New Jersey, could wrestle any style of match, in any company, in the entire world and never once look out of place.

Whether he was warring Hart over the King of the Ring crown in 1993, bashing Norman Smiley with trash can lids in 1999 or having one of the greatest years of his career as a member of the ECW roster in 1998, he repeatedly proved himself to be an elite performer at every level.

If none of that is worthy of a Hall of Fame induction, look no further than his WrestleMania XI showdown with Lawrence Taylor. The NFL great was out of league, literally and figuratively, as he took to the grandest stage in sports entertainment for a match with Bigelow.

Bam Bam made him look good and carried the 1995 main event. More importantly, he got a better match out of LT than anyone had any right to, proving one more time just how special and valuable a performer he was.