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With WrestleMania 36 set for Tampa, Florida, on April 5, WWE is starting to fill out plans for the always-big WrestleMania weekend. One of the staple events of the weekend is the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. We now know several of the men who will comprise the 2020 class.

Headlining will be Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan and Sean Waltman. The group will represent legendary WCW faction the New World Order (nWo). Hogan, Nash and Hall were all inducted as individuals previously, making them a part of a select group of two-time inductees. ESPN initially reported the news.

The nWo was a concept lifted from New Japan Pro Wrestling by then-WCW executive vice president Eric Bischoff. Hall and Nash's defection from WWE to WCW and Hulk Hogan's subsequent heel turn to join the group was the moment the nWo was fully birthed into existence. The faction became the engine that propelled WCW to their period of dominating WWE in the Monday Night Wars era.

As with many things, WCW eventually ran the idea into the ground. There have been more than 60 members of the nWo, and the group eventually split into warring factions nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac, turning the WCW vs. nWo invasion angle into a more convoluted mess and watering down the concept.

WWE has brought back the nWo for brief nostalgic runs in the past, though with a focus on core members such as the four men who will stand on the Tampa stage for their induction.

Another big name will be inducted at the event with People reporting that Batista is joining the class. Batista is a six-time WWE champion, three-time tag team champion and winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble. Batista made a return to the ring for last year's WrestleMania, losing to Triple H and retiring from wrestling.

Since leaving WWE, Batista (real name Dave Bautista) has become a major Hollywood star, most famously playing Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and associated Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

More WWE news, rumors

  • WWE yesterday announced they had come to terms on the release of Luke Harper, Sin Cara and The Ascension. Harper and Sin Cara had been public in their desire to be released from their contracts. It is expected that Harper will see significant interest once his 90-day non-compete clause is up.
  • While wrestling at an EVOLVE event in Chicago, WALTER had his WWE UK championship belt stolen from his rental car, along with much of his gear and his passport. WALTER worked the following night for EVOLVE in Detroit, wrestling barefoot.
  • The next edition of Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions on WWE Network will feature Goldberg and is set to premier Dec. 15 following the conclusion of the TLC pay-per-view, according to a report from WWE Network News.