It’s cool outside, leaves are changing color, NFL football is in full swing, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballots are due. Ahh, a great time of year.
Here’s the thing — my ballot is getting a little repetitive, which means other voters out there just aren’t getting it right.
My criteria for an “IN” vote has always been pretty darn simple. Stingy? Yeah, kinda, but simple nonetheless.
To get into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, you need to have the numbers, right? That’s a given. I treat match quality for the WON Hall of Fame like the MLB Hall of Fame treats numbers. You have to have it. It gets you into the conversation.
From there, the first thing I look at is impact on the business. Did the wrestler leave something behind with major historical significance? If more voters considered this analysis point, someone like Charlotte Flair would be in the Hall of Fame. She should be and it’s a shame she isn’t.
Then, I look at drawing power and business. Did the candidate put the butts in seats? Did they move the needle from a ratings perspective? That kind of analysis.
Finally, it’s a gut check. Do they pass the eye test of a Hall of Famer? Admittedly, that’s a subjective approach, but so be it. Pro wrestling is subjective a lot of the time, so it makes perfect sense to use that judgement as a means to drilling down to a decision.
Alright, here it goes — my 2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot:
Archie “Mongolian Stomper” Gouldie
This was a 2023 IN vote and a 2024 IN vote. Here’s what I wrote:
2023: “I vote for this guy every single year. He’s a 14 time world champion in Stampede Wrestling and a big time for draw for that territory. Go watch the matches this guy had. He’s big time over. IN.”
2024: “And IN he stays. All of that still applies and he’ll continue getting my vote until I can vote for him no longer.”
2025: Another year and another IN vote. What has to happen to change the narrative here? Banging my head against the wall isn’t working.
Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat
A 2023 and 2024 YES. Here’s what I wrote:
2024: “You know that quick-paced tag team wrestling you love so much? Did you vote for The Young Bucks this year? These two helped birth that style. They have an indelible mark on the wrestling business and drew money too. IN.”
2025: So, The Young Bucks are in, but Youngblood and Steamboat aren’t as a tag team? Make it make sense. The former doesn’t happen without the latter and as a Hall of Fame, this must be recognized.
Junkyard Dog
Another 2023 and 2024 YES vote. Here’s what I wrote:
2024: “We’re still doing this? Like Mongolian Stomper, Junkyard Dog gets my vote every year. He shouldn’t because he’s first ballot HOF talent, but alas, here we are. When you talk about the most over wrestlers in history, Junkyard Dog needs to be on the list. He had his demons and his career ended early because of them, but JYD always had the fans in the palm of his hand. People cared. IN.”
2025: I just feel like this is an easy call that voters aren’t making. What’s missing? Longevity, I suppose and that’s a fair play. Stone Cold Steve Austin didn’t have a sizzling hot run for decades either, though.
June Byers
Byers was a first-time YES for me in 2024 and that was mainly do to an increased education.
2024: “Byers didn’t get a vote from me in 2023 and she should have. Thanks to the research of Jonathan Snowden, which you can read, it’s clear that Byers had the impact on wrestling AND the skill that delivers seats in the Hall. I took her skill for granted. The impact she made on the business was always there, but the skill part always had me doubting. Byers had the character and characters make stars. Characters draw money and characters earn Hall votes. IN.”
2025: I still very much believe this analysis. Byers is mechanically sound and as said above, a character. Here’s more, though. She impacted the business in a positive way. When you talk about women’s wrestling, she’s in the first couple paragraphs.
Kevin, Kerry, & David Von Erich
It’s time. The Von Erich’s haven’t made my ballot until this year and it’s time to put them in. Like Byers, it took some added viewing and education to get there, but there is one constant when you watch these guys. An audience connection. These three set the table for everything in WCCW and just didn’t have matches that fans weren’t into. Promoters today would do some bad things to get their hands on babyfaces like this. IN.
Becky Lynch
2023 IN. 2024 IN. 2025 IN. Is any of this different now than in 2023 or 2024?
2023: “Becky Lynch had the hottest run a woman has had in the history of professional wrestling. From the summer of 2018 through her main event match at WrestleMania in 2019, Lynch was the most over star in WWE. She carried the company and that WrestleMania on her shoulders. The WWE audience being as invested in her as they were forced her match into the main event at WrestleMania 35 and was the first-ever all women’s main event in WrestleMania history. A no brainer here in terms of impact and business.” It isn’t. She needs to be in an it’s a no-brainer.”
2025: It’s crazy that Lynch still needs votes. She added the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship to her resume and has had more than serviceable matches twice with Maxxine Dupri. C’mon, folks. This is an easy one.
Kevin Nash & Scott Hall
These guys were IN votes from last year and in 2024. Still IN.
2024: “As I mentioned last year, I debated whether or not they get a nod. They just have too much historical significance to be left out of the Hall of Fame. Simple as that. IN.”
2025: Same rules apply.
Randy Orton
This guy deserves to be in and did last year. Oh, and the year before.
2024: “Grand slam champion, face of the company — kinda. Good matches. Long career. Orton was once called the prototypical pro wrestler and he’s kind of the prototypical Hall of Famer also. IN.”
2025: This will ruffle some feathers, but Orton not in the Hall of Fame is like Randy Savage not being in the Hall of Fame. Savage was a tad under Hulk Hogan. Orton the same to John Cena. Top number twos, though. IN.
Cody Rhodes
A new addition to my ballot in 2024 and another that’ll be a regular until he is in. Here’s what I wrote last year:
2024: The Rhodes journey coincided with a shifting time period in wrestling. Streaming became available and easily accessible, therefore more independent companies got eyes on them. Same thing with promotions in Japan. Rhodes was the first real star to recognize that, bet on himself, and make himself a bigger star away from the WWE because of that developing system. His momentum and success paved the way for an entirely new national promotion to exist and he was a top star in that promotion. Then, he returned to the mothership as the tip top babyface with two WrestleMania main events under his belt. Inside that run, memorable matches littered the world and he still has a lot left to go in the tank. His story is still very much being written, but if retired tomorrow, his resume speaks for itself. IN.”
2025: Does another WrestleMania main event change your vote here? An absolute no-brainer.
CM Punk
I voted YES on Punk in 2024 and all he did this year is add to his resume.
2024: “A revolutionary performer. WWE and AEW don’t look like they do now without Punk’s influence and ability to break through and infiltrate WWE at the highest level. He changed the game in that regard and very much set forth a roadmap for others like him. Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and many others simply don’t reach the top of the mountain without him going up it first. He’s a trailblazer and his match record speaks for itself. IN.”
2025: See above. Look, when you talk about the impact on the industry, nobody has more of a stark one on current wrestling than CM Punk. He’s played nice since he returned to WWE, so if that was keeping him out, it shouldn’t anymore.
Mercedes Mone/Sasha Banks
New to the ballot in 2025 and an absolute lock. Mone is a legendary pro wrestler at this point. She helped change and was at the forefront of the women’s wrestling narrative and then sustained herself as a top star outside of the biggest company in the world. Loads of world championships, a WrestleMania main eventer, and regular great matches against diverse opponents stylistically. Need I go on? IN.
Larry Matysik
And the beating of the drum continues …
2024: “Matysik remains on my list as he’s one of the greatest voices in the history of the business. He also was an influencer of the business at a high level. Announcing alone gets him in — the rest is icing on the cake. IN.”
2025: I’ll say it again … “one of the greatest voices in the history of the business.” Get this done.
Let us know what you think of this ballot in the comments!
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