Justin LaBar On Non-Wrestlers In The WWE Hall of Fame

Justin is the regular WrestleZone Daily guest on Mondays and this week he chatted candidly about:

Expanding the WWE Hall of Fame to include people that have made an impact on the pro wrestling business outside of the ring
How Triple H might get involved in the Royal Rumble match
Who faces Undertaker at WrestleMania
More…

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You can find some of transcribed quotes and the full audio from Justin’s appearance below. Justin’s appearance begins at the 24:56 minute mark in the embedded audio player:

On his recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune talking about how non-wrestlers that have had an impact on the pro wrestling business should be inducted in to the WWE Hall of Fame:

JL: It was fresh on my mind after the big hoopla last Monday with the announcement of Sting. Good for Sting. It’s something every year around this time I always get asked about it. I noted it in the column. I always field this question about, “Should they open it up to other people outside of on-air characters?” In the past I have always rejected it. I have kind of changed my stance on that. I just feel that in the past I’ve rejected it with the feeling of, “People don’t know who these people are. Let’s just keep it to on-air performers.” It seems like as much as WWE has evolved and become with all these different entertainment platforms. I thought it might be good to educate people on people that they don’t necessarily know by name but obviously have appreciated their work. Two great examples that I gave right off the bat were Jim Johnston, the long time in house composer for WWE. Everybody knows his work. They just might not know his name. Or Adam Pennucci who is even more of a behind the scenes name. Jim Johnston has at least been documented to some extent. He’s been on Austin’s podcast. Adam Pennucci is a guy who a lot of people don’t know. He’s been with the company since 1994. He is their top notch editor. He’s the one who has made you cry, laugh, smile, show triumph, show heartbreak, show highlight reels… he’s the guy who is their number one editor when they need to put together a top notch piece. He’s the lead guy. He’s told so many stories over the years that we have watched and what have you. Something like that. I encourage people to check it out. I go in to more depth.

On the odds that Vince McMahon inserts himself in to the Royal Rumble and wins the match and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship:

JL: It’s not out of the realm of possibilities in WWE, of course. It wouldn’t be the first time that Vince has won the title. If they want the February PPV to be must see then that would certainly… as we’ve said, anything with Vince seems to draw attention. It’s interesting. We have to keep in mind the pool of people, those listening to the show, that we speak to and interact with. There are people that sit and think about these storylines and really invest time. I think we all kind of say it’s obvious that whether or not he’s in the Rumble Triple H obviously is going to be coming back for revenge against Roman Reigns. It just only seems to make sense when you have a Rumble where you can have thirty people in it. It just seems that would make sense for Triple H to do it.

On the potential of a Kevin Owens vs Undertaker match at WrestleMania:

JL: I’m for it simply on the fact that who else is there for him to fight? Part of it being injuries part of it being been there done that. There is no more streak so that all comes out of play. It’s really just a matter of who can we build something around? And, also, who can we get over? By process of elimination and just looking at what you have, “This guy is over here. This guy is over there.” I think Kevin Owens would be just a natural choice. Given that they are building so much around Kevin Owens and his hothead persona. Being the heel of all heels. Building an Undertaker match is so simple in this day and age. He’s such a legend that you can just flash a few lights and play a gong and you don’t need to see him for a few weeks. There’s already more interest in that than there is many of the other lower level matches. Kevin Owens can obviously hold it on his end. Whether it be beating up druids. Calling Taker out on the mic. Whatever it may be. Disrespecting traditions. It just seems that it would be a very interesting match. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. Even if Kevin Owens loses that’s a huge step for Kevin Owens. To come in and beat John Cena in his first night and then nine months later get to stand toe-to-toe with the Undertaker in potentially 100,000 people at WrestleMania that’s a great stepping stone for him.