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Hulk Hogan WWE Hall of Fame Debate Raises Questions About Other Inductees

Posted: Jul 28th 2015 By: Kevin Eck

When WWE removed Hulk Hogan's profile from the Hall of Fame section of its website a couple days ago as a result of him being embroiled in a racial controversy, the question of whether he should be officially expelled from the institution was raised.

That question, however, opens up a whole other can of worms. Specifically, if WWE drops Hogan from the Hall of Fame, are there other inductees who should be banished for transgressions?

Here are 10 WWE Hall of Famers (in alphabetical order) who would be considered candidates for removal:

STEVE AUSTIN (Class of 2009): In November 2002, Austin pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of assault stemming from a domestic dispute with then-wife Debra Marshall (former WWE Diva Debra). He was fined $1,000, sentenced to a year's probation, and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and attend a domestic violence counseling course. Last year, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon announced a new company policy that instituted zero tolerance for domestic abuse.

SCOTT HALL (Class of 2014): In 1983, Hall was charged with second-degree murder after shooting a man with the man's gun during an altercation outside a strip club in Orlando, Fla. The case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. In an interview with ESPN several years ago, Hall admitted shooting the man in the head at point-blank range after he wrestled the gun away from him. Hall has also been arrested a number of times on a number of alcohol-related charges.

IRON SHEIK Class of 2005): He has dropped the n-word and made anti-Semitic remarks during his over-the-top tirades on The Howard Stern Show.

PETE ROSE (Class of 2004): Baseball's disgraced all-time hits leader voluntarily accepted a permanent place on the sport's banned list in 1989 stemming from allegations that he bet on baseball while playing and managing. After denying the allegations for years, he admitted in 2004 that he did bet on baseball while playing for and managing the Cincinnati Reds.

JIMMY SNUKA (Class of 1996): When his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, died in the couple's hotel room from traumatic brain injuries after evidence of a struggle, Snuka was described as a "person of interest" during the investigation, but no charges were ever filed against him or anyone else. The case remained open and was turned over to a grand jury last year. The Argentino family won a $500,000 wrongful death suit against Snuka in 1985. Snuka never paid, claiming his financial inability to do so.

TAMMY "SUNNY" SYTCH (Class of 2011): In the fall 2012, Sytch was arrested five times in a four-week span stemming from altercations with her then-boyfriend. The arrests were on charges of: disorderly conduct; violation of a protective order and strangulation; violating a protective order; disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and three counts of a violation of a protective order; and three violations of a protective order. In January 2013, she was again arrested for violation of a protective order. Sytch served 114 days in jail.

DONALD TRUMP (Class of 2013): During his announcement that he was running for president last month, Trump made controversial remarks about Mexican immigration, prompting several major corporations to terminate their business relationship with him.

MIKE TYSON (Class of 2012): In 1992, the former heavyweight boxing champion was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of rape. He was released after serving three years.

ULTIMATE WARRIOR (Class of 2014): A decade ago, Warrior came under fire for homophobic and racist remarks that he made while on the lecture circuit. Among his more inflammatory statements were that gay couples had the same disease as pedophile priests, queering doesn't make the world work and Kwanzaa is not as legitimate as Christmas. During one of his speeches, he also told an Iranian college student to get a towel. Earlier this year, WWE created The Warrior Award, which "will be given to someone who has exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance, and who lives life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of WWE Hall of Famer, The Ultimate Warrior."

BILL WATTS (Class of 2009): When the former wrestler and promoter was an executive with the Ted Turner-owned WCW in the early 90's, he and the company parted ways after Watts' controversial remarks about African Americans and gays from an interview he did less than two years prior were brought to the attention of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who was also an executive under the Turner umbrella. In the interview in question, Watts defended a restaurant owner's right to discriminate against African-Americans. "If I don't want to sell chicken to blacks, I shouldn't have to. It's my restaurant," he said. Watts went on to say, "I should have the right to not associate with a fag if I don't want to. I mean, why should I have to hire a f*****' fag, if I don't like fags?" Paul Heyman, who worked for Watts in WCW, has also accused Watts of making anti-Semitic remarks to him.