Ethel Johnson’s family respond to WWE Hall of Fame flub
The 2016 WWE Hall of Fame added a “Legacy Wing” to add so many names that had been overlooked: wrestlers, managers and promoters from the past who were no longer around.
The inductions are done all at once, with a video segment. There was rarely any notice given about who was being inducted.
There were two induction classes at the April 6, 2021 ceremony. The 2020 Legacy inductees wereRay “The Crippler” Stevens,Brickhouse Brown,Steve “Dr. Death” Williams, Baron Michele Leone and manager/bookerGary Hart, and the 2021 entrants wereDick the Bruiser,Pistol Pez Whatley, Buzz Sawyer, Ethel Johnson, and wrestler/promoterPaul Boesch.
WWE has not gone out of its way to tell family members that their loved ones were going into the Legacy wing of its virtual Hall of Fame.
That may change after an embarrassing gaffe on, when pioneering African-American woman wrestler Johnson was inducted, noting her trailblazing ways in the 1950s.
Except the video showedSandy Parker, an African-Canadian woman wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s.
Johnson’s family took to social media to chastise WWE.
Filmmaker Chris Bournea put together the documentaryLady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring in 2018, and it’s now widely available through Amazon Prime. The movie celebrates the likes of Babs Wingo, Johnson, Marva Scott (who were all sisters), Ramona Isbell and many others served as catalysts for a huge change in the business.
Knowing the family from the documentary, Bournea reached out and created a video where the mistake was addressed.
2021 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Ethel Johnson's family speaks out to set the record straight in a new interview. Watch the full interview on YouTube athttps://t.co/oUl4CrEysf@WWE@KimLilSista@missezrenee#wrestling#WrestlingCommunity#WrestlingTwitterpic.twitter.com/0FMIzHSuO1
— Chris Bournea (@chrisbournea)April 12, 2021
A campaign is underway to get WWE to correct its error.
TOP PHOTO: Ethel Johnson.
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