Ted Turner, Jesse Ventura, Dominic DeNucci and George Gordienko make up the 2026 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, Dave Meltzer announced in the November 16 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Candidates need 60 percent of the vote in their category to be inducted. Turner led all candidates with 70.2 percent, followed by DeNucci at 69.7 percent, Ventura at 63.0 percent and Gordienko at 60.5 percent.
Ted Turner
Turner, who died on May 6 at 87, received 318 votes, up from 55.5 percent last year. His company owned WCW from late 1988 until March 2001, though he left the running of the promotion to others. Meltzer wrote that, other than Vince McMahon and possibly Hulk Hogan, Turner was the most influential person in U.S. pro wrestling over the last 50 years.
In 1971, Turner moved Atlanta’s wrestling show to his station, WTCG, with the first episode airing December 25, 1971. He put WTCG on satellite in 1976, and the station, later WTBS and now TBS, carried Georgia Championship Wrestling to a national audience. Wrestling became the first cable show seen weekly in one million homes.
Turner Broadcasting bought Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, which became WCW. In 1995, Turner told Eric Bischoff that TNT would air a live weeknight show, which led to Monday Nitro and the Monday Night Wars. After Turner Broadcasting decided to drop wrestling from its networks, McMahon bought WCW in 2001 for $2.5 million.
Jesse Ventura
Ventura, 75, got in with 63.0 percent, 12 votes more than he needed, after finishing at 57.4 percent last year. He spent 15 years on the ballot before falling off and was put back on it last year.
Ventura and Adrian Adonis held the AWA World Tag Team Championship as the East-West Connection. After a pulmonary embolism in 1984, Ventura moved to color commentary, where his heel-leaning style became a staple of wrestling broadcasts. He later sued McMahon over merchandise rights and won, a case that opened the door for wrestlers to be paid for videotapes and other products even when they were not the featured name. Outside of wrestling, he was elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and governor of Minnesota.
Dominic DeNucci
DeNucci was elected in his 15th year on the ballot, which could have been his last, jumping from 32.1 percent last year. Born Domenico Nucciarone on January 23, 1932, in Italy, he was the top babyface for Jim Barnett’s World Championship Wrestling in Australia from 1964 to 1970. Barnett ranked DeNucci as his biggest long-term draw there.
DeNucci held the WWWF tag team titles with Victor Rivera, Dino Bravo and Pat Barrett, and later trained Mick Foley and Shane Douglas. He died on August 12, 2021.
George Gordienko
Gordienko made it by one vote, receiving 138 votes when 137 were needed in the rest of the world category. He was at 39.0 percent last year. Meltzer credited historians who researched European wrestling, notably Phil Lions, for uncovering Gordienko’s big drawing matches in Greece.
Born January 7, 1928, in Winnipeg, Gordienko was a headliner around the world in the 1950s and 1960s, including in the U.K., Greece, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Lou Thesz picked him in 1957 to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but his past membership in the Communist Party kept him from entering the U.S., and Thesz dropped the title to Dick Hutton instead. Gordienko, who was also a painter, died on May 13, 2002, at 74.
Who came close
June Byers finished 13 votes short at 57.2 percent. Kevin, Kerry and David Von Erich were at 56.0 percent, and Jon Moxley was the top finisher among modern-era candidates at 55.0 percent, up from 32.3 percent last year.
Also above 50 percent were Hayabusa (54.6), Mark and Jay Briscoe (54.3), Morris Sigel (53.7), Gorilla Monsoon (53.5), Salvador Lutteroth III (53.4) in his first year on the ballot, Sangre Chicana (51.1), Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith (50.2) and Zack Sabre Jr. (50.1).
Mercedes Moné rose from 10.9 percent to 41.3 percent. Samoa Joe received 46.6 percent and Randy Orton 37.1 percent.
Billy Joyce and Killer Karl Kox were removed from the ballot after 15 years without reaching 50 percent. Kane, Seth Rollins, Gunther, Kevin Sullivan and Sweet Daddy Siki are among those dropped after falling below 10 percent. Will Ospreay, Jun Kasai, Dragon Kid and Averno are among the names added to next year’s ballot.
