WWE: 15 Current Wrestlers Who Could Be Future Wrestling Hall of Famers

No professional wrestler is in the business to be mediocre.

Almost every single one of them trained hard for years, worked their craft on the independent scene, slept in cars, drove across the country and wrestled for no money all just to make a name for themselves.

The goal of each of these guys was the same: To become the best wrestler they could be and make it to the top wrestling promotion in the world, the WWE.

Once they get there, though, they have a new goal: To leave behind a legacy and become a WWE Hall of Famer.

Not many have joined the WWE’s elite class of legends, and not many will. But there are plenty of guys  (and gals) currently on Raw and Smackdown who could.

Here are 15 current WWE stars who could one day join the likes of Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Already Locks (and therefore not eligible for this list): The Big Show, Christian, CM Punk, John Cena, Kane, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Triple H and The Undertaker

15. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan is the best pure wrestler in the world, and unless he chokes out Justin Roberts with a tie again, then I think he’ll have a lengthy career in the WWE.

He’s just one of those wrestlers who’s great to have around because he can work excellent matches with the company’s stars and get watchable matches out of its green rookies.

The problem with Bryan, though, is his obvious lack of size and whether or not the WWE will ever give the guy a serious main-event-level push. Though he did win Smackdown’s Money in the Bank earlier this year, I still have to question if he’ll ever win a World title.

My guess is that if he wins the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 28 and proves to be a credible World champion, then his future is bright.

If Bryan’s the first person to lose when he cashes in, however, then I’m not sure we’ll ever see him back in the main-event scene full-time, and that could really hurt his chances at entering the Hall of Fame.

14. Kelly Kelly

I know what you’re thinking: Kelly Kelly? Really?

But this is the same WWE Hall of Fame that features guys like Koko B. Ware, and Kelly Kelly is going to wind up accomplishing more than he ever did.

Though the blonde bombshell will never be the best women’s wrestler we’ve ever seen, she’s already been Divas Champion and is the face of the Divas division at only 24 years old.

Given that Kelly Kelly has already been with the WWE for five-plus years and likely will be there for another five, there’s a good chance she’ll win around five Divas titles…or more.

If she does that and remains as popular as she is now, then I think we’ll see K2 in the Hall of Fame at some point down the road.

13. William Regal

William Regal is one of the more underrated wrestlers in WWE history, a true triple threat who has a ton of charisma, can work the mic incredibly well and, most importantly, is awesome in the ring.

He’s never reached that main event level—primarily wrestling for secondary titles—and he blew the biggest opportunity of his career in 2008, when he won the King of the Ring tournament, was given a massive push and then got suspended in the midst of for violating the company’s Wellness Policy.

Had that never happened, who knows where Regal’s career would have gone.

Despite that, though, he’s widely regarded as one of the best in-ring technicians in the business, he has longevity on his side and his new role as an announcer will only add to his resume.

I’d actually be surprised if Regal isn’t elected to the Hall of Fame once he hangs up his boots for good, which he hasn’t yet.

12. Jack Swagger

There seems to be a 50/50 split on Jack Swagger, with half the fans thinking he sucks and half thinking he should be elevated to the main event scene.

I’m leaning with the latter because he’s arguably the best big man in the WWE (besides The Undertaker, obviously), he’s at least decent on the mic and he’s got the size/look of someone who should be wrestling for World titles.

At only 28 years old, Swagger’s got age on his size, and he’s already had runs with the ECW and World Heavyweight Championships, even if his WHC title run was complete crap.

Perhaps a few runs with either the United States or Intercontinental Championship would get him out of his current rut and allow him to gradually work his way up the card. Who knows.

No matter what happens with Swagger, though, he’s too good from an in-ring perspective to just let him go. He’ll get his chances—it’s just a matter of what he does with them.

11. John Morrison

John Morrison has taken a huge fall down the WWE totem pole since returning from injury this summer, and it’s caused me to rethink my take on Morrison.

I used to think that he was a future main-eventer, but every time a perfect opportunity has been there to elevate him to the World title picture (like when he became No. 1 Contender to The Miz), the WWE seems to drop the ball on him.

Morrison is now essentially in the same position he was in 2006 (wrestling for secondary titles), and that’s not exactly a bad place to be. But he’s nowhere near where we thought he’d be at this point.

All that being said, though, Morrison’s been around for a while, has had numerous title runs (ECW, WWE Tag Team and Intercontinental Championships) and has age on his side. A World title run or two would solidify what is shaping up to be a Hall of Fame-worthy career.

10. Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett had one of the hottest starts in recent WWE history.

After winning NXT, he jumped into huge angles with both John Cena and Randy Orton, and appeared poised to be a future World Champion. Then, he moved to Smackdown, had a forgettable run with The Corre (not to mention a forgettable Intercontinental title run) and has yet to really recover.

I think that’s just a matter of time before he does, though.

Barrett’s got the size that Vince McMahon loves, and he’s one of the best talkers in the company.

He’s a prime candidate for a push on Smackdown because his talent is there—it’s just a matter of the WWE brass getting behind him again like they did in 2010.

9. Air Boom (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne)

Evan Bourne has got a lot of work to do to get to the Hall of Fame, but he’s on the right path now that he’s actually getting a push in a tag team that could be around for a while.

On the other hand, his tag team partner Kofi Kingston is already well on his way to a spot in the Hall.

Since debuting in 2006, Kingston has become one of the WWE’s biggest fan favorites. The crowd loves his high-flying offense and his happy-go-lucky demeanor, and they pop big-time for him during his entrance and his matches.

Kingston already has runs with the United States, Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships, and he’s more toward the beginning of his career than the end.

If Kingston’s next main-event-level push isn’t stalled like it was in 2009, then big things could be on the horizon for him. 

8. Goldust

Goldust was in the midst of arguably the biggest push of his career earlier this year before being bitten by the injury bug, and he’s now working in a backstage role with the Divas.

There’s no telling whether Goldust is done as an in-ring competitor, but I think he’ll be back for a final run at some point. Though he’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, he’s been a huge contributor to the WWE for years now,

Goldust was a staple of the greatest period in wrestling history, the Attitude Era, and he’s one of those guys who—though you might not know it—is one of the better pure wrestlers in the company.

Does he have enough on his resume to get into the Hall of Fame? I don’t know, but at the very least, he’ll be pretty damn close.

7. Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya)

Beth Phoenix and Natalya are the two most talented Divas in the WWE. Hands down.

If the company’s booking made it any sense, it would have the Divas of Doom as the focus of the women’s division for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t matter if they’re fighting with or against each other—just make sure they’re getting on TV every week.

Beth and Natalya already have several Women’s and Divas title runs between them, and given the lack of other options in the division, you have to think their number of reigns will pile up.

As long as we don’t get Divas of Doom overload, that’s not a bad decision. Beth and Natalya can really go in the ring, they’re the main two reasons why I can even watch the Divas division and they’re likely future Hall of Famers.

6. Alberto Del Rio

Barring something unforeseen happening, there’s about an 80 or 90 percent chance that Alberto Del Rio is going to be a WWE Hall of Famer.

He’s only been with the company for about 15 months, yet he’s achieved more than most wrestlers will in their entire career.

Del Rio’s won the Royal Rumble, the Money in the Bank match and two WWE Championships in the last 10 months. He’s not going to keep up that pace, but that doesn’t really matter.

ADR has damn near solidified his Hall of Fame status, and like him or not, he’s going to be a big part of the WWE for the next several years.

5. Mark Henry

Mark Henry debuted with the WWE all the way back in 1996, and though he did have some memorable moments (like fathering a prosthetic hand with Mae Young or being part of the Nation of Domination), he managed to win only two singles titles in his first 15 years with the company.

Then, 2011 came along, Henry moved to Smackdown, turned heel and has suddenly become the best bad guy in the entire company.

At Night of Champions, he was rewarded with a clean World Heavyweight title win over Randy Orton, he’s successfully defended it since then and he appears poised for a lengthy run with the belt.

I never seriously considered Henry as a future Hall of Famer, but given his nearly unparalleled longevity and his recent success, you have to think that the World’s Strongest Man could very well be one.

4. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler might not have the best ring name ever, but he’s got all the tools to succeed in the pro wrestling business.

He’s got a unique look, a great manager, above-average mic skills (that he’s shown only recently) and he’s one of the best wrestlers on the entire WWE roster. His size worries me a bit, because I’m not sure how big of a push he’ll get since he’s not incredibly jacked or tall.

But Ziggler’s proven as Intercontinental and United States Champion—no, his 15-minute World Heavyweight title run doesn’t count—that he can put on great championship matches with just about anyone and generate a ton of heel heat.

I truly think he’s one of the WWE’s next breakout stars, and if he can drop the US belt and move to the main event level, he’s going to prove to a lot of people just how good he is.

3. Cody Rhodes

You might think, “Hey, Cody Rhodes isn’t that good. He only has a couple of tag team title runs and one Intercontinental Championship on his resume.”

Well, let me remind you that he’s still only 26 years old. Yeah, seriously.

Despite being so young, Rhodes has already been around for four years, and he’s proven during that time span that he can make three different characters work: His Legacy gimmick, his “Dashing” one and his current “Undashing” one.

Rhodes has really excelled since moving to Smackdown, where he’s cutting great promos, putting on even better matches and generating some of the best heel heat in the business.

If he continues to evolve like he has been, there’s no reason to think that he won’t be a multiple-time future World Champion who stays at the top of the business for a really long time.

2. Sheamus

Sheamus burst onto the WWE scene in June 2009, and a mere six months later, he won his first WWE Championship by defeating John Cena at WWE TLC in December.

The move was shocking at the time, but it launched a superstar.

The Celtic Warrior would win another WWE title, have a run with the United States Championship and feud with Triple H at WrestleMania. Then, he would go on to have one of the most successful face turns of 2011, and he’s become one of the biggest fan favorites in all of the WWE as a result.

Though he’s only been in the company for a little more than two years, you could argue that Sheamus is its No. 4 superstar, behind Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk.

That’s a great place for Sheamus to be, and I think he’ll be there for the majority of what should be a Hall of Fame-caliber career.

1. The Miz

The Miz started off his WWE career as a complete afterthought, but he’s grown into the second most well-known superstar in the entire company (behind John Cena, obviously).

His reality TV past has given WWE some great connections to the entertainment world, and his massive improvement in the ring has turned him into a complete wrestler who is much more than just a good talker.

PWI’s 2011 “Wrestler of the Year,” The Miz has won multiple tag team titles, the Money in the Bank match, the United States Championship and the WWE title. He’s also the focal point of the hottest angle the WWE has done in the last several years.

Is there any doubt where The Miz’s career is headed?

Because, unless something crazy happens, I can’t see any reason why he won’t be at the top of the WWE for the next five years or so…and a future Hall of Famer as a result.