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Legends of pro wrestling

5K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Jmtnbkr77 
#1 · (Edited)
What are the parameters to considerate legend a wrestlers ? Which wrestlers in the seguent list do you considered legend of professional wrestling and why or why not? Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Batista, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Goldberg, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Kane, Big Show, Yokozuna, Randy Savage, Rob Van Dam, Diamond Dallas Page, Sting. We can open many interessant threads starting by that.
 
#2 ·
I think there are multiple ways a wrestler can achieve legend status...not one way in particular...here are some of the ways imo.

1. Multiple title reigns - if they have held titles many times they should automatically be considered a legend or future legend...they were at the top of their game. (i.e. Ric Flair, Hogan, Triple H)

2. Staying power - If a wrestler continues to hold up through the test of time and are consistently over with the fans regardless of titles, etc. they should be considered a legend (i.e. Undertaker, Sting, etc.)

3. They completely changed the course of wrestling for professional wrestling for the better due to their performance during a particular time or era - i.e. Goldberg during his "streak" would be considered legend, Austin when Austin 3:16 was born, etc.

A legend's image needs to withstand the test of time and be remembered in a positive light imo.
 
#3 ·
I think a legend in the business is defined by a talent that's given their all to the business on a whole, as well as made a name for themselves in either territory or in various territories, as well as of course longevity, they have to have a good long substantial career and doesn't need to be based on one run to define their legacy, as depending on promoters they can have bigger pushes and accolades than others in different areas.

I think a talent that's helped the business themselves also is a bonus, be it helping other talents or whatever, all that kind of stuff.

If a talent had made an impact in various territories say WWE, AWA, NWA, WCW etc etc and has had a long substantial career within this then they'd be considered a legend in my eyes, if they've had multiple title reigns on top of this then absolutely.

It's those kind of things that define it for me, titles I think add as a bonus as when you think about Ted Dibiase for example, his WWE run has pretty much had him considered a legend and rightly so, I know he did the mid south and all things like that but his WWE run alone made a huge impact and certified him as one of the best to grace the business and he barely held any titles, apart from the tag team belts with IRS and the Million Dollar Belt which he didn't technically win anyway, though he's a legend in the business himself anyway for what he did, how good he was and for being Ted Dibiase basically.

So it's a variety of things I think with no set way to define this :)


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#5 · (Edited)
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of pro-wrestling fans have extremely short memories and no knowledge of the history of the sport.

A baseball fan’s eyes would light up if you threw out a list of names like Christy Mathewson, Lou Gherig, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, and other “legends” from various eras of the game.

Throw out a list of names of wrestling “legends” from before 1980 to an average pro-wrestling fan and all you will get is the “deer in the headlights” look. Farmer Burns, George Hackenschmidt, Frank Gotch, Billy Sandow, Joe Stecher, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, George Wagner, Antonino Rocca from the various eras of wrestling will bring a shrug of the shoulders, if not a yawn, from your average wrestling fan of today.

Despite its good intentions, this thread has the potential to devolve into a disguised GOAT thread with all the pitfalls that go with it.

Since the list of potential legends by the OP is in a VERY narrow time frame, I’ll go back to the beginning and briefly mention a true legend – FARMER BURNS!

Burns wrestled in the era when all matches were shoots except for the carny shows. He started wrestling in 1880 and fought in around 6,000 matches – losing only 7 (SEVEN!). He defeated great opponents of the time like the original “strangler” - Evan “Strangler” Lewis (NOT Ed “Strangler” Lewis who had not been born yet) and the first international professional Japanese wrestler, Sorakichi Matsuda, who was a top challenger to the championship.

Burns trained Frank Gotch and prepared him to take the World Championship from George Hackenschmidt.

He also trained greats like Toots Mondt, Rudy Dusek, and Joe Malcewicz (who was just inducted in the PWHF fame last week). His writings on training methods were followed by many, many wrestlers.

What I find most interesting about Burns is the fact that despite being only 165 lbs. he developed a 20 inch neck! The story goes that after being defeated by Evan “Strangler” Lewis’ infamous “strangle hold” Burns was so pissed off that he worked out his neck until it became impervious to any hold or trauma. Then he defeated Lewis in their rematch. Except for guys who came up from the amateurs like Kurt Angle, you rarely see pro-wrestlers with overly developed neck muscles nowadays.

Farmer Burns was a true wrestling legend and pioneer who not only defeated them all in the square circle, but trained myriad up and coming wrestling greats.

- Mike

 
#6 ·
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of pro-wrestling fans have extremely short memories and no knowledge of the history of the sport.


Throw out a list of names of wrestling “legends” from before 1980 to an average pro-wrestling fan and all you will get is the “deer in the headlights” look. Farmer Burns, George Hackenschmidt, Frank Gotch, Billy Sandow, Joe Stecher, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, George Wagner, Antonino Rocca from the various eras of wrestling will bring a shrug of the shoulders, if not a yawn, from your average wrestling fan of today.

Despite its good intentions, this thread has the potential to devolve into a disguised GOAT thread with all the pitfalls that go with it.

Since the list of potential legends by the OP is in a VERY narrow time frame, I’ll go back to the beginning and briefly mention a true legend – FARMER BURNS!
I see your Burns and raise you a Gama


Born in India, undefeated in a career spanning more than 50 years. The greatest pahalwan wrestler of all time.
 
#10 ·
as for what constitutes a legend, to me is that it's a guy who entertains the fans in memorable matches and feuds for a long period of time. in the old days, going from territory to territory was easy to tell who the legendary guys were, every promoter wanted a piece of him. in today's climate, with a national promotion who dominates the conscious of the average wrestling fan almost exclusively it gets more complicated. a average, shitty worker pushed a long time in wwe is almost by default a legend. miz comes to mind. he's not horrible like some think, but he isn't a legend. yet when his career is tallied up a strong case can be made for him.

in the old days it was easy to tell the legends, now not so much. I don't know how to rate guys from tna for example. what about someone who puts on great matches in the indies for a long time but is never picked for wwe? say someone like jay brisco? it's really different now.
 
#19 ·
Jesus Mike. I saw this thread and was about to throw a curve ball and start talking about Frank Gotch. You threw a knuckle ball and gave us a thesis on his trainer Farmer Burns, as well as Great Gama.
 
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