WWE Announces Classic WrestleMania Bout As Second Match To Enter Hall Of Fame
WWE WrestleMania season is upon us and as we inch closer to the big weekend, the announcements keep coming. Four new matches were revealed during last night's "WWE Raw" after John Cena announced earlier that he'll be hosting the two-night event. In the last few weeks, new inductees for the WWE Hall of Fame have also been announced for the Celebrity and Legacy wings.
On Tuesday, another Hall of Fame inductee was announced. This time it wasn't a person, but a match. The iconic "slam heard around the world" will now be immortalized in the WWE Hall of Fame as the recipient of the "WWE Immortal Moment" award. At WWE WrestleMania 3, Hulk Hogan did the impossible when he slammed Andre the Giant. Hogan defeated Andre to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a sold-out Pontiac Silverdome.
The slam heard around the world.
The ICONIC showdown between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant at #WrestleMania 3 will be honored with the WWE Immortal Moment Award at the 2026 #WWEHOF Ceremony! pic.twitter.com/B5oUaz3Y0j
— WWE (@WWE) March 31, 2026
Last year, the WWE inducted the first match into the Hall of Fame with Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. At the induction ceremony, Hart and Austin accepted the award and spoke about the match. As of this writing, there is no word on who will accept the award. Andre died in 1993 and Hogan died in July 2025.
The WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, April 17 at 9 PM PT/12 AM ET at Park MGM. It will follow "SmackDown" at the T-Mobile Arena. As of this writing, it has not been announced when or how fans will be able to watch the ceremony.
Opinion: Inducting matches into the Hall of Fame is pointless
Personally, I don't like the idea of inducting a moment or a match into the WWE Hall of Fame. To be blunt, it's pointless. Fans are the ones who actually determine what matches and moments are immortal. Yes, there are certainly iconic moments and matches that should be discussed and remembered and the two matches that received the "Immortal Moment" award are obvious matches.
But what does having a space in an imaginary Hall of Fame actually mean? There is no physical building that fans can make pilgrimages to. If there were, they could have a seating area where the matches could be shown in full on the anniversary of the match or moment. They could also air highlights of the match year round. But none of that exists. Who says, "let's watch the Hall of Fame match of Austin vs. Hart"? No one.
The award is just one more way for WWE to pat themselves on the back and in this case, it's technically a lie. Hogan didn't slam Andre for the first time at WrestleMania 3 and it wasn't even the first time that Andre had ever been slammed. There's no denying it's an iconic moment, but designating it for the Hall of Fame is dumb.