Wrestling Forum banner

Wrestlers who ruined their own legacy

16K views 60 replies 46 participants last post by  grantus444 
#1 ·
All the Lawler bashing (which I think is ridiculous) on the boards has led to this question...

Who are some wrestlers (aside from Lawler) who ruined their own legacy after their career had pretty much ended? Maybe they have hung on too long? Needed another paycheck? Whatever...

1. Hacksaw Duggan, well I guess the arguement could be made that the WWF killed his legacy by "tooning" him up just like the Sheepherders, Koko Ware, and plenty of other stars. Every time he appears it is just sad. Hacksaw in the old Mid-South/Louisianna area...that guy was good.

2. Roddy Piper , so he has not completely "ruined" his legacy and some of his returns have not been horrible. But starting with his "Piper's Pit" with Morton Downey Jr. I just don't think people should give Piper a live mic anymore. When he stepped away after his fued with Adrian Adonis, Piper was on fire and his mic skills were second to none. He could have left us with that legacy. But instead he has year after year returned and they keep letting him go without a script...the results have not been good. He gets free reign based on about a ten year stretch of classic interviews. That time has passed.

3. Sgt. Slaughter...This one hurts, the Sarge is one of my all time favorites. However they keep rolling him out there in his 60's to compete. Unlike Lawler, and Steamboat who can still put together a decent match...Sarge "does not still got it". They have also put Sarge in so many horrible gimmicks and situations that they have ruined the benifit of any sort of pop they get when his music hits.


Anymore come to mind?
 
See less See more
#11 · (Edited)
Were you watching wrestling when Piper was popular? This is not meant to be codescending at all, I only ask because I agree and disagree. While I do agree that not all wrestlers who return allot taint their legacy, I belive Piper is one who has.

His return with Sean O'Hair in a "manager/wrestler" role was bad. His ring work was a pale shadow of who he was and his only offensive move seemed to be the eye poke. On top of that he just looked bad. Since then his telelvision appearences are largley based on his ability to do quality mic work, which he has not done since he retired. His infamous TNA rant being the most glarring exhibit.

A lot of these guys have sacrificed their reps becuase the WWE in their infinate wisdom brings them back as comedy acts 90% of the time. It's not Piper and the other legends fault...who would turn down a paycheck? To me at least this taints what they were, and guys who grew up in the 90's have no memory of how truly great some of these guys were. Instead their first exposure to guys like Piper are what they see now, which is a poor shadow of who they were.

In the 70's and 80's for the most part when legends returned they were treated with reverence. They were treated like champions. They were still pushed as if they were on top of their game. For example the WWE in my opinion, in their recent Heath Slater Raw storyline treated some of those guys like Vader, Sid, and Animal with respect. This was not how they have treated guys like Piper for the most part.
 
#3 ·
RIC FLAIR

With every single match he wrestled post 2000 with the exception of his retirement match with HBK, he is ruining/ruined his legacy.

Hogan, though not much of a legacy as such, is ruining it still.

Probably the only guy in combat sport to ever care about legacy was Rocky Marciano who stopped at 49-0 when he felt he was no longer able to put in 100%.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Hulk Hogan

It looked like Hulk's career should've ended in 1992, but after a couple of years in the doldrums (crappy hollywood movies, a bizarre 1993 WWF run and an awkward first year in WCW) he resurrected and reinvented himself brilliantly. I think, though, that he should've retired at the end of the nWo angle, perhaps with an epic face turn and huge victory over them. Everything he has done since has pissed on the Hulkamania Legacy; his subsequent WWF runs have been diminishing returns, the bloated Hulkamania tour is more of a carnival sideshow than wrestling act, his TV show exposed his entire family as a vapid bunch of c u n t s, and his TNA stuff has been laughable. The guy took the greatest career in wrestling and slowly sniffed it up his nose. The guy is a joke, now.

Scott Hall

Another nWo member: if Scott Hall had kept his shit together and dealt with his demons, rather than letting them fester, he could still be working and would be on his way to a Hall of Fame Career. These days he's a wreck, but if he was physically well enough (and more reliable) he could be playing a Kevin Nash type role (although better, obviously) and, due to his beloved Razor Ramon gimmick as well as his nWo candidacy, would make him a bona fide legend.
 
#5 ·
Ric Flair is the standout person who came to my mind when i saw this thread as outside of WrestleMania 24 and his "retirement" match with Shawn Michaels everything he has done outside of Evolution has tarnished his legacy. Don't get me wrong i enjoyed Flair/Triple H back in 2005 but even that was simply Triple H pushing to work with his boyhood idol and did nothing for Ric Flair other than help Triple H out.

As soon as Ric Flair began managing/mentoring Triple H back in late 2002 i believe he should have remained in that role up until 2007 when WWE began his retirement storyline because Ric Flair as a manager/mentor is valuable and adds a lot to an up and coming heel who is being pushed towards the main event. An example would be Ric Flair being a manager/mentor to Dolph Ziggler as that combination almost instantly makes Dolph Ziggler a believable main event star and i don't think any other wrestler in the world could have added to Triple H as the standout heel he was outside of Ric Flair.

Hulk Hogan was tarnishing his legacy up until Bound For Glory finished as he was taking up the majority of tv time on Impact every week and being the main focus as well as wrestling. I'd even argue that Hulk Hogan has tarnished his legacy ever since WrestleMania 18 had finished as his 2002 run was horrible and his 2003 run even worse although Shawn Michaels worked his ass off to make their feud good and the match passable but Hogan/Orton was horrible.
 
#6 ·
As soon as Ric Flair began managing/mentoring Triple H back in late 2002 i believe he should have remained in that role up until 2007 when WWE began his retirement storyline because Ric Flair as a manager/mentor is valuable and adds a lot to an up and coming heel who is being pushed towards the main event. An example would be Ric Flair being a manager/mentor to Dolph Ziggler as that combination almost instantly makes Dolph Ziggler a believable main event star and i don't think any other wrestler in the world could have added to Triple H as the standout heel he was outside of Ric Flair.
Ric Flair was great in that role. It would be great to see him mentoring people again. Do you think that he could perform in that role now, or has his career gone too far down the pan? If he aligned himself with Dolph, it would be amazing.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Benoit ruined his own legacy in terms of how WWE portrays him and people.

Xpac as far as i know should not even be named int he same sentence with the word legacy. He had an alright career but ultimately let kliq-things and drugs fuck up his career.

Scott Hall on the other hand, I consider a legend and he didn't ruined it imo. It's only dependable whether the politically correct WWE will acknowledge his contribution to the world of professional wrestling. He was a big influence in the MN wars and he had some classic feuds.
 
#18 ·
I agree Flair has hurt his reputation, and probably more so than any of the others listed. However I would make the case that most people no matter what they think of Flair probably still acknowledge that he is, if not the greatest of all time, still one of the top five stars in the history of the sport. So to say his legacy is ruined I am not sure I agree...Some of the other wrestlers have destroyed the reps more simply because they are not as fondly remembered as Flair.

For example the average fan who grew up in the 90's only remembers Hacksaw Duggen from what they have seen. They have not been told over and over on television that he was one of the greatest of all time, unlike Flair. Flair has embarressed himself, but still wrestlers like HHH and others come on television and remind the viewers that Flair was the greatest. Some thoughts to ponder.
 
#27 ·
1.Mick Foley-This was the Hardcore when I was a kid.Now,he is involved with Santino.

2.Most of the wrestlers of 1980's who make an appearance every 3 months except Hogan and Flair.

Hogan and Flair can do anything but they will always be bonafide legends for any generation of fans.Evolution made Flair relevant again.


3.
For example the average fan who grew up in the 90's only remembers Hacksaw Duggen from what they have seen. They have not been told over and over on television that he was one of the greatest of all time, unlike Flair. Flair has embarressed himself, but still wrestlers like HHH and others come on television and remind the viewers that Flair was the greatest. Some thoughts to ponder.
I absolutely agree with this.Duggan has completely ruined it to the point of no return

4.
Just cause they return alot, doesn't mean their legacy is ruined.

If anything, returning alot has made someone like Piper, more popular.

People like me watch Piper's old videos and know he is top 5 in mic of all time and extremely charismatic.

But to a casual fan,Piper will be thought as a mid-carder.He ain't larger than life like Hogan or stressed as GOAT like Flair.
 
#22 ·
Ditto on Flair. I grew up practically worshipping the man, my friends and I in school pretended to be Flair and the Four Horsemen. When he was on TV, you couldn't help but stop and listen to what he had to say. His run in TNA became a complete and total joke.
 
#23 ·
If Chris Benoit did indeed kill his family, then he could take ten spots and not be matched. With that said, I'm still on the fence in regards to what really happened. (seems a little deeper than Benoit canceling his flight, going home to randomly kill his wife and son then commit suicide) But even if he's guilty, I'll never stop being a fan of his amazing work. Now with that out of the way, I'll go on with the rest.

Ric Flair - He got such an amazing send-off at WM24 but he had to fuck it up and go to TNA because he needed money.

Hulk Hogan - Overstaying his welcome for far too long. He was never that great as a wrestler, so his sole purpose since 2003 should have been wrestling in special attraction matches like against Cena, Stone Cold and so on. And now it's too late for even that. He just needs to hang it up already. (don't watch TNA, so I don't know what he's up to there)

Scott Hall - One of the legends in this business but with his addictions, he's ruining his image and life too. Still wouldn't say that it's completely ruined since he's far from the first wrestler to get stuck in a fight with his demons at the late stages and unfortunately, wont be the last one either.
 
#31 ·
I'd have to agree with everyone who says Ric Flair. Ric Flair will always be to me as well as many others "The Man" but after 2008 when he retired he really tarnished his legacy. He looks horrible now, his matches suck and he just didnt fit in TNA.

Ric Flair could have returned to a permanent managerial role after his retirement but he wanted to get back into the ring.

Now, I hear Ric Flair wants to be in The Hangover 3, if this happens I will cry. The Ric Flair I remember would never have done that. I was born in 1991 but I have watched Ric Flair's matches in the 70's and 80's and his promo's and matches were gold. Some of my favorite matches are Flair vs Steamboat.
 
#34 · (Edited)
OMG WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS FORUM BOB BACKLUND
the man went from a guy who never lost the wwf championship for 5 years clean to a guy who then, years later, ruined his legacy by re-signing just to get squashed at wm in the shortest ever wwf championship match in history. I want any of you guys to top that
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top