BOOOO! That joke is the worst Alfredo, I expect better from you. There are folks in the HOF purely on work (Steamboat, Dynamite, Benoit.) The argument for Dandy would be that he is a good enough wrestler that he should be in that group.

1) Matt Farmer’s lists are sorely lacking. I remember when he was trolling the ByL forum asking for shows with 10,000+ attendances I wrote to him and told him that when the UWA was hot they would run El Toreo twice a week and constantly draw 10,000+ for even regular shows with no special main event. But since I didn’t have full results with dates he doesn’t credit those shows as actually happening even though there are photos, video and magazine articles (w/ accompanying pictures) to back it all up. Even during hot runs by CMLL they would draw 10,000+ on regular Friday nights and for huge Sunday shows so the amount of 10,000+ events headlined by luchadors will be grossly disproportionate (I’m sure I fucked that up) to their American counterparts.

2) I wonder how many new voters understand the concept that you are given 10 votes but don’t have to use them all? I don’t know who does or doesn’t have a ballot but a lot of posts over the WON msg board have people listing the 10 guys they’d pick seemingly not understanding the concept of a HOF being for the top guys only. “Hey I enjoyed a Gran Hamada match one time so he deserves to be in!”

3) I admire the DVDVR/Segunda Caida/40 other message boards/blogs the same group all frequents for campaigning for certain guys but the one thing I sorta like about Dave’s HOF is a lot of emphasis is put on drawing and importance rather than was the guy a good worker. El Dandy is an example of a great worker for a somewhat long period of time depending on your viewpoint but he was never a top draw and is not even significant in the history of Lucha Libre. If he was he wouldn’t be begging promoters to book him in the shape he’s in right now and he wouldn’t have largely been forgotten about for the last 8 years. He was a great worker for his time and that’s it. That should be compliment enough. I don’t find him HOF worthy at all. Same case for guys like Jerry Estrada and Pirata Morgan. Unfortunately they all came up in an era where heavyweight guys were the big draw. The hardcore fans would come out to see Dandy vs Pirata in a hair match but the place would sell out for Cien Caras vs Siglo XX. It’s one of the reasons Panther was never a draw till much later in his career (minus the Love Machine deal). He was a lightweight, then a welterweight and eventually a middleweight. He was always working second or third from the top on major shows and his title matches were often mid-card attractions while Canek/Dos Caras main evented. If there was a ever a HOF for just the top workers in the world I wouldn’t think twice about guys like Dandy, Pirata and Estrada but it’s not so cut and dry to say things like if Satanico is in, why isn’t Dandy? Satanico was the example of a non-heavyweight who actually drew on top, not to mention nobody I mentioned can touch his longevity.

I didn’t mean to write that much.

I’ve gone through the list and changed my mind numerous times. You know if you were over at the DVDVR board, you’d already be voting in FORTY different wrestlers! :) Some of them not even on the ballot.

You forgot the Santo-Blue feud from 2000 in Monterrey which was his other big headliner feud and really the 2nd to last big year in that territory. The last big year of course was the 2001 year with L.A. Park vs. Santo. Granted, this is now just showing how big of a draw Santito was during that period, but if you’re pointing out headline feuds for either those two were there. Blue Panther to me was a guy who could fill-in when needed at the main event level. In some ways him being a professional has kind of hurt him because he’s a guy who’ll do what’s right for business. His ego doesn’t have to be soothed like others. Doing what’s right sometimes hinders your own personal success.

I also heard Todd Martin mention the Jr./Sr. thing with Doc, but since you wrote about Jr., I really have a hard time with him right now because 1) he did very little for the first 10 years of his career were at the time his brother was the far superior worker 2) he wasn’t as big of a draw as some people are making him out to be. That was Mistico during that peak period. 3) Lazy matches.

L.A. Park…I like him and think this last run is enough to get him in, but what does it say when Pena created the other La Parka drew crowds and that guy won like 15 Televisa Deportes luchador of the year awards on the OTHER GUY’s merits/credentials! Also, I can’t be the only person who read posts on forums (or received email asking the same question) were people asked if the AAA one was the WCW La Parka.

Huracan and Lagarde, I think Kurt or Dr. Lucha or whoever are going to have to write-up articles to get them inducted posthumously.

http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/17647-sept-27-2010-observer-newsletter-2010-hall-of-fame-issue-bios-news-on-wwe-ppv-ufc-sonnen-soma