WWE Has Contacted Names For 2023 Hall Of Fame, Plans To Keep Ceremony Short

With three weeks to go until WrestleMania weekend, there has been no word about this year's induction class for the WWE Hall of Fame. By now, there has usually been some announcement of those at the center of the honored festivities. WWE still has plans to carry on with the annual gala and, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, has reached out to legendary talent for inclusion. The ceremony will take place directly after "WWE SmackDown" on March 31 — the night before WrestleMania kicks off. As for how much talent is being offered induction, that remains a mystery, but WWE is operating with the idea of keeping things shorter than in previous years. 

Earlier this week, Mick Foley revealed that he had been asked to induct someone as a part of this year's class, although he wouldn't offer any specifics on who had made the request or if it'd even been greenlit yet. One name that keeps being bandied about is Dave Bautista. He was initially tapped to enter the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020. However, that event was put off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was then going to be inducted the following year, but he was pulled from the slate with the wrestler-turned-actor stating that prior obligations would prevent him from attending. A later date was expected for his eventual participation, so could this be the year?

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's name has also been floating around with WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles. For months, the rumblings were that WWE wanted to get The Rock involved with this year's annual event — the popular train of thought was for a main event match with Roman Reigns. However, that has since proven not to have come to fruition at all, so would his appearance to be part of the Class of 2023 be a worthwhile consolation prize? We'll hopefully find out soon.