Ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman, and he’s a WWE Hall of Famer.—Or rather, he will be come April 5th of 2024. As of right now (time of writing,) Paul Heyman is among the two announced members of the 2024 class of inductees. A logical decision considering the Hall of Fame ceremony will be held in Philadelphia, PA, WrestleMania weekend. While the City of Brotherly Love may not be Heyman’s hometown, it is a town he knows well.
It was 2300 S Swanson St, Philadelphia, where Heyman first made his mark on the wrestling industry. That’s where he took a small regional promotion and transformed it into a cult phenomenon that would reshape and influence the business for better and worse. His time with Extreme Championship Wrestling made him an icon. But it would be his work years later with WWE that elevated him to the status of legend. — It’s kind of strange to think about, but an entire generation of fans will only ever know Heyman for his WWE work. They’ll never experience the joy of watching Paul E. Dangerously lead his Dangerous Alliance in dominating the WCW of the early 90s. Or witness his rise to prominence through the last remnants of the once-great wrestling territories, developing his craft in the AWA, CWF, and CWA, among others.
The Mad Genius of ECW, Paul Heyman, is a deserving entrant to the WWE Hall of Fame, no question about that. There is, however, the question of who will induct The Wise Man. Speculation has begun with names like Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Damn, and Joey Styles being thrown around. And any of those three would be a fine choice. And there’s a whole laundry list of other options. Though the best of them might just be the Best in the World, CM Punk. Not only did Heyman work as Punk’s on-screen manager in the later part of Punk’s first run with the company, but he also worked closely with the voice of the voiceless in WWE’s former development territory, OVW.
Plus, he’s A Paul Heyman Guy.
In addition to Heyman, Japanese wrestling star Bull Nakano has been announced as the next member of the 2024 HOF class. Many a modern fan may not be familiar with the name. Hell. Many a long-time fan may even struggle to recall her runs feuding with Alundra Blayze in WWF and WCW between ’94 and ’96.—Much less impressive than her career in Japan, where she held multiple championship belts, the first of which she won at only 16 years old.
Injuries would lead Bull Nakano to retire from the sport in 1997—And for the most part, she’s remained as such, with only a couple of exceptions over the years. In 2023, Nakano announced she’d be involved with a new U.S.-based Japanese Women’s wrestling promotion, Sukeban. And that might just be one of the most badass names for a women’s wrestling promotion. Sukeban translates to “Delinquent Girl” and/or can refer to the leader of a “Girl Gang.” Awesome freaking name. And Bull Nakano is their on-air authority figure, the commissioner.
Unlike with Paul Heyman, there is less question surrounding who could induct Bull Nakano. Hands-down, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it has to be her former WCW manager, Sonny Onoo. But if not, Onoo—Hall of Famer and long-time rival Alundra Blayze, will suffice.
This Hall of Fame class is already shaping up to be something special. Something different. It will be interesting to see what other names get added to the list in the coming days.
Sound off in the comments with who you think should be inducted and who should do the inducting.