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Formation | 2019 |
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Members | 52 total inductees |
Website | International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame |
The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (IPWHF) is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum that is located in Albany, New York, at the MVP Arena. [1]
The museum was founded by Seth Turner, Tony Vellano, the founder of Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, Michael Viscosi, Andrew Groff, Joe Defino, and Mike Lanuto on December 10, 2019. Seth Turner was named the President of the IPWHF and Tony Vellano was named Vice President of Talent and Community Relations. The launching of the IPWHF began after the New York State Board of Regents approved a provisional charter for the new hall. Its purpose is to "ensure the contributions to professional wrestling by individuals from various backgrounds and diverse cultures will be highlighted in the establishment". IPWHF declared itself a nonprofit organization. [2] [3]
On May 24, 2020, IPWHF announced that they have Acquired Bruno Sammartino's WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, which was later known as “Bruno’s Belt”, and would be displayed at their museum. [4]
Class of 2021 [5]
Class of 2022 [7]
Class of 2023 [8]
Class of 2024 [9]
Frederick Kenneth Blassie was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate", he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestling heels, or villains, of all time.
Richard Morgan Fliehr, known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanning over 50 years in 6 decades.
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Sammartino's 2,803-day reign as WWWF World Heavyweight Champion is the longest in the championship's history as well as the longest world title reign in WWE history.
Buddy Rogers, better known by the ring name "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, was an American professional wrestler who was one of the biggest professional wrestling stars in the beginning of the television era. His performances influenced future professional wrestlers, including "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, who used Rogers's nickname, as well as his look, attitude and finishing hold, the figure-four leglock. He was also known for his rivalry with Lou Thesz, both in and out of the ring.
Oreal Donald Perras was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "the Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship.
Eldridge Wayne Coleman Jr., better known by his ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham, was an American professional wrestler. He gained recognition for his tenure as the WWF Heavyweight Champion from 1977 to 1978. He was a three-time world champion in major professional wrestling promotions. As an award-winning bodybuilder, he was a training partner and close friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was most remembered for revolutionizing the interview, which resembled the interviewing style of boxer Muhammad Ali, and physique aspects of the professional wrestling industry, and for his charismatic performance style.
Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt was an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of the stars Mondt helped create from the 1920s through the 1960s included Wayne Munn, Jim Londos, Antonino Rocca, Bruno Sammartino, Stu Hart and Cowboy Bill Watts.
Louis Vincent Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, before becoming a manager until 1996.
Rocky Johnson was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Television Champion. He won the World Tag Team Championship in 1983, along with his partner Tony Atlas, to become the first black champions in WWE history. He was the father of actor and current WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and the grandfather of Simone Johnson.
Arnold Skaaland was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager.
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Robert Deroy Windham, better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in-law of Mike Rotunda, and the maternal grandfather of Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt.
John Stanley Hansen II, best known as Stan "the Lariat" Hansen, is an American retired professional wrestler.
Houston Harris was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one of the first black professional wrestlers.
Tatsumi Fujinami is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He was famously nicknamed "The Dragon", and is credited for inventing the dragon sleeper and the dragon suplex.
Karel Istaz, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch, was a Belgian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, catch wrestler, and trainer.
Carl Raymond Stevens, better known as Ray "the Crippler" Stevens or Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens, was an American professional wrestler. Stevens was a wrestling superstar since the early years of the television era until his retirement during the early 1990s.
William Alfred Robinson was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and coach. Robinson was one of the leading practitioners of catch wrestling, a national champion in freestyle wrestling, and a professional wrestling world champion. As a wrestler, Robinson had a successful career in Britain and internationally, especially in Japan. He was known for training professional wrestlers and mixed martial artists in the catch wrestling style, including Josh Barnett, Kazushi Sakuraba, Kiyoshi Tamura, and Shayna Baszler. His favourite saying as a coach was "do it again", which came from his trainer Billy Riley. Robinson acted in several movies including The Wrestler and inspired the fictional manga/anime character Robin Mask.
William M. Miller was an American professional wrestler. He was a one time American Wrestling Association world champion and also wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance, the World Wrestling Association and the World Wide Wrestling Federation.
Jacob "Jaap" Grobbe, better known as Hans Mortier, was a Dutch professional wrestler best known for his stint in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and his feud with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino in the 1960s.