Careers of the Class of 2025 WWE Hall of Fame

We are just under 4 weeks away from the biggest nights on the WWE calendar in WrestleMania Weekend. Kicking off the weekend will be the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony for 2025 which is currently scheduled to take place from the Fontainebleau Las Vegas in Winchester Nevada and will air directly after WWE Smackdown.

So far this year we have confirmed 3 singles names alongside one tag team for the class of 2025 with the remaining names yet to be announced. In this article we will cover the 5 announced names and go into depth of some of their history for those who may not know them.

Known by many names since his humble beginnings in WCW as Terra Risin’ – Paul “Triple H” Levesque was the first named for the 2025 class. Levesque is most notable for his run at the top of the mountain in WWE during the Attitude / Ruthless Aggression / PG Eras.

A career total spanning multiple decades, Levesque has left an impact on the company as both a worker in the ring, behind the scenes and ultimately at the forefront of the company as the Chief Content Officer and taking the reins of the company when Endeavour purchased WWE and his father-in-law, Vince McMahon left the company.

1994 – 1995 WCW Terra Risin’

Early 1994, Levesque signed a one-year deal with WCW and in his first televised match he debuted as a villain named Terror Risin’ defeating Keith Cole. Soon his name would be modified to Terra Ryzing which would end up serving him until the middle of 1994 where he would undergo a gimmick change and become Jean-Paul Levesque. This gimmick would refer to his real surname’s French origins and the WCW brass wanted him to speak with a French accent even though he could not speak French. During this gimmick, Levesque would debut his finishing move, The Pedigree which would go on to serve him throughout his career.

Levesque would feud with Alex Wright right through until the end of 1994 which culminated with Wright pinning him at the Starrcade PPV. Between late 1994 and early 1995, Levesque would briefly team with Lord Steven Regal who had an upper-class British gimmick similar to Levesque’s character. The tag team would be short lived as Levesque would leave WCW for WWE in January 1995.

1995 – Present – WWE

Arriving in WWE in April of 1995, Levesque was given a modified version of the gimmick he had been portraying in WCW. This time however, he was a Connecticut Blueblood and in vignettes, would talk about how to use proper etiquette. Levesque would also no longer be using his real surname, instead using the moniker, Hunter Hearst Helmsley which would undergo many variations during his tenure with the WWE.

Hurst Hurst Helmsley would make his in-ring debut for the company on April 30th, 1995, on an episode of the Wrestling Challenge where he would defeat Buck Zumhofe. Helmsley would make his PPV debut the same year at SummerSlam defeating Bob Holly. It wouldn’t be until Survivor Series 1995 that his first pinfall loss would come at the hands of The Undertaker in the PPV’s namesake match.

After being pushed hard for the first few months of his WWE run, Helmsley was then cooled off for a bit in early 1996 as he started feuding with Duke “The Dumpster” Droese. During the early months of 96, Helmsley would suffer his first ever singles loss at the hands of Bret Hart before going on to Wrestlemania XII to lose to the Ultimate Warrior.

1996 was not a kind year to Helmsley as he would also bear the brunt of the punishment for the infamous Curtain Call incident in Madison Square Garden which led to him losing the chance to be that year’s King of The Ring Tournament. Despite the punishment, Helmsley managed to have success capturing his first WWE Intercontinental Championship after defeating Marc Mero. Helmsley would hold onto the championship for nearly 4 months before dropping the belt to Rocky Maivia on a special Thursday Night Raw in February of 1997.

In 1997, Helmsley would face Goldust at Wrestlemania 13 and during their feud, Chyna would debut as Helmsley’s bodyguard. Helmsley would continue to be highlighted by the company becoming the winner of the King of The Ring 1997 Tournament winner when he defeated Mankind in the finals.

Later that year, Hunter and Chyna would join forces with his backstage friend, Shawn Michaels and Rick Rude to form D-Generation X. The stable would go on to become known for pushing the boundaries and their iconic use of the crotch chop motion with the phrase Suck It.

In late 97, Hunter Hurst Helmsley would eventually drop the blueblood style gimmick and also undergo a slight shortening of his name to Triple H of which he would go by for the rest of his career.

After Wrestlemania 14 and Shawn Michaels lost the WWE World Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin, HHH would take over as the leader of DX and would take the faction to brand new heights. However, it would only be 1 year before he would turn his back on the faction that built him to join The Corporation.

Levesque would win his first World Championship in 1999 when he defeated Mankind on Monday Night Raw and then would go on to lose the belt to Mr McMahon on the September 16th edition of Smackdown.

In the early 2000’s, HHH would step into the next evolution (pun intended) of his character as a part of the McMahon-Helmsley Era and would start calling himself The Game after his storyline marriage to Stephanie McMahon. This would last until HHH would form Evolution alongside Randy Orton, Batista and fellow Hall of Famer, Ric Flair which would last through until the eventual destruction of the group.

During the middle of 2006, HHH would make amends with his longtime friend, Shawn Michaels and reform DX, however the reunion would ultimately fall apart in early 2007 due to HHH tearing his quad which put him out of action.

We wouldn’t see HHH in the ring until August of 2007 where he made his return at Summerslam. Through the period of 2007 through 2009 he would go on to have multiple World Championship reigns being the top gu in the company for most of the years. Throughout late 2009 to 2010, HHH would once again reform DX alongside HBK which would end with Michaels succumbing to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26 which forced him into retirement.

2011 would see yet another transformation in characters for Levesque, this time he would become the Chief Operating Officer of the WWE which he would eventually merge into the Authority character for the later years of his career.

In 2021, Levesque suffered from Heart Failure which resulted in him announcing his official retirement from in ring competition. September 2022 saw WWE announce Levesque as the Chief Content Officer for the company. Once the purchase of WWE by Endeavor in 2023 was completed, Levesque continues to serve as the Head of Creative where he sits to this day.

Starting out with WWE in 2004 as a contestant on the WWE Diva Search, McCool soon made her impact on the women’s roster of WWE as the first ever Diva’s Champion alongside her success as a two-time WWE Women’s Champion. McCool who was a middle school teacher in her previous life, took to pro wrestling and became a staple of the Divas / Women’s division.

2004 – 2006 Developmental / Training

Although she was eliminated from the Diva Search by Christy Hemme, WWE signed her to a three-year deal in November. She quickly began appearing in backstage segments on Smackdown portraying a fitness trainer and teaching various wrestlers stretches. She wrestled in her first Smackdown match, teaming with Big Show to defeat Dawn Marie and Rene Dupree on March 3, 2005. McCool made her singles debut match on March 24, losing to Marie. A few months later, McCool became a part of the feud between MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) and Heidenriech when she defended Heidenreich against MNM’s manager Melina’s verbal attacks. In a match on June 30, Melina defeated McCool by pinning her with the illegal aid of the ring ropes as leverage.

In July of 2005, McCool would be sent to the WWE’s Developmental facility Deep South Wrestling where she would craft her skills in wrestling, interviews and even color commentary. While in DSW, McCool would be sidelined due to an allergic reaction to a prescribed medication. Eventually she would transfer and start training with the WWE’s other developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling.

2006 – 2008 Main Roster Return

On June 2nd, 2006, McCool would make her main roster return to the company with a brand new “sexy teacher” playing into her real-life experience as a teacher. Upon her arrival she would team up with Kristal Marshall in a feud with Jillian Hall and Ashley Massaro which would lead to a Fatal Four Way Bra and Panties match at the 2006 Great American Bash. McCool would win her first singles match in July on an episode of Smackdown by defeating Hall using the ropes as leverage.

Soon after, she began acting as a valet for the team of K.C. James and Idol Stevens who would become nicknamed The Teacher’s Pets due to their association with McCool. The trio would enter a feud with Paul London, Brian Kendrick and their valet Ashley Massaro for the WWE Tag Team Championships. The feud would come to an end when Kendrick and London would beat James and Stevens at the No Mercy PPV.

In November of 2006, McCool would take a leave of absence from WWE due to being hospitalized with an enlarged kidney, broken sternum and an electrolyte imbalance It wasn’t until March of 2007 that McCool would make her return once again to the Smackdown brand where she would participate in a 10 Diva tag team match. In April, McCool would become a fan favorite once she came to the aid of Ashley Massaro who was attacked backstage by Jillian Hall.

Subsequently, a series of matches took place between Victoria and McCool, including a mixed tag team match where Victoria and Kenny Dykstra would defeat McCool and Chuck Palumbo.

2008 – 2009 All American Diva

In early 2008, McCool would be repacked as “The All-American Diva” where she would begin accompanying her on-screen friend Chuck Palumbo during his matches against Jamie Noble. After a series of matches between the two men, Noble would end up winning a date with McCool after defeating Palumbo.

As the storyline continued, during a match Palumbo accidentally elbowed McCool causing her to suffer a concussion. This would lead to a dissolving of the partnership when McCool refused to accept his apology. After this story was complete, McCool would compete in a series of matches with Victoria, Eve Torres, Maryse and Cherry to determine Smackdown’s top Diva which McCool would ultimately win.

In July of 2008, McCool won a Golden Dreams match to face Natalya for the WWE Diva’s Championship at the Great American Bash. At the event, on July 20, McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural WWE Divas Champion. McCool would go on to hold the championship until December where she would drop the title to Maryse.

2009 would see the WWE Women’s Championship around the waste of McCool after she defeated Melina at WWE’s The Bash PPV event. With this win, she had become the first woman to have won both the Divas Championship and the WWE Women’s Championship.

2009 – 2011 LayCool and Retirement

Late 2009 would see McCool team up with Layla to form the team LayCool and saw the duo enter a controversial feud with Mickie James in which LayCool would bully James about her weight, labelling her “Piggy James”. This feud would result in a traditional 5 on 5 Survivor Series match in which Mickie James’ team won. James would go on to face McCool for the WWE Women’s Championship at the TLC PPV. McCool would walk out the victor of the match and retain the championship after interference from Layla.

McCool would lose the championship to James at the 2010 Royal Rumble, although she would not be without the belt for long as she regained the championship on a February episode of Smackdown which saw Vickie Guerrero cost James the title. This would be McCool’s second run with the championship and her rein would last until a controversial decision on May episode of Smackdown where McCool and Layla would defeat Beth Phoenix in a 2 on 1 WWE Women’s Championship match. Layla would be the one to score the pinfall on Phoenix, leading to the cutting of the WWE Women’s Championship and the team declaring themselves as the WWE Co-Women’s Champion.

At the Night of Champions PPV, McCool would defend the WWE Women’s Championship in a unification match against the WWE Divas Champion, Melina. McCool would walk out of the PPV as the first ever WWE Unified Divas Champion, and moving forward Layla and McCool would each carry their own separate championship belts. They would carry the belts until Survivor Series when Natalya would defeat McCool and Layla in a 2 on 1 handicap match.

April of 2011 would begin the dissension of LayCool after they were defeated by Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly due to McCool avoiding the tag from Layla citing a back injury. After more arguing between the two ladies and even some couples therapy sessions, LayCool was disbanded.

In the penultimate send off for McCool, her final feud within the company would come at the hands of her former partner Layla culminating in a loser leaves WWE match at the 2011 Extreme Rules PPV. Layla would get the pinfall victory over McCool in McCool’s final full time WWE match.

2011 – Present

McCool has continued to make varied returns to the company since her hiatus after being on the losing end of a Loser Leaves WWE match at the 2011 Extreme Rules PPV. In her time outside the company, McCool and her husband, Mark Callaway (The Undertaker) welcomed their first child, a girl named Kaia in August of 2012 as well as an adopted son named Kolt.

Well before the arrival of the Lex Express in 1993, Lex Luger was already a well-established name in the wrestling industry. When Lex broke into the business, he was a part of the NWA Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion in 1985 through until he left the promotion in 1987. During his time at CWFF, Luger would work alongside other HOF names such as Rick Rude, Percy Pringle (Paul Bearer), Barry Windham and the man who would go on to win the World Championship 16 times, Ric Flair.

1987 – 1992 JCP / WCW

In 1987, Luger would jump ship from CWWF and join Jim Crocket Promotions (the company which would ultimately become WCW) and would ultimately become one of the Four Horsemen after Ole Anderson was kicked out of the stable. However, his time in the stable would not last as in December of 1987, Luger would defy the orders of J J Dillon during the Bunkhouse Stampede Battle Royal and would win the match and leave the horsemen.

From 1989 through until the middle of 1991, Luger would be embroiled in the United States Heavyweight Championship picture with notable matches against Flyin’ Brian Pillman, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and Sting. In June of 1991 Lex would taste in the World Championship picture and was due to face Ric Flair for the title at that years Great American Bash. Unfortunately for Luger, the match would never come to pass as Flair would end up leaving WCW due to disagreements with Jim Herd over his future and salary.

Since Flair left the company, WCW executives made the decision to go ahead with a number 2 contender to take Flair’s place and that man was Barry Windham. Luger and Windham would face off for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Great American Bash with Luger walking out the champion for the first time in his career. Luger would carry the championship until 1992 where he would drop it to his good friend Sting before leaving WCW.

1992 – 1995 WBF / WWE

1992 would see Lex be introduced as part of the World Bodybuilding Federation which was owned by Vince McMahon. However, before Luger could appear at the WBF’s PPV event, he was involved in a motorcycle accident which would keep him on the shelf while the WBF closed its doors.

After his accident, Lex would end up a part of the WWE roster from 1993 until his departure from the company in 1995. Lex would debut in the WWE under the gimmick of The Narcissist, an ego maniac who was obsessed with his own self-image and would pose in front of full-length mirrors before every match.

During the middle of 93, Hulk Hogan would “retire” and make the moves into Hollywood / WCW and Luger would in turn be transformed into a fan favorite All American style character and the tenure of the Lex Express was born. Luger was positioned to be the top man in the company and at Summerslam 1993 he would go on to face Yokozuna for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. This match would contain a stipulation that this would be Luger’s only shot at the WWF Championship and while he won the match, it was due to a count out which led to Yokozuna retaining the title.

1994 rolled around and Lex Luger and Bret Hart made headlines as they would controversially both tumble over the top rope in the Royal Rumble and both men’s feet would touch the floor at the same time. This led to the first time ever that there were dual winners of the Royal Rumble match. Unfortunately for Luger though, at Wrestlemania X he would get disqualified during his title match and would never be in the hunt for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ever again.

Luger would maintain some status throughout the 94/95 run with WWE, but he would never reach the top of the table again within the company and would eventually have his contract expire in late 1995.

1995 – 2001 WCW

In August of 1995, WCW would launch the very first episode of what would become their flagship show, Monday Nitro. On that debut episode, Lex Luger and WCW made history as Lex appeared during the show which was emanating from the Mall of America. Luger appearing during the Sting vs Flair United States Heavyweight Championship match shocked viewers tuning in and also the people who were in attendance and fired the first shot across the bow in the Monday Night Wars.

During his second run with WCW, Lex would taste gold multiple times with multiple different championships gracing his waist, but his ultimate satisfaction would come in 1997 where he would defeat Hulk Hogan for his second and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Luger would stay with WCW through until it closed its doors in 2001 and would maintain a spot toward the top of the card right until the end.

2002 – 2006 & 2012 World Wrestling All Stars / Total Nonstop Action

After WCW was purchased by WWE and the doors closed on the company. Luger was one of the many contracts which was not absorbed during the purchase. This did not stop Luger from continuing to wrestle. He made his way onto the European tour of WWA where he would become the WWA Champion by defeating his good friend Sting. Luger would retain the title December 2002 when he left WWA and dropped the belt to Sting

Late 2003 would see Luger make his first appearance in an American promotion since WCW closed as he came into TNA teaming with TNA founder, Jeff Jarrett against a young AJ Styles and Sting. Luger would only appear for the company sporadically during his tenure and in 2006 made his final appearance as an active competitor as a potential partner for Sting.

October 2012 would see the last time that Lex Luger would appear on television for TNA as he would induct Sting into the TNA Hall of Fame.

2011 – PRESENT – WWE

Luger began working behind the scenes in WWE as a part of the companies Wellness Policy and had this to say.

“I actually work behind the scenes with them now again and with their wellness club. I counsel a lot of their athletes on nutrition, wellness, exercise, and taking care of their bodies. That’s another thing that WWE is being very proactive now with the Wellness Department and really train these guys with health and nutrition and drug prevention. We’re trying to prevent the young guys, this young generation of guys from going down the same path as we did back in the ’80s and ’90s“

The Natural Disasters were a tag team made up of Earthquake and Typhoon who worked for the WWE between 1991 through 1993.

Their precursor to formation happened on a June 1991 episode of WWE Superstars of Wrestling when Jimmy Hart announced he had signed Andre the Giant to form a tag team with Earthquake. When asked by interviewer Gene Okerlund to confirm, André denied the claims, leaving Hart angry and humiliated. Earthquake responded by attacking André from behind with Hart’s megaphone and injuring André’s knee.

Jimmy Hart got revenge for the humiliation a few weeks later during a six-man tag team match featuring Earthquake and The Nasty Boys against the massive Tugboat and The Bushwhackers. It was revealed in this match that Hart secretly signed Tugboat, who turned on his partners after a few minutes of action and joined the Earthquake in laying the two New Zealanders out cold with a big splash. After the heel turn Tugboat changed his name to Typhoon and together, they became known as “The Natural Disasters”, and name that had been used for Earthquake’s team at Survivor Series 1990.

1991 would see the team in their first run at the WWE Tag Team Championships which they would be unsuccessful in obtaining from the Legion of Doom. It wasn’t until their face turn in early 1992 that they would secure the belts in July of the same year. They would hold on to the championships until October of 1992 before being phased out of the tag team division with the last time of the two men teaming together occurring at the 1992 Survivor Series where they would be eliminated by Money Inc.

1993 – 2001

In 1993, Earthquake and Typhoon would show signs of dissention, most notably at the 1993 Royal Rumble where Earthquake who entered at number 23 would take aim at his tag team partner Typhoon focusing on him until Typhoon was eliminated. Unfortunately, a feud between the two men would never come to fruition as Earthquake left WWE in early 1993.

Typhoon briefly stayed with the WWF after Earthquake left. In mid-1993, he signed with WCW and made an infamous debut as The Shockmaster. Typhoon briefly returned to the WWF mid card scene in 1994.

Earthquake traveled to Japan in 1993 and returned in 1994 for a short “Sumo Vs Sumo” feud with Yokozuna For the few months Earthquake was in the WWF, no mention of the tag team was made.

He then went to WCW, where he wrestled as Avalanche at first and later became The Shark and finally wrestled under his real name before leaving. Earthquake briefly returned to the WWF in 1998 as the masked mute Golga, as a member of The Oddities.

In 2001, the WWF hosted a quasi-reunion of the Natural Disasters as they were both involved in the Gimmick Battle Royal of Wrestlemania X-Seven, but Fred Ottman wrestled as Tugboat instead of Typhoon. Commentator Bobby Heenan alluded to their previous alliance. Earthquake wound up eliminating Tugboat. That December, he defeated a jobber in a tryout dark match at a SmackDown! taping.

In 2006, Earthquake unfortunately passed away due to metastatic bladder cancer.