WWE Hall of Fame 2020: Jushin “Thunder” Liger And Everyone Else Headed To This Year's Class

WWE has announced yet another member of the 2020 Hall of Fame class, and it is none other than Jushin “Thunder” Liger. His career has spanned over 30 years and taken him around the globe. Believe it or not, he's only wrestled in WWE on two separate occasions, making his addition into the Hall of Fame a little bit surprising--as it tends to lean heavily on WWE-centric wrestlers.

Liger became the wrestler the world knows him in 1988 in New Japan Pro Wrestling. While he had wrestled under his real name for a couple years prior to this, NJPW gave him the gimmick based on the popular anime Jushin Liger. He's spent the majority of his career in NJPW, even retiring their in January 2020. His accomplishments at NJPW are outstanding.

Liger's accomplishments in NJPW:

• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (11 times)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweigh Tag Team Championship (six times--with different partners)
• J-Crown
• NWA World Welterweight Championship
• UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
• WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
• WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
• WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship

He was also known for his time in WCW, where he won the Light Heavyweight Championship once. Liger primarily competed there during the Monday Night Wars between 1995-99, as part of the cruiserweight division, and he was a part of the very first episode of Nitro--he lost a match to Brian Pillman.

Liger does have a few connections to WWE talent. In 1990, Liger fought Akira Nogami in a match at the Tokyo Dome under the WWE (then WWF) banner--an event co-produced by NJPW and All Japan Pro Wrestling. However, the must-watch American Liger match happened in 2015 at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, where Liger took on Tyler Breeze and defeated him in what is a classic NXT bout.

The wrestler also faced current top-tier WWE talent in Ring of Honor. Liger had matches against Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), Adam Cole, and teamed with Samoa Joe. Although Liger is a worldwide phenomenon, he will primarily be known as a NJPW wrestler.

There are five categories for the Hall of Fame: Individual, tag teams, legacy, the Warrior Award, and celebrities. Each year is a mixture of selections from all these groups. For 2020, so far, two tag teams have been announced as well as two singles wrestlers.

2020 Hall of Fame Inductees:

• The Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki)
• The NWO (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Syxx/X-Pac)
• JBL
• Batista
• British Bulldog
• Jushin “Thunder” Liger

The Bella Twins were announced as a part of this class. Brie and Nikki got their start in WWE (more specifically, the promotion's developmental brand FCW) back in 2007. While during their time there wasn't much of a women's tag division to speak of, the two were always presented as a duo. During their run, Brie won the Divas Championship once and Nikki won it twice. The two aren't currently active in WWE--because they're pregnant--but they've left their mark on the company as a whole throughout their tenure.

Additionally, NWO will be inducted. While the iconic WCW stable had dozens of members throughout the years, the first three members of the group--and the sixth wrestler to join--will be honored. The New World Order was the stable that sparked the Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWE, with the NWO waging war by bringing on many former-WWE employees like Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Ted DiBiase, Syxx, Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, and more throughout the years. While former WCW president Eric Bischoff was an early member of the group, he is not being included with the NWO for the induction.

Smith got his start in WWF back in 1984 as part of the tag team The British Bulldogs--after Vince McMahon bought out the promotion they worked for, Stampede Wrestling. In 1990, he began working as a singles competitor under the name The British Bulldog, and won the Intercontinental Championship in 1992. In the following years, Smith teamed with his in-law's family, Owen and Bret Hart, along with Jim Neidhart (who was married to Bret's sister), and Brian Pullman as a new version of The Hart Foundation in 1997. He held various championships and wrestled for other promotions--including WCW, AJPW, and ECW (Eastern Championship Wrestling during his stint)--before his passing in 2002.

WWE's JBL is also making his way into the Hall of Fame this year. While he got his start in wrestling in 1992, he first made a name for himself as a member of The New Blackjacks tag team in 1995. Three years later, he and Faarooq started The Acolytes, a dark tag team that eventually worked with Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness. But that tag team exploded when they became the APA--Acolyte Protection Agency--which featured many segments of JBL--then named Bradshaw--and Faarooq smoking cigars, drinking beers, and playing poker backstage. Between 2002-2009, JBL worked as a singles competitor winning multiple championships throughout this time. Check out the WWE Backstage video package below.

Finally, Batista will be joining this year's class. The wrestler joined WWE's developmental brand OVW in 2000 before being brought onto the main roster in 2002. He got his first big boost in 2003 as part of the stable Evolution alongside Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton. In 2005, he won his first WWE Championship, and had multiple reigns over the course of his career. While he had a match at Wrestlemania 35 against Triple H, Batista walked away from the ring in 2014 to go star in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy.

Many people have been clamoring for Christian to finally be inducted. Back in 2019, we talked to Jay "Christian" Reso about his possible inclusion in the Hall of Fame. "I appreciate that people think of me and hold me in that regard. I honestly don't think about it that much. It's not going away. It's gonna be there every single year. I'm sure at some point, my time will come. I don't think about it; I don't worry about it too much. But I appreciate people feeling like I should be in there."

Other wrestlers people want to see get into WWE's Hall of Fame include Owen Hart, Miss Elizabeth, Vader, and the tag team Demolition, among the many others. More wrestlers will be announced as part of the 2020 Hall of Fame class in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania, which takes place in Tampa, Florida on April 5.