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Ted Turner, Jesse Ventura, Dominic DeNucci and George Gordienko make up the 2026 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Dave Meltzer announced the results in the November 16 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Candidates need 60 percent of the vote in their category to get in. Turner led all candidates with 70.2 percent, followed by DeNucci at 69.7 percent, Ventura at 63.0 percent and Gordienko at 60.5 percent.
Turner, who died on May 6 at 87, received 318 votes, up from 55.5 percent last year. His company owned WCW from late 1988 until March 2001.
Turner put Georgia Championship Wrestling on satellite in 1976, taking it to a national audience. In 1995, he told Eric Bischoff that TNT would air a live weeknight show, which led to Monday Nitro. McMahon bought WCW in 2001 for $2.5 million.
Ventura, 75, got in with 63.0 percent, 12 votes more than he needed, after finishing at 57.4 percent last year. Ventura held the AWA World Tag Team Championship with Adrian Adonis, then moved to commentary after a pulmonary embolism in 1984. He later sued McMahon over merchandise rights and won. He was later elected governor of Minnesota.
DeNucci was elected in his 15th year on the ballot, jumping from 32.1 percent last year. He was the top babyface in Australia from 1964 to 1970, held WWWF tag team titles with three partners, and later trained Mick Foley and Shane Douglas. He died on August 12, 2021.
Gordienko made it by one vote, receiving 138 votes when 137 were needed. He was a headliner around the world in the 1950s and 1960s, but his past membership in the Communist Party kept him from entering the United States.
June Byers finished 13 votes short at 57.2 percent. Jon Moxley was the top modern-era finisher at 55.0 percent, up from 32.3 percent last year.
What is confirmed is the four-man class and the vote totals. There is no induction ceremony date announced.
Source: Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestlingNews.co)
