WWE Hall of Fame (2005) was the event which featured introduction of the 6th class to the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

. The event was produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWE) on April 2, 2005, from the

Universal Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California, within Universal City, California, Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a p ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The event took place the same weekend as

WrestleMania 21 WrestleMania 21, also promoted as WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, was a 2005 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 21st annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 2005, at ...

. The event was hosted by

Gene Okerlund Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Champi ...

. A condensed version of the ceremony aired that evening on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

, making this ceremony the first to be broadcast on television. In March 2015 the ceremony was added to the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...

Inductees

Individual

* ''Class headliners appear in boldface''

Aftermath

On July 24, 2015, WWE terminated their contract with

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

, stating that they are "committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds", although Hogan's lawyer said Hogan chose to resign. A day prior, WWE removed virtually all references to Hogan from their website, including his entry from its WWE Hall of Fame page. The termination coincided with the publication by the ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays Source (journalism), sources for tips (chec ...

'' and

Radar Online Radar Online is an American entertainment and gossip website that was first published as a print and online publication in September 2003 before becoming exclusively online. As of 2008, the magazine has been owned by the publisher American Medi ...

of an anti-black rant made by Hogan on his controversial leaked

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made pornogra ...

in which he is heard expressing disgust with the notion of his daughter with any black man, referenced by repeated use of the

racial slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejor ...

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

". Hogan also admitted to being "a

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

, to a point". However, no official statement about his removal had been made and he was still listed in the Hall of Fame entry of the official WWE encyclopedia released in October 2016. On July 15, 2018, despite no prior official statements by the WWE declaring his removal from the Hall of Fame, Hogan was reinstated into the Hall of Fame, after his numerous public apologies over the past year, as well as volunteering work.

References

{{WWE Hall of Fame WWE Hall of Fame ceremonies 2005 in professional wrestling Professional wrestling shows in Los Angeles 2005 in Los Angeles April 2005 in the United States