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Why Was Koko B. Ware Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame?

Posted: May 18th 2022 By: Michael Chin - TheSportster.com

Koko B. Ware often gets used as an example of a lackluster WWE Hall of Fame inductee, but he was actually much more deserving than he gets credit for.

It has become a bit of cliché that if someone wants to make an argument for why someone deserves to inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, they turn to Koko B. Ware. The case is essentially that, 'If Koko went in, anyone can.' After all, in WWE, The Bird Man was largely used as an enhancement talent, spending nearly a decade putting over talents management wanted to push, working in lower-tier tag team scenarios, and mostly only picking up victories when working against full-on jobbers for free TV matches. Particularly with so many important historical figures missing from the Hall, why did Ware find his way into the Hall of Fame at all?

Making Amends For How Koko B. Ware’s WWE Career Ended

In a 2018 interview with Koko B. Ware, he explained why he thinks he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He indicated that WWE was a bit callous in unceremoniously letting him go after years of loyal service (and that’s in addition to briefly firing him earlier in his tenure a backstage altercation, spurred on by a backstage staff member made racist comments). Ware suggested the induction may have been Vince McMahon’s own way of offering an apology.

While it seems doubtful that McMahon would make the call an induction for this reason alone, the fact that The Bird Man himself subscribes to the theory adds some credibility. After all, an induction doesn’t just stroke a performer’s ego, but also revives their memory and adds a CV line for those who are still taking independent bookings, or at least doing autograph signings. Plus, as Ware also described in the interview, he garnered a $5,000 payday for the Hall of Fame appearance.

Koko B. Ware Was A Memorable Character And Good Worker From WWE’s Golden Era

Perhaps most indisputable part of Koko B. Ware’s case to be a worthy WWE Hall of Famer is the fact that he was a memorable character from one of the hottest period’s in the company’s history. Say what you will about Ware, but he’s not among the wrestlers who go forgotten from The Golden Era. Rather, even casual and lapsed fans from the 1980s and early 1990s can hear about Ware and immediately remember him dancing his way down the aisle with Frankie on his arm.

In addition to being a reasonably popular mid-card babyface, Ware was a solid worker who made plenty of other wrestlers look good by putting up good offense against them and selling a beat down well. Doing all of that across nearly eight years with the company puts Ware on par with or arguably ahead of celebrity inductees and other lower rung acts who’ve been inducted like Sharmell and Hillbilly Jim.

Koko B. Ware’s Credentials From Outside WWE

Like many of WWE’s talents during their national expansion, Koko B. Ware wasn’t exactly a homegrown talent. He’d spent years out on the territories, with stops in different NWA promotions, the AWA, WCCW, and the Mid-South, where he first began cultivating his Bird Man gimmick. Indeed, similar to other major acts of the day, WWE cherry-picked him as someone with potential to appeal to a broader audience, amped up his theatrics, and ran with him.

Along his journey, Ware picked up a not insignificant number of mid-card and tag team title reigns. Additionally, his final days with WWE saw him cross over to Jerry Lawler’s USWA Memphis-based promotion, where he actually won the top title twice.

Koko B. Ware Helped Bring Visible Diversity To The WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2009

The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009 included Koko B. Ware alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Von Erichs, The Funks, Bill Watts, Howard Finkel, and the lone other person of color, Ricky Steamboat.

Ware, then, represented an important inductee to demonstrate WWE’s values and celebrate black excellence from a performer who was talented and arguably may have been held back because of racial considerations (consciously or not) during the prime of his career. Ware may have been better off in the modern era when his race would be less likely to be a challenge to overcome in sports entertainment. Indeed, on this basis, Ware could readily be reframed as an under-celebrated hero of his era.

Ultimately, Koko B. Ware is a more worthy Hall of Famer by any metric than a lot of fans give him credit for at first blush. Combining a possible desire for WWE to make amends, plus Ware’s longevity during an important time in WWE history and outside accomplishments, he belongs among the talents WWE has chosen to immortalize with the honor of induction.