The 80s Icon Who Transformed WWE The Hall Of Fame Ignores

We're weeks from WWE WrestleMania, which also means fans have also been discussing the WWE Hall of Fame. Every year, fans and media alike debate who should go into the Hall — as of this writing, the Class of 2025 includes Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Lex Luger, Michelle McCool, and The Natural Disasters, but it all began back in 1983, when Andre the Giant was inducted posthumously and became the first entrant. Since then, in addition to a legion of wrestlers, there have been 14 celebrities inductees — and yet, somehow, arguably the most deserving celebrity inductee of them all has long been ignored by the Hall of Fame.

Cyndi Lauper had a huge role in bringing WWE into the mainstream in the 1980s. Lauper was a massive pop star at the time and she had "Captain" Lou Albano play her father in the iconic "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video. This would lead to an on-air feud with Albano and eventually to MTV airing crossover shows. One of the specials was "The Brawl to End It All" in which Lauper managed top women's wrestler, Wendi Richter. Richter defeated "Fabulous" Moolah to become WWE Women's Champion.

Lauper was on the poster for WrestleMania I alongside Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, who are both inductees. In fact, everyone on that poster has been inducted into the Hall of Fame except Lauper and Leilani Kai. Lauper performed on the show and even managed Hogan, going on to manage him several more times. In 2020, Dave Meltzer stated on social media that besides Mr. T, he'd "rate Lauper or Tyson #2" as a celebrity that contributed to WWE's growth. She's long overdue for her WrestleMania weekend ceremony.