The rumor started making the rounds on Thursday or Friday, but today it became official; Torrie Wilson is a WWE Hall of Famer.  Sure enough that sparked an internet wide discussion on if Torrie Wilson is in fact worthy of being inducted in the Hall of Fame.

Remember, Koko B. Ware and The Honky Tonk Man are already in, so the bar is low.

The Hall of Fame, first and foremost is not about talent . Andre the Giant was a shitty worker.  He was big, and that was his appeal.  Ultimate Warrior?  Shitty worker.  And a racist.  And homophobic.

The quality of a competitor for the WWE Hall of Fame does not matter.  Abdullah the Butcher is in it for crying out loud.   Torrie Wilson being a bad worker has ZERO impact on her qualifications.

Secondly, there are far more people in the world of wrestling with less name-value that are in there.  Pro wrestling, like in all sports and forms of entertainment, is driven by stars.  Stars are sustained by their individual value via their name brand.  Hulk Hogan and Curt Hennig were two guys who traded big paydays against severely declining in ring skills simply because their names had merit still.

Thirdly, there is precedent.  Two other women fit Torrie Wilson’s career trajectory.   First there’s Sensational Sherry. A great mic worker for sure, but people often forget about the fact she used to wrestle.  Why?  Well it’s two fold.  Firstly she was never that good at it.  Tolerable sure, but not an all time great.  Secondly, her best work came as a manager/valet for others.  That’s where she made a name for herself.

The other woman, and one that more than justifies Torrie’s enshrinement is Sunny aka Tammy Sytch.  Tammy was never a great talker, she was just pretty.  She looked good on camera and sold sex; which was her job.

And soon enough, Sable will one day be inducted.  Not only could she not wrestle, talk or do anything besides sell sex, she only did it for two years.

Is Torrie Wilson a great worker? No, and no one is saying she is.  This is the Hall of Fame.  Fame, short for famous.  Wilson, in the annuals of pro wrestling, is pretty fracking famous.

She had a near ten year career in the two biggest promotions in the world at the time.  She was so popular she was on the cover of Playboy twice, not too mention was the number one searched star for years on WWE’s website.  She was a pretty solid merch seller all things considered, and she did it all through a charming smile and ability to get fans to like her.  She wasn’t a great worker, and her promo skills lacked emphasis, but she was never a person that caused people to change the channel; unless she was wrestling Stacy Keibler.

When we talk about pro wrestling legends, it’s never about talent.  It’s only ever about name value.  Were you popular?  Were you successful? Were you someone the company could use to get fans interested?

Torrie checked all those boxes and more.

Torrie Wilson is a Hall of Famer, so congratulations go out to her.