Waterloo Wrestling Legend to Be Inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

One Waterloo native is finally getting the recognition that he deserves.

WWE officials announced the upcoming Hall of Fame Class.

The 2024 list of inductees include some big names in the wrestling game. Here is the full list of this year's prestigious class:

• Paul Heyman
• Bull Nakano
• Duo Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda
• Muhammad Ali
• Lia Maivia
• Thunderbolt Patterson

The last name on this list actually has some strong ties to the Hawkeye State. It seems like the entirety of Eastern Iowa are so excited to see Patterson get the recognition that he deserves.

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A Little About Thunderbolt Patterson

Thunderbolt Patterson, better known by his friends as Claude, grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. He actually worked at the John Deere factory, and according to reports this is just about the time when he started in professional wrestling in Kansas City, according to reports.

He rose to prominence during the 1970s era of wrestling.

While he was fantastic in the ring, his real specialty came when he was on the mic.

"If cutting promos and interviews were all a wrestler was graded on, then Thunderbolt Patterson would have been in the top five of everyone's best of the '60s and '70s," said Les Thatcher who spent some time on the road with Patterson.

However, it's not his wrestling or his amazing promos that have necessarily cemented him in the WWE history books.

Patterson was speaking out against poor working conditions in the wrestling industry. Plus, in the 1970's, when he was at the very top of his game, he was a part of a racial discrimination lawsuit.

This Waterloo native was even interested in starting up some sort of wrestler's union.

Unfortunately, due to him being so outspoken about these issues, he was allegedly blacklisted from the wrestling community for years.

When is the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony?

This year, all of these nominees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in April. According to reports, the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will be streaming live on Peacock on Friday, April 5th.

The show is expected to begin at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM CST, right after SmackDown. It will be available to watch on demand the very next day.

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