The WWE’s Hall of Fame class of 2026 is as star-studded as ever. Several superstars who made an indelible impact on the pro wrestling business will be inducted on Friday night.
Stephanie McMahon, AJ Styles, the tag team of Demolition, Dennis Rodman, Sid Eudy and Bad News Brown will be this year’s enshrinees.
The ceremony will take place at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas at 9 p.m. PT, a day before the first night of WrestleMania 42 will take place.
Read below for a quick overview of the year’s inductees.
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Stephanie McMahon, the daughter of WWE founder Vince McMahon, turned into one of the biggest heels of the Attitude Era ushering herself into the business as a valet for several wrestling colleagues, including her father. She also became an on-screen authoritarian mouthpiece that resonated with pro wrestling fans whether she was a heel or a babyface.
She helped bring about the women’s wrestling revolution in WWE and evolving the division from on-screen eye candy into main event superstars.
Outside of the ring, McMahon held several prominent positions within the company itself. She was an executive vice president, chief brand officer, chairwoman and co-CEO of WWE before ultimately leaving the company in 2023. She’s made sporadic appearances since then, anchoring some WWE premium live events of welcoming fans to them.
McMahon is married to WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
The “Phenomenal” A.J. Styles is one of the most prolific wrestlers of his generation and one who didn’t need to come to WWE to make a name for himself. Styles was a superstar at Total Nonstop Action wrestling (TNA) for several years and was a fan favorite in Japan before he decided to cross the line and make a leap to WWE.
Styles made his WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble and immediately embarked on a feud with John Cena. For about 10 years, Styles was a main event player on the WWE roster. He was a two-time WWE champion, a three-time United States champion, an intercontinental champion and a two-time tag team champion. He was also the 32nd Triple Crown champion and 15th Grand Slam champion the WWE has ever had.
He retired from pro wrestling after his loss to Gunther at the Royal Rumble.
Demolition was one of the hottest tag teams in WWE in the 1990s.
Ax and Smash were three-time tag team champions and hold the record for the most combined days as champions. The two had epic rivalries with Rick Martel and Tito Santana, the British Bulldogs of Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid and the Hart Foundation with Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart.
Tag teams have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as groups in three of the last four classes. Rick and Scott Steiner were inducted in 2022, the U.S. Express of Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham went into the Hall in 2024 and The Natural Disasters of Earthquake and Typhoon heard the call last year.
Dennis Rodman is best known for his performances on the NBA court, but his appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) became some of the most talked-about moments during the “Monday Night Wars” between the company and WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Foundation).
Rodman briefly aligned himself with the New World Order (NWO) with Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. He even stepped away from the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls during their dynastic years.
Rodman made his NWO debut with Hogan on “Monday Nitro” March 10, 1997. He also appeared at Uncensored later that month. His first match came in July 1997 at Bash at the Beach. During the Bulls’ 1998 playoff run, Rodman skipped practice to appear with Hogan on Nitro.
Sean Waltman, who was a member of the NWO with WCW recalled Rodman’s appearances to Fox News Digital in 2023.
“He was a good dude,” Waltman said of Rodman. “He was just kind of socially awkward, shy. It wasn’t like he was real talkative. He was great. It was so great to have him there. The guy was so into it. He skipped practice during the playoff games to show up on Nitro.”
No matter what name pro wrestling fans knew him by, Sid Eudy was a menace in the ring and will finally take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Eudy, who died in 2024, wrestled under different names, including Sid, Sid Eudy, Sid Justice, Sid Steele, Sid Vicious, Sycho Sid, Vicious Warriors and Lord Humongous. He performed in WWE when it was still the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and on the indies.
He was a two-time WWF champion, a two-time WCW heavyweight champion and a WCW U.S. champion.
Bad News Brown may not have been a household name with pro wrestling fans, but he had some epic feuds in his time with WWE.
He was known for keeping a straight or tense look. He had feuds with Randy Savage and had a major match at WrestleMania VI against “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Brown never won a championship in WWE. However, he was inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007 and was a four-time Stampede North American heavyweight champion.
Before his pro wrestling career began, Brown was an Olympic medalist. He won a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and took home two gold medals at the Pan American Games in 1967 and 1975.
It might be the most iconic moment in pro wrestling. Hulk Hogan going up against Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3 for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. It’s arguably the moment Hogan became larger than life.
Hogan would try to slam Andre the Giant early in the match, but to no avail. Andre nearly pinned him when he fell on him. But as the match wore on, Hogan was sent into the ropes and hit Andre with a clothesline that knocked him down. Hogan grappled with Andre, picked him up and slammed him down. The crowd went wild, and Hogan would retain the title.
Hogan died in 2025, and Andre the Giant died in 1993. But their moment in pro wrestling history will be immortalized.
