Molly Holly Announced as 1st Member of 2021 WWE Hall of Fame Class
Mike Chiari@mikechiari
Featured ColumnistMarch 10, 2021
Molly Holly was announced as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2021 on Wednesday.
Shane "Hurricane" Helms broke the news to Holly on an episode of WWE's The Bump in what was an emotional moment for the former WWE teammates:
The Holly announcement came after Kayla Braxton revealed on WWE's The Bump that a 2021 WWE Hall of Fame special will stream on Peacock on April 6, which is the week of WrestleMania 37:
It was noted that the special will include both the 2020 and 2021 WWE Hall of Fame classes.
WWE named a 2020 Hall of Fame class last year, but no ceremony was held since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to make significant changes to its WrestleMania plans, including moving WrestleMania 36 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance.
Holly, 43, is widely regarded as one of the best and most-respected female wrestlers in the history of WWE and the professional wrestling business.
Confirming her popularity among her peers were congratulatory tweets from fellow Hall of Famers Trish Stratus, Beth Phoenix and Triple H:
Trish Stratus @trishstratuscomSo so happy about this wonderful news for my beautiful and talented friend #MollyHolly! She has given so much to this business and personally, she was a huge part of helping me transition into a fighting champion that could be taken seriously. Love and appreciate her so much! https://t.co/JYQRNiURwn
Triple H @TripleHMany people say @WWE Superstars are real-life superheroes and in this case ... she truly is! A women’s champion, an inspiration to our current roster, and simply a wonderful person. Congratulations to #MollyHolly on being the first inductee into the #WWEHOF class of 2021!! https://t.co/n0Am7w5cBH
Holly first arrived on the national scene as Miss Madness in WCW from 1999-2000. Along with Gorgeous George, she primarily served as a valet for "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
It wasn't until she signed with WWE in 2000 that her career truly started to take off, however.
After a brief stint as Lady Ophelia, she was given the Molly Holly name and was introduced as the cousin of Hardcore and Crash Holly. Molly quickly became a fan favorite, which led to her alliance with The Hurricane.
From 2001-02, Holly dressed in superhero garb and was known as Mighty Molly. She and Hurricane made for an entertaining and popular team, and the angle served as a launching pad for even bigger and better things.
Holly turned heel in 2002 and became WWE Women's champion, which is a title she held twice, in addition to being a one-time Hardcore champion.
Molly feuded with many of the top stars in the women's division, including Stratus, Lita, Gail Kim and Victoria.
Famously, Holly lost a hair vs. title match to Victoria at WrestleMania 20, which resulted in Molly getting her head shaved.
Holly left WWE in 2005 and has largely remained retired since then with the exception of some sporadic appearances for WWE and on the independent scene.
She made a surprise return in 2018 as part of the first Women's Royal Rumble match and then subsequently competed in a Battle Royal at the all-women's Evolution pay-per-view, and she was once again a surprise entrant in the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble.
Holly is the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021, but she will be joined by a stacked 2020 class that will finally be officially inducted.
The 2020 class is comprised of Batista, the New World Order (nWo), John Bradshaw Layfield, The Bella Twins, Jushin "Thunder" Liger and the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith.
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