Gorgeous George Enters WWE Hall Of Fame
Posted: Mar 15th 2010 By: CMBurnham
World Wrestling Entertainment? (NYSE: WWE - News) today announced that Gorgeous George, the man often credited with creating American pop culture and who set the standard for future WWE Superstars and influenced such greats as Muhammad Ali, James Brown and Bob Dylan, will be inducted into the WWE? Hall of Fame on March 27, 2010. His 96 year-old former wife, Betty Wagner will accept the honor on his behalf. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be broadcast that night on USA Network at 11 PM ET from the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona.
?Gorgeous George?s was a pop-culture innovator who took risks pushing the social envelope and did things that no other performer had ever dared to do,? said CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon. ?He was a cultural tour-de-force who set the standard that many in the world of sports and entertainment still emulate today.?
The significance of Gorgeous George?s legacy led WWE Studios to option the rights to his story for a major motion picture slated to begin production in 1Q 2011.
Muhammad Ali, whose notorious boastful and arrogant style derived from George, stated, ?I made up my mind after meeting Gorgeous George to make people angry at me...I saw 15,000 people comin? to see this man get beat. And his talking did it. I said this is a good idea.?
Bob Dylan, the music poet, said, ?A mighty spirit. Crossing paths with Gorgeous George, was all the recognition and encouragement I would need for years to come.?
Gorgeous George, born George Wagner, single-handedly changed the dynamics of not only wrestling, but entertainment and sports in the 1940s-1950s. His character was an arrogant aristocrat dressed in silk, lace and chiffon robes who spoke in a braggadocio style, often referring to himself as ?The Toast of the Coast? and ?The Sensation of the Nation.? Audiences around the country came to see Gorgeous George perform live, and tuned their TV sets in to see what he would say or do next, making Gorgeous George one of the biggest celebrities of his day, and an influence on pop culture for generations to come. As popular as Lucille Ball and Bob Hope, media observers believe more Americans purchased televisions to watch Gorgeous George perform than to see Milton Berle.
Others to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame on March 27 include Ted ?The Million Dollar Man? DiBiase Sr., former Women?s Champion Wendi Richter, Maurice ?Mad Dog? Vachon and Japanese legend Antonio Inoki.
Supplemental Information
Latest News
Junkyard Dog: A Tragic Ending for a Wrestling Great
Arguably, no one was more popular in the Mid-South area than Junkyard Dog (or JYD for short). What he didn’t have in ... Read More
The Scoop
NEWS WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash weighed in on the warning sent to AEW by the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission. OSAC alleged that the company had viol... Read More
“Make yourself undeniable” – Bodyslam.net speaks with Walker Stewart of NJPW
In the realm of professional wrestling, I wear two hats – one as a wordsmith for Bodys... Read More
- AEW’s Ricky Starks recalls sneak-eating king cakes, washing cars for money ahead of champions’ homecoming show
- Mickie James on Her Next Chapter In Impact Wrestling & ‘Bound for Glory’
- Ric Flair Interview Recap
- AEW ‘Grand Slam’: Sammy Guevara on His Journey from Working at Taco Bell to Facing Chris Jericho
Spotlight in History
- 2006 AWOL def. Michael York for the TPW Heavyweight Champion
- 2006 Natural Born Sinners (Appolyon & El Lotus) def. Pretty Young Things (Cade Sydal & Mitch Carter) for the ACW Tag Team Champions
- 2006 Rexx Reed def. Carnage for the ACW Hardcore Champion
- 2006 Carnage def. Rexx Reed for the ACW Hardcore Champion
- 2007 Aaron Neil def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Oklahoma Champion
- 2007 Brad Michaels def. Ryan Davidson for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
- 2007 Bad Boy & Outlaw became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 2011 The Unknown & Johnny USA def. Michael H & Mr. Big for the NCW Tag Team Champions
- 2011 Mr. Big became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
- 2012 Sam Stackhouse def. Prophet for the BYEW Heavyweight Champion
- 2012 Rage Logan became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
- 2012 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Damon Windsor) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 2017 Aaron Anders became the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion
Week of Sun 04-28 to Sat: 05-04
- 04-28 1954 Red Berry def. Whitey Whittler for the TSW Tri-State Champion
- 04-28 1976 Ted DiBiase & Dick Murdoch def. Buck Robley & Bob Slaughter for the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
- 04-28 1980 Kevin Von Erich def. Toru Tanaka for the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
- 04-28 1989 The Simpson Brothers (Steve Simpson & Shaun Simpson) def. Beauty & The Beast (Terrance M. Garvin & The Beast [2nd]) for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Champion
- 04-28 2000 Heather Savage def. Jenna Love for the OPW Oklahoma Womens Champion
- 04-28 2002 Summer Rain became the OCW Oklahoma Womens Champion
- 04-28 2007 Eric Rose def. Jersey Devil for the UWF06 Light Heavyweight Champion
- 04-28 2007 Joe Herell became the UWF06 Violent Division Champion
- 04-28 2017 Brandon Groom def. Sam Stackhouse for the BPPW Oklahoma Champion
- 04-28 2018 Dusty Gold def. Wesley Crane for the UWE United States Champion
- 04-29 2006 AWOL def. Michael York for the TPW Heavyweight Champion
- 04-29 2006 Natural Born Sinners (Appolyon & El Lotus) def. Pretty Young Things (Cade Sydal & Mitch Carter) for the ACW Tag Team Champions
- 04-29 2006 Rexx Reed def. Carnage for the ACW Hardcore Champion
- 04-29 2006 Carnage def. Rexx Reed for the ACW Hardcore Champion
- 04-29 2007 Aaron Neil def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Oklahoma Champion
- 04-29 2007 Brad Michaels def. Ryan Davidson for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
- 04-29 2007 Bad Boy & Outlaw became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 04-29 2011 The Unknown & Johnny USA def. Michael H & Mr. Big for the NCW Tag Team Champions
- 04-29 2011 Mr. Big became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
- 04-29 2012 Sam Stackhouse def. Prophet for the BYEW Heavyweight Champion
- 04-29 2012 Rage Logan became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
- 04-29 2012 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Damon Windsor) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 04-29 2017 Aaron Anders became the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion
- 04-30 1954 Frenchy Roy became the TSW Oklahoma Junior Heavyweight Champion
- 04-30 1955 Ricki Starr became the TSW Oklahoma Champion
- 04-30 2004 Shadow of Death def. Terry Montana for the TPW Hardcore Champion
- 04-30 2011 Ryan Reed def. Rolling Thunder for the UWE United States Champion
- 04-30 2011 Ray Martinez def. Ryan Reed for the UWE United States Champion
- 04-30 2016 Ray Martinez became the SRPW Heavyweight Champion
- 04-30 2022 Clayton Bloodstone def. Ky-Ote for the NCWO Choctaw Nation Champion
- 04-30 2023 El Gallardo/El Vaquero def. Cappuccino Jones for the BPW Lion Heart Champion
- 04-30 2023 Heavyweight Grappling (Dan Webber & Morrison) def. Subject To Death (Cade Fite & Leo Fox) for the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champion
- 05-01 1981 Super Destroyer def. Jim Garvin for the MSW Louisiana Champion
- 05-01 2016 Skylar Slice def. Nikki Knight for the MSWA Ladies Champion
- 05-01 2021 Fuel def. Derek James for the UWE Heavyweight Champion
- 05-02 1964 Mike Clancy & Al Lovelock def. Karol Krauser & Stan Pulaski for the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
- 05-02 1969 Johnny Valentine def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
- 05-02 1977 Stan Hansen def. Dick Murdoch for the TSW North American Champion
- 05-02 1984 Krusher Khrushchev became the MSW Television Champion
- 05-02 1984 The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) def. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 05-02 2009 Ozzy Hendrix def. Shank for the SWCW Luchadore Champion
- 05-02 2015 Gail Kim became the IWR Diamonds Champion
- 05-02 2015 Kareem Sadat became the BCW Independent Hardcore Champion
- 05-02 2021 Drake Gallows def. Blade [2nd] for the AIWF National Champion
- 05-03 1973 Rip Tyler & Eddie Sullivan def. The Hollywood Blondes (Jerry Brown & Dale Valentine) for the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
- 05-03 1985 Ted DiBiase & Steve Williams def. The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 05-03 2003 El Sufamilico def. Ichiban [1st] for the TPW Heavyweight Champion
- 05-03 2008 Damon Windsor def. Havoc for the SWCW Heavyweight Champion
- 05-03 2008 Miss Sheila def. Kareem Sadat for the SWCW Hardcore Champion
- 05-03 2014 Sam Stackhouse def. Steven Sterling for the ComPro Showtime Champion
- 05-04 1953 Mike Clancy def. Karl Von Poppenheim for the TSW Oklahoma Junior Heavyweight Champion
- 05-04 1968 Danny Hodge & Skandar Akbar became the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
- 05-04 1969 Jerry Miller & Jim Osborne def. Danny Little Bear & Frank Dalton for the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Champion
- 05-04 1973 Blackjack Mulligan def. Jose Lothario for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Champion
- 05-04 1986 Kerry Von Erich & Lance Von Erich & Steve Simpson def. The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes, & Buddy Roberts) for the WCCW World 6-Man Tag Team Champion
- 05-04 1986 The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich & Lance Von Erich) became the WCCW World 6-Man Tag Team Champion
- 05-04 1987 The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) became the WCCW World Tag Team Champion
- 05-04 2003 Ichiban [1st]/Rocco Valentino def. El Sufamilico for the TPW Heavyweight Champion
- 05-04 2013 Tim Rockwell def. Daemon Storm for the UWE United States Champion
- Sunshine Apr 29th Today!
- Billie the Kiid Apr 30th
- Dustin Tibbs Apr 30th
- Joe McCarthy Apr 30th
- Anarchy [2nd] Apr 30th
- Prince Maivia May 1st
- Barrett Brown May 2nd
- Americos May 2nd
- Don Fields May 2nd
- Kari Wright May 2nd
- Big Bossman May 2nd
- Nightmare [1st] May 2nd
- Lily McKenzie May 3rd
- Johnny Humble May 3rd
- Lester Welch May 3rd
- Malik Mayfield May 4th
- El Hijo del Mascara Sagrada May 4th
- Bull Schmitt May 4th
- Olivier Vegos May 5th
- El Gallardo May 5th
- Pat O'Dowdy May 5th
- Maria Brigitte May 5th
- Bill Watts May 5th
- Princess Victoria May 5th
- Miss Diss Lexia May 5th
- Zane Morris May 5th
- Shane Rawls May 5th
- El Matador Dos May 5th
- Claire Watson May 6th
- Hercules May 7th
- Richie Adams May 8th
- Jake Danielsson May 9th
- Tito Santana May 10th
- Billy Brown May 10th
- Sunny War Cloud May 10th
- Jerry Brown May 10th
- Rook Tyler May 10th
- Big J May 11th
- Psycho May 11th
- Charming Charles May 11th
- Brock Baker May 12th
- Bill Howard May 12th
- Sol Yang May 12th
- Sensei Jamo May 12th
Most Active Members
- Striker
- Michael York
- The Mayne Event
- cphs_sweethearts
- Talon
