Thunderbolt Patterson will take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
WWE has begun announcing names for the Hall of Fame ceremony. The biggest name is Paul Heyman, as Philadelphia is the home of ECW, followed by Muhamid Ali, The US Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham), and Bull Nakano.
On Wednesday, WWE announced via Andscape that Patterson will be honored this year.
Patterson broke into the wrestling business in 1964, where he mostly worked in Georgia, Florida, and other surrounding territories. In the 1970s, the NWA had blacklisted him for repeated appearances for independent promotions in addition to making complaints about racism in wrestling and attempts to make a labor union for wrestlers.
Throughout his career, he held championships, including the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship with Jerry Priscoe, as well as the NWA American Tag Team Championship and the NWA National Tag Team Championship. He teamed with the likes of Wahoo McDaniel, Ole Anderson, Tony Atlas, and others.
More names will be confirmed in the coming weeks. The ceremony takes place following SmackDown on April 5th at the Wells Fargo Center on WrestleMania weekend.
