WWE Hall of Fame News: Hillbilly Jim Will Join 2018 Induction Class
It was announced Monday that Hillbilly Jim will join WWE’s 2018 Hall of Fame class on Friday, April 6 in New Orleans. He will join previously announced inductees: Bill Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Jeff Jarrett and Ivory.
Here’s part of what they wrote about him on WWE.com:
Hillbilly Jim was a country boy plucked from the WWE Universe to be a Superstar. Now, he’s going to be a WWE Hall of Famer.
As first reported by Bleacher Report, Mudlick, Ky.’s favorite son is the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018. Hillbilly Jim joins Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett and Warrior Award recipient Jarrius “JJ” Robertson on the list of those who will be honored on Friday, April 6, in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 Week.
The big country boy first popped up in WWE in late 1984, as a big, smiling bearded face towering above WWE fans around the country. However, Jim decided to get a little closer to the action when Hulk Hogan was attacked by Ken Patera, Big John Studd and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Leaping over the barricade, Hillbilly Jim jumped in the ring and helped The Hulkster run off the villains. Hogan saw something in the rugged man standing beside him and trained Jim for the ring.
Opting to compete in his overalls and entering the ring with a lucky horseshoe around his neck, Hillbilly Jim proved to be a prodigy inside the squared circle, using his incredible power to squeeze opponents into submission with his trademark bear hug. Though an injury sidelined him early in his WWE career, that did not stop Jim from introducing the WWE Universe to his extended family – Uncle Elmer, Cousin Junior and Cousin Luke – a trio of happy-go-lucky hillbillies that put smiles on the faces of fans around the world with their antics in the ring.
The two names that haven’t been announced for the Hall of Fame that should be announced in the next few weeks are the late, great Bam Bam Bigelow and singer Kid Rock as this year’s celebrity Hall of Fame.
TJR Thoughts: This is one of those names where you think about WWE’s Hall of Famers and think “isn’t he already in?” Nope. He wasn’t. Jim was a part of WWE for a long time from the early 1980s through a run as a manager in the 1990s. He’s also done a lot of public appearances for WWE. He wasn’t a main event guy or a top guy, but he was around for a long time and sometimes that’s all you need to do get into WWE’s Hall of Fame. I’m not going to say he’s undeserving because he had a long career. It’s just different than most Hall of Fames. As wrestling fans, we get used to it that way.