Bad News Brown … welcome to the WWE Hall Of Fame.
WWE.com released the following announcement today:
Bad News Brown to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026
WWE legend Bad News Brown will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a legacy inductee and a member of the Class of 2026.
Starting in the squared circle after winning the bronze medal in judo at the 1976 Olympics, Brown combined his grappling expertise with vicious brawling techniques he picked up on the mean streets of his hometown, Harlem, NY, to become one of sports-entertainment’s most feared competitors.
After tearing through future WWE legends like Bret Hart at Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta, Bad News made his way to WWE in 1988. He made an instant impact, knocking out opponent after opponent with a devastating enzuigiri.
Bad News preferred to keep to himself, making no friends. Even the most evil of WWE Superstars couldn’t warm up to Brown. At several Survivor Series events, the Harlem native opted to walk out on his team, rather than work as part of a unit.
Brown demanded title opportunities, deriding the “beer-bellied sharecroppers” and “spineless cockroaches” he claimed were holding him back. Bad News went as far as to accuse then-WWE President Jack Tunney of colluding with stars like Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage, putting his hands on the esteemed official when he denied the claims.
Bad News soon focused his attention on another unpredictable Superstar: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. After The Hot Scot eliminated him from the 1990 Royal Rumble Match, Brown climbed back to the ring apron and forced Piper over the top rope and out of the fray, setting off a brawl no WWE official could halt.
During summer 1990, WWE fans learned there was one thing that scared the hardened New Yorker: snakes. Jake Roberts surprised Bad News with a birthday gift of the reptilian variety, spooking the surly Superstar. Looking for a way to combat Roberts and his dangerous python, Damien, Brown went back to his roots, searching for the meanest, nastiest creature in Harlem. He had to go underground to find them, scrounging through subway tunnels to find the biggest sewer rats in The Big Apple.
Though Bad News trained the rodents to feast on snakes, they couldn’t help him much in the ring against Roberts at SummerSlam 1990. After his defeat at the hands of “The Snake,” Bad News Brown disappeared from WWE.
Brown passed away in 2007, but his legacy lives on as his fellow legends welcome him into the WWE Hall of Fame.
WWE legend Bad News Brown will be inducted into the #WWEHOF as a legacy inductee and a member of the Class of 2026!
MORE INFO: pic.twitter.com/RRJQIioRCF
— WWE (@WWE) March 26, 2026