Recently, I happened to be going to an event on Hollywood Blvd. and seeing the Hollywood Walk of Fame made me wonder what wrestlers if any were on there. With the number of wrestlers in films and pro-wrestling being a huge part of American television for the last 70 years surely there must be a decent number of wrestling personalities represented. Well, to my surprise there really isn’t.
While there are over 2,600 stars on the Walk of Fame as of 2018, only five people represented have more than just a passing connection to professional wrestling. There is no star for Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, El Santo, Andre the Giant, Gorgeous George, Mike Mazurki, Ric Flair or Tor Johnson among countless other wrestlers who have achieved fame inside and outside of the ring.
Background on the Walk of Fame
E.M. Stuart, the volunteer president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, first proposed the idea for the Walk of Fame in 1953. By 1956 the final design for the Walk of Fame was approved and over the next year, the initial 1,558 honorees were selected by committees representing the four major branches of the entertainment industry at that time: motion pictures, television, audio recording, and radio.
Construction of the Walk began in 1958 but was slowed by two lawsuits. After the lawsuits were settled or dismissed, the official groundbreaking took place on February 8, 1960. Director Stanley Kramer was the first permanent star to be completed on March 28, 1960, placed at the easternmost end of the Walk near the intersection of Hollywood and Gower.
After the initial 1,500 plus stars that were put in place in 1960 and 1961, no other stars were installed until 1968. It was in 1968 that the requirement that each recipient personally attend his or her star’s unveiling ceremony was put in place.
In 1980 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce instituted a fee of $2,500, payable by the person or entity nominating the recipient, was added. The fee is used to fund the Walk of Fame’s upkeep. The fee has increased over time and currently stands at $40,000.
Wrestling Personalities on the Walk of Fame
Dick Lane
The Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame announcer was among the initial honorees on the Walk of Fame with his official ceremony date being listed as taking place on February 8, 1960.
Born on May 28, 1899, in Rice Lake, WI, Lane moved to Southern California in the early 1940s and began working in the film industry. His best-known film role was as Inspector Faraday in the Boston Blackie film series.
Due to his work with Paramount Pictures, Lane was able to work at KTLA, which was owned by Paramount at the time. When KTLA began broadcasting wrestling from the Olympic Auditorium in 1946, Lane put on commentary. His signature “Whoa, Nellie!” would be heard on wrestling broadcasts until the early 1970s.
His star is located at 6317 Hollywood Blvd.
Victor McLagen
Long before winning 1935’s Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gypo Nolan in The Informer, and receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his depiction of Squire “Red” Will Danaher in John Ford’s 1952 classic, The Quiet Man, Victor McLagen was known for his exploits in the ring.
While better known as a boxer, Mclaglen also wrestled throughout parts of Canada and the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. Throughout 1907 McLagen even had a feud with Hume Duval in Winnipeg, Canada that was said to draw big crowds for the time.
After his film career began in 1920, he went on to become a leading man in Hollywood and one of the industry’s great character performers. He died at the age of 72 on November 7, 1959.
As one of the original 1,558 honorees, his official ceremony date is listed as February 8, 1960. His star is located at 1735 Vine Street.
Donald Trump
Honored in the television category on January 16, 2007, Donald Trump has made a number of appearances for WWE and even hosted WrestleMania IV and V in Atlantic City.
One of the main storylines leading into Wrestlemania 23 was the feud between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. The Wrestlemania match had the stipulation that they each had to choose a representative to wrestle for them and the loser would have his head shaved bald. The match was billed as the “Battle of the Billionaires”. McMahon picked Umaga as his representative, while Trump picked Bobby Lashley. Stone Cold Steve Austin was the special guest referee.
Lashley would win the match after a Stunner from Austin and a Spear. After the match, Trump and Lashley shaved McMahon’s head bald, followed by Austin executing a Stunner on Trump.
A couple years later Trump showed up on Monday Night Raw and announced he bought the program. The storyline didn’t last long though, as McMahon “bought it back” the next week.
Donald Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
Since the start of his political career and controversial policies, Donald Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame has been repeatedly vandalized and even destroyed more than once.
The star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
Vince McMahon
The chairman of the biggest wrestling promotion in history’s star was unveiled on March 14, 2008, just feet away from his longtime friend and rival Donald Trump.
Born August 24, 1945, McMahon is credited with helping to end the territory system in wrestling and making the WWF into a national brand.
During the 1990s, McMahon became involved in WWF storylines as the evil Mr. McMahon and began a legendary feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. The popularity of their feud helped make Monday Night Raw one of the most watched shows on cable television.
In October 1999, McMahon led the WWF in an initial public offering of company stock, and the now WWE is currently worth billions of dollars.
Vince McMahon’s star has the distinction of being the only star on the Walk of Fame to have held a wrestling championship as well. On August 18, 2016, Joey Ryan lost the DDT Pro Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship to the star via submission. Laura James then defeated the star that same day to capture the title.
Vince McMahon’s star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
The Rock
Dwayne Johnson, honored in the category of motion pictures, was the 2,624th star to be unveiled on the Walk of Fame.
Born in San Francisco and raised in Hawaii, Johnson was a high school All-American in football. He then attended the University of Miami where he was a star defensive lineman helping lead his team to a national championship.
After graduating from the University of Miami, Johnson followed in the footsteps father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, by becoming a professional wrestler. Between 1996 and 2003 his run in WWE led to box office attendance records across the U.S. and helped set pay-per-view buy rate records.
In March 2012, Johnson made a record-breaking return to the WWE where he defeated John Cena to become WWE Champion in the main event of at Wrestle Mania XXVIII in Miami.
After wrestling, Johnson has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, with film revenues exceeding $2-billion worldwide.
His star was added on December 13, 2017, and is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, next to Vince McMahon’s and Kermit the Frog’s.
Others
Drew Carey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Snoop Dogg all have stars on the Walk of Fame and are members of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Possible Future Additions
With the current requirements to get a star on the Walk of Fame, it is somewhat unlikely that wrestling stars of the past will ever be added. The committee currently only adds only one posthumous award per year, making slim chances for some. While wrestlers such Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Gorgeous George, and Tor Johnson are probably deserving of the honor, the bottleneck for that one spot a year is probably going to prevent their inclusion, especially since they are competing with every other deceased film and television star. El Santo seems like a glaring omission that could get through with enough support (and of course $40,000).
With his recent controversies, Hulk Hogan likely has no chance of getting a star. The Chamber of Commerce is already spending enough to clean up other controversial stars that are occasionally vandalized.
The most likely wrestler to next get a star on the Walk of Fame is John Cena. The biggest star in wrestling over the last decade, his move into motion pictures plus the amount of charity work he does probably make it only a matter of time before he is given one.
