Published: 3 seconds ago by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: 3 seconds ago by Jamie Toolan
Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.
WWE
The WWE Hall of Fame is a WrestleMania weekend tradition, and while we’re still awaiting an announcement regarding the official date of next year’s event, it’s worth beginning to have a think about which names could be inducted.
Last year saw WWE kick off the Hall of Fame conversation early when they announced the first 2026 inductee (Stephanie McMahon) in September, so who’s to say the company couldn’t do the same for the 2o27 class?
Of the different eras of WWE, the PG Era is one of the most unrepresented given to its recency, but now that we’re almost two decades from when it officially began in mid 2008, it’s certainly time for the company to honor some of its most memorable characters.
Here are two PG Era WWE stars to potentially be inducted into the 2027 Hall of Fame class:
Wade Barrett
If you’re discussing the PG Era, it’s difficult to not mention The Nexus – a group of rookies who banded together from the first season of NXT and took over WWE’s main roster by force in 2010.
The group was led by NXT season one winner Wade Barrett, and the Englishman was immediately pushed to the main event scene and into matches with the likes of Randy Orton and John Cena.
Barrett very well should have become the first English WWE Champion during this initial run, but as has been well documented, The Nexus’ momentum was thoroughly derailed by one of John Cena’s most infamous ‘Super Cena’ moments when he defied a two-on-one disadvantage in the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus seven vs. seven tag team match to eliminate Justin Gabriel and then Barrett to win the match for his team. Oh, and that was immediately after Cena had been given a DDT on the concrete floor at ringside…
Another Barrett main event push never materialised afterwards but he did carve out a memorable career in WWE regardless; including five Intercontinental Championship reigns. Now serving as a color commentator on WWE Raw, Barrett is always a highlight at the announce desk and has added greatly to his legacy in WWE.
Santino Marella
WWE’s switch to PG brought about a massive tonal shift from what fans had been used to in the late 1990s and much of the 2000s. There was no blood, searing or edgy storylines; much of what WWE had become know for in that time.
A shift towards a family friendly product brought about more child-like comedy. While it certainly turned a lot of older fans off; Santino Marella is an example of someone who thrived in that setting.
Even the most stern anti-PG fans would have had to cracked a smile at some of Santino’s antics; particularly his mispronunciations of WWE stars’ names.
Marella is still showing his comedic chops in TNA Wrestling as the company’s Director of Authority, which has seen him make some WWE appearances also due to the two companies’ working relationship. While there are question marks and a lot of speculation about the state of that partnership, there should be no reason why the former two-time Intercontinental Champion shouldn’t be honored with a spot in the 2027 WWE Hall of Fame class.
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