The first inductee for the WWE Hall Of Fame will be announced during tonight’s Friday Night SmackDown broadcast.
We don’t know who will be announced tonight but it was confirmed today by PWInsider that the recently-retired Great Muta (Keiji Muto) will be among the names inducted this year.
Muta’s name may be a surprise to some because he doesn’t have a real connection to WWE as he was never under contract with them. He is clearly a deserving candidate because he had an incredible career. Most fans in the United States were introduced to Muta when he feuded with Ric Flair and Sting in the NWA.
Muta’s name was first reported by WrestleVotes in February and it was noted that Muta’s induction is part of a trade-off that allowed Shinsuke Nakamura to wrestle Muta in January at NOAH The New Year 2023.
No other names have been confirmed but Dave Bautista’s name has been heavily rumored within WWE and he has pushed to get inducted this year. As was noted earlier, Mick Foley recently stated on his podcast that he got a call from someone he had not talked with in years and this person asked to be inducted by Foley.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will air on 3/31 on Peacock after the live SmackDown broadcast.
