UPDATE: WWE has announced that Sting is the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame for the class of 2016. WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative, Paul Levesque had the following to say about his induction…

“We are truly honored to have Sting take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. His contributions to our industry are unprecedented, and we look forward to celebrating his incredible career with fans all over the world.”

ORIGINAL: WWE has posed the following on Twitter today, promoting that they will announce the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016 today at 1PM ET…

WWE ✔ @WWE
BREAKING NEWS: The first member of the @WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016 will be announced on http://WWE.com at 1 p.m. ET today.

http://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-to-announce-first-2016-hall-of-famer-today/

– It’s probably not a surprise, but Ric Flair is currently planned to induct Sting into the WWE Hall of Fame. PWInsider reports that WWE has been planning on having Sting be the 2016 headliner for a while and that Flair is the current pick to induct him.

The ceremony takes place on April 2nd ahead of WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Dead wrote:

“We are truly honored to have Sting take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. His contributions to our industry are unprecedented, and we look forward to celebrating his incredible career with fans all over the world.”

Yes, such 'unprecedented' contributions to the company - Such as expressing no interest to ever go there for years and then finally jobbing two matches at the age of 70.

They said to the industry, not the company. WCW was a part of the industry.

Snoopz Benoit wrote:

They said to the industry, not the company. WCW was a part of the industry.

Saw that reply coming.

Frankly, I don't really care about what somebody did for other companies. It's the "WWE" Hall of fame, not pro wrestling. And despite what Sting accomplished in another promotion, he did nothing significant for the company inducting him.

If Shawn Michaels, my all-time favorite wrestler, had two matches in TNA and then got inducted into the HOF the next year, I'd think it was a total fucking joke.

This is the same company that inducted the 4 Horsemen in as a group even though that stable was never a WWE one. At this point it doesnt matter anymore where they were when it comes to accomplishments, their career is gonna get celebrated.

Drew Carey is in this Hall of Fame and he appeared in a Rumble match where he eliminated himself.

They've inducted wrestlers who hardly did shit or never even stepped in a WWE ring before. That line's already been crossed. If they're gonna do that, they might as well put in one of the most legendary wrestlers to never be in WWE, prior to 2014.

Sting's legacy deserves to be celebrated.

also WWE owns all the rights to WCW now...sooooo

Caleb wrote:

Snoopz Benoit wrote:

They said to the industry, not the company. WCW was a part of the industry.

Saw that reply coming.

Frankly, I don't really care about what somebody did for other companies. It's the "WWE" Hall of fame, not pro wrestling. And despite what Sting accomplished in another promotion, he did nothing significant for the company inducting him.

If Shawn Michaels, my all-time favorite wrestler, had two matches in TNA and then got inducted into the HOF the next year, I'd think it was a total fucking joke.

I don't get how anyone can get so worked up about The WWE Hall of Fame. It's a joke. I mean come on Donald Trump is in that shit

Caleb wrote:

Snoopz Benoit wrote:

They said to the industry, not the company. WCW was a part of the industry.

Frankly, I don't really care about what somebody did for other companies. It's the "WWE" Hall of fame, not pro wrestling. And despite what Sting accomplished in another promotion, he did nothing significant for the company inducting him.

Then by that logic, Owen Hart (R.I.P.) did not do that much, considering he was a mid-high card, not a main eventer, and WWE should never consider him to the WWE Hall of Fame.

Well, WCW is now part of the WWE and WCW IS a big part of the Pro Wrestling history (Monday Night Wars maybe?). He was one of the few (if not the only) to reject signing with the WWE because of the way they were "treating" their members.

Winning titles in WWE isn't mandatory to be in the Hall of Fame. There are countless wrestlers there that didn't win the WWE Championship for example (Jerry Lawler is one of them). There are Managers there (Jimmy Hart, Mr Fuji), even celebrities that are associated with the WWE during some interesting times of their history (Mr T, Mike Tyson).

The WWE Hall of Fame, as said, inducts wrestlers and managers as a "thank you" due to their illustrious careers. Be it in the WWE or out of it (Another Example of this would be Antonio Inoki whose career in the WWE wasn't really the longest one, yet he was/still is a huge influence in the industry). There are however, sad examples of people that should not be there in any way (especially some celebrities like Nugget referred Donald Trump).

Also keep in mind Sting was one of the most cheered US Champions, when having the US Title actually meant something...