In December 1973, 2018 WWE Hall of Famer Stan Stasiak became the fifth WWE Champion during the NWA affiliation portion of the WWWF-era. With the Hall of Fame going through its list of World Champions, you’d figure that not only would each champion be inducted eventually but they would also get a decent presentation.
Attitude Era Superstar Shawn Stasiak Was “Heartbroken” That His Father Stan Stasiak’s 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Was So Brief
If you remember the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame broadcast: that wasn’t the case for Stan “The Man” Stasiak. The man who ended Pedro Morales’ lengthy reign was himself given a presentation that was similar to his own title reign: brief and forgettable.
That is unless you were familiar with Stan Stasiak or at least remember his son’s first WWE run during the Attitude Era. Shawn Stasiak was promoted as being the son of the wrestling legend and had a blue chipper’s debut.
The elder Stasiak wouldn’t linger around his son’s career in the company and his contributions weren’t constantly in the fans’ minds or on broadcasts like other World Champions.
Shawn Stasiak would spend years trying to get his father into the Hall of Fame after his own career winded down. He explained his mindset upon hearing about his father’s induction:
“I learned about my Dad [getting] inducted into the Hall of Fame through fans on Twitter. I went, ‘Oh my God, the thing’s tomorrow night or the next day.’ And I knew right away what they were doing. You know, they were going to put him in some video package. I had seen this ‘legend’s wing’ for a couple [of] years. And I used to get nervous watching because I think ‘Oh, man, don’t put him in there. Don’t let him show up in that.” (h/t: Wrestling Inc)
It’s interesting that Shawn brings up the Legacy Wing as everyone who goes into the Hall of Fame is pretty much a WWE legend—according to the company.
However, it does has this reputation of being the speed-run inductee wing. That’s when several superstars are inducted in short order.
They could either come from a time before heavy WWE broadcasting or they weren’t heavily involved with WWE but they’re in the vault. For a more wrestling-centric explanation: it’s the joined-in-progress wing. Stasiak said of the induction:
“I think he’s the first WWE champion that never got a real induction. It was just—’Here’s a video package. And here’s 20 whatever seconds.’ And that’s it. I was heartbroken.”
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