WrestleMania season is upon us and as we inch closer to the large weekend, announcements keep coming. 4 recent matches were announced during “Raw” and John Cena announced that he’ll be hosting the 2 night event. In the previous few weeks, recent inductees for the WWE Hall of Fame have also been announced for the Celebrity and Legacy wings.
On Tuesday, one other Hall of Fame inductee was announced. This time it wasn’t an individual, but a match. The enduring “slam heard world wide” will now be immortalized within the WWE Hall of Fame because the recipient of the “WWE Immortal Moment” award. At WrestleMania 3, Hulk Hogan did the inconceivable 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 world wide.
The ICONIC showdown between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant at #WrestleMania 3 will likely be honored with the WWE Immortal Moment Award on the 2026 #WWEHOF Ceremony! pic.twitter.com/B5oUaz3Y0j
— WWE (@WWE) March 31, 2026
Last yr, the WWE inducted the primary match into the Hall of Fame with Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. On the induction ceremony, Hart and Austin accepted the award and spoke concerning the match. As of this writing, there isn’t any 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 happen on Friday, April 17 at 9 PM PT/12 AM ET at Park MGM. It’s going to follow “SmackDown” on the T-Mobile Arena. As of this writing, it has not been announced when or how fans will have the opportunity to observe the ceremony.
Opinion: Inducting matches into the Hall of Fame is pointless
Personally, I do not like the thought of inducting a moment or a match into the WWE Hall of Fame. To be blunt, it’s pointless. Fans are those who actually determine what matches and moments are immortal. Yes, there are definitely iconic moments and matches that ought to be discussed and remembered and the 2 matches that received the “Immortal Moment” award are obvious matches.
But what does having an area in an imaginary Hall of Fame actually mean? There isn’t any physical constructing that fans could make pilgrimages to. If there have been, they might have a seating area where the matches could possibly be shown in full on the anniversary of the match or moment. They may also air highlights of the match yr round. But none of that exists. Who says, “let’s watch the Hall of Fame match of Austin vs. Hart”? Nobody.
The award is just yet another way for WWE to pat themselves on the back and on this case, it’s technically a lie. Hogan didn’t slam Andre for the primary time at WrestleMania 3 and it wasn’t even the primary time that Andre had ever been slammed. There isn’t any denying it’s an iconic moment, but designating it for the Hall of Fame is dumb.