WWE presents its smallest Hall of Fame class in years

 On Friday, Wrestlemania weekend kicks off in earnest with the annual Hall of Fame induction in Los Angeles, airing live on Peacock. Including the annual Warrior Award, only 5 people are going into the Hall this year, the smallest class since the earliest days of the Hall's existence.

Warrior Award: Former referee Tim White will be one of two posthumous inductions. White passed away just a couple of years ago, and in addition to his years of service as a referee, he also hosted angles at his Providence, Rhode Island club, the Friendly Tap, and was a backstage aide to the late Andre The Giant, whom he now joins in the Hall.

Celebrity Wing: Actor-comedian Andy Kaufman (ex-Taxi) never set foot in a WWF/E ring, but his regional feud with Memphis legend Jerry Lawler became the stuff of legend in 1982-3, and the subject of a documentary, "I'm From Hollywood", that made the rounds on Comedy Central a few years back. A lifelong fan, Kaufman also filmed a short movie with Fred Blassie, "My Breakfast With Blassie". Reportedly, Lawler, who has been recovering from some health issues of his own, will make the trip to LA to induct Kaufman.

Retired:

Keiji Muto, aka The Great Muta, retired earlier this year in his native Japan, and has appeared for every major American promotion except one. Yep, Friday will mark his WWE debut. Muto, as Muta, made his American debut in the National Wrestling Alliance for World Championship Wrestling in 1989.

Stacy Keibler went from being a NFL cheerleader for her hometown Baltimore Ravens to a hot commodity with WCW from 1999-2001, and then transitioned to WWF/E from 2001-6. 

Active:

Rey Mysterio, on the eve of a father-son clash with son Dominic at Wrestlemania, will enter the Hall as the headliner. Not only is Mysterio a Grand Slam champion (WWE/US/Intercontinental/tag titles), but he also held the WWE & WCW versions of the Cruiserweight title.

This year's class came together over the course of the last few weeks, a departure from past classes, due likely to a continuing transition within the company from Executive Chairman and head nutcase Vince McMahon to Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who retired from competition last year, and was assumed to be heading this year's class. Maybe next year.