The Hall Of Insane (Clown Posse).

In this blog I will be writing my thoughts on why I think that Insane Clown Posse should be included into the WWE Hall Of Fame, whether it be the celebrity wing or the wrestling.

Who are Insane Clown Posse?

For some, they may have never heard of Insane Clown Posse and would think I'm talking about some carnival folk. Well, congratulations because I was! Dark Carnival that is. Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler better known as Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are the two that make the infamous Insane Clown Posse. Formerly a trio, Insane Clown Posse are rappers with a wicked twist that came from Delray in Detroit. Though they are clowns now, that wasn't always the case. They had other names that they went by from Inner City Posse to JJ Boyz, but they don't have the same aura about them as the one they stuck with and made them blow up.

You could be asking why would two rappers from Detroit even be considered for the Hall Of Fame? Because they aren't just two talented rappers, no, they are also wrestlers, wrestling promoters and commentators. Pretty impressive list, huh? You can hear wrestling references in their music and it started way back in the day, they've been fans for a long time. The two started in Backyard wrestling (they even have two, yes two, video games based on backyard wrestling!) which soon transitioned into wrestling on the independence scene from 1990 to 1997. Also to mention, in 1997 the first ever Stranglemania became a thing. This was a compilation of Death Matches as they fell in love with that type of wrestling and commentated over the matches under a different persona. Handsome Harley Guestella a.k.a. Gweedo and Diamond Donovan Douglas a.k.a. 3D! This prove such a success that they were able to host their very own Stranglemania Live that featured themselves wrestling in the main event and even included wrestling legends such as King Kong Bundy and Abdulluah The Butcher. Insane, right?!

ICP's history in wrestling:

From there, they were able to be picked up by ECW which for them was huge as they were fans of the company. Rob Van Dam himself, one of the backbones of E.C.W would've been sending them tapes of the product and one day, a call happened from Rob and Sabu that asked Insane Clown Posse to be at Hardcore Heaven, the second ever PPV for ECW. They would have had a meeting with Paul Heyman to discuss what would happen and they were on board. Hyping the crowd up with their songs, they'd soon be interrupted by Rob Van Dam and Sabu attacking them until Sandman with his trusty Kendostick came to the rescue.

Capturing the eyes of the wrestling world, in 1998 they were picked up by then WWF to be apart of the popular stable "The Oddities" where Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope would accompany the stable to the ring and sing the famous theme song: "The Greatest Show". You would reckon that this would be a dream come true, the biggest wrestling company signing not only two wrestling talents but huge fans of the product. For the Clowns, it wasn't all laughs. In their contract, it had a deal about promoting their music and stuff linked to that but WWF never did so. Not only that, they weren't really allowed to show off their true wrestling skills. They had a short feud with the Headbangers, who they later turned heel with as ICP attacked The Oddities, they even had a segment with Stone Cold Steve Austin... Well I say a segment, a few stunners occurred but still, that is a win. After wresting for free, not getting the promises they were told, ICP left shortly after continuing their music and the wrestling journey.

As 1998 passes and 1999 arrives, World Championship Wrestling would contact Insane Clown Posse and it would start something beautiful for the wicked clowns! Unlike their stint in WWF, both Violent J and Shaggy were able to showcase their wrestling skills as they joined the stable The Dead Pool (not to be confused with Marvel's best character, Deadpool), Raven and Vampiro would be the other two that finished the stable. As awesome this stable sounds, it didn't last long as Raven headed back to the land of extreme but with a negative came a positive and the stable that was known as The Dark Carnival was born. Violent J, Shaggy 2 Dope and Vampiro were still teaming but with the addition of The Great Muta and The Kiss Demon the stable was born.

I personally would say ICP's run in WCW was unique and very good in many ways. They were able to wrestle some greats such as Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman and the late great Eddie Guerrero along with many others. Vampiro was the main vocal point of the stable, he had the spotlight on him and even brought out the JCW Championship (Juggalo Championship wrestling) and declared that it was the only championship that mattered. WCW even turned into JCW for a main event as Vampiro defended the championship against Tank Abbott. Remember earlier on I mentioned ICP's commentary personas? Well, they actually commentated for this match and might I say, they really brought something different to the table. Though Vampiro was taken more serious as the wrestler of the stable, Shaggy 2 Dope did get a chance at the Cruiserweight Championship in a losing but for me, an impressive outing. One moment that stands out in ICP's WCW career is a certain spot where Mike Awesome hits the Awesome bomb on top of a bus and slowly you see Shaggy 2 Dope slide off the rope. Now that is an insane bump!

The run in WCW may have only lasted a year and we all knew what happened with WCW in the early 2000's but I'd personally say that it was very decent for Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Not only did they have moments that can be remembered but they also had a huge following. Their famous Hatchetman symbol could always be seen in the crowd, even at today's events. After their WCW exit, they continued with JCW which at the time was Juggalo Championshit wrestling before their name change in 2006 to Championship but they weren't gone from the bright lights of television for too long after their departure of WCW.

In 2004 we had the Summer Olympics, Kanye's The College Dropout was released and ICP were in TNA. It wouldn't be a very long run but a run nevertheless. They made their first appearance being in the crowd and spraying Faygo in the eyes of Jeff Jarrett during his match. This begun their feud as they mentioned how they were fans but weren't too keen on Jeff and others in the company. Wrestling Glen Gilbertti and David Young, they would pick up a victory (also came out to their own song, Chicken Huntin with the crowd singing along) and then again in a "Juggalo Street Fight" were they fought Glen again but with Kid Kash as his partner. During their time, Monty Brown made his TNA debut by interrupting an ICP match that costed them the match. Like I said, it was a long run but it still brought eyes to the product and even after, they remained closed with TNA and booked one of their TNA's first house show back in 2006. Where ICP defeated Team Canada.

My reason on why I believe they should be placed into the HOF:

You know, at times I believe that the celebrities that have been put into the WWE's HOF have been not worthy. Year after year we see people who made an appearance or a song for the company and it is like "Really?". For me not just being a fan of Insane Clown Posse I think it is very deserved for what they have done in wrestling. They've been apart of well known wrestling companies, whether it be performing their songs or actually wrestling, they have added something to history.

Even til this day, they contribute in the world of wrestling as mentioned with their own promotion which gathers top talent such as Ric Flair, The Hardy Boyz, X-Pac and more legends. Current WWE talents have even been apart of their promotion from Bobby Roode to The Kings Of Wrestling (Cesaro and Kassius Ohno). Not to mention Colt Cabana being a regular with Sabu and Zach Gowen, yes the man Brock Lesnar almost ripped apart.

So for what they have done and still do in professional wrestling think that it is finally time that they are introduced into the Hall Of Fame. Whether you are a fan of them or dislike them, you can't deny that they've added something to wrestling that should be remembered. If you want to checkout some of their work, they can be found on WWE Network which is still only 9.99 and even on YouTube for all their work from WCW, TNA and full JCW shows. I recommend having a look into it.