Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously inducted with a video package as the sole inductee that year.

Seven wrestlers have been inducted twice in two categories: Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash, while two two-time inductees were inducted twice as a member of a group, Sean Waltman (D-Generation X and The New World Order) and Barry Windham (The Four Horsemen and The U.S. Express).

[1][2][3] In the proceeding two years, induction ceremonies were held in conjunction with the annual King of the Ring pay-per-view events.

The 1996 ceremony was held with the Survivor Series event, for the first time in front of a paying audience as well as the wrestlers, after which, the Hall of Fame went on hiatus.

[6] Beginning with the 2005 ceremony, an edited version of the Hall of Fame was broadcast on Spike TV (2005)[7] and on the USA Network (2006[8]–present[9]); these were aired on tape delay.

Since 2005, the entire Hall of Fame ceremony has been packaged as part of the annual WrestleMania DVD release,[10] and from 2014, has been broadcast live on the WWE Network streaming service.

[13] Ric Flair stated in 2020 that WWE was in the process of creating a building for the Hall of Fame and that it would be in Florida in the Orlando area,[14] but plans had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his April 2014 Hall of Fame speech shortly before his death, he proposed that there be a special category called the "Jimmy Miranda Award" for WWE's behind-the-scenes employees.

Journalist Dave Meltzer said "this is the category they (WWE) use to honor people who, for whatever reason, they don't feel are marketable names to the modern audience to put in their actual Hall of Fame".

During the March 22, 1993, episode of Monday Night Raw a video package announcing André the Giant's induction was shown.

[36] Due to no original ceremony, the 1993 induction of André was discussed by Gene Okerlund and Renee Young as part of the 1994 commentary.

It has been discovered that the full ceremony has been recorded (albeit with low quality) and has been uploaded on YouTube The 1995 class featured two posthumous inductees.

In 2012, The Post and Courier columnist Mike Mooneyham noted that the Hall has garnered criticism due to the inductions of questionable performers, and the omissions of major names within the industry.

[264] Mick Foley long described Vader as "the most glaring and obvious omission from the #WWEHOF";[265][266] this was later corrected when he was posthumously inducted as part of the Class of 2022.

Sammartino disapproved of celebrity inductees such as Pete Rose and William Perry, and said of the ceremony: "What's the point to a Hall of Fame?

[272][273][274] Caleb Smith of Slam Wrestling questioned how Ware was inducted, but former WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff never was before his 2017 death.

[275] 411Mania writer Steve Cook defended his Hall of Fame status since he was very popular with fans and some of his losses were historic, while Kevin Pantoja described him as "the floor for inductees".

[276] Superstar Billy Graham publicly slammed the hall and demanded that WWE remove him from it, due to the 2011 induction of Abdullah the Butcher.

[277] In 2018, Bret Hart, who headlined the 2006 ceremony, criticized the omissions of several wrestlers, primarily Dynamite Kid and his brother Owen, as well as the inductions of the likes of The Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Fabulous Freebirds, who experienced little success in WWE.

[31] Hart also asked WWE to remove Goldberg from the Hall of Fame, stating that "he got in there for hurting everybody he worked with" (which included himself in 1999).

[280] Dave Scherer of PWInsider has questioned how WWE can sustain the 2004–present Hall of Fame model, due to legends being rapidly inducted.

[281] 411Mania's Ryan Byers said WWE standards are "weird" since several inductees have Hall of Fame careers, but others "made it in for political reasons, longstanding loyalty to the promotion".

World Wrestling Council promoter and 26-time WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion Carlos Colón Sr. said that his 2014 induction was a "realization of a dream".

[287] During his 2013 induction, Donald Trump said that the honor meant more than "having the highest ratings in TV, being a best-selling author or getting a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame".