[samizayn]

This has been playing on my mind for a little while, and I wanted to see if people agreed with my gist.

Begin.

 

[Skermac]

I define a wrestling legend as someone who has been around no less than 15 or 20 years and has won a few championships. I might be willing to go as low as 10 years, but it really takes more than 10 years to become a legend.

 

[Vyed]

Impact, popularity, Contribution to the business, Great matches or memorable moments, unique gimmick etc...

What have you in mind first of all?

 

[samizayn]

Impact, popularity, Contribution to the business, Great matches or memorable moments, unique gimmick etc...

What have you in mind first of all?

First I thought, people who'll be talked about forever or for a long time. But then I realised people like The Shockmaster and Koko B. Ware will be talked about for a long time and it doesn't mean they are legends.

Then I thought something like, "people that have been important to wrestling" but that's super vague. A hazy definition I have right now is: the names that you cannot tell the story of professional wrestling without. So, if for some reason that person were to be Benoited tomorrow, would history look much different or not really?

I don't know. That's why I made the thread. You named the criteria that would make someone a dead ringer, how much of those things would a person have to fulfill to meet the requirements of a legend?

I define a wrestling legend as someone who has been around no less than 15 or 20 years and has won a few championships. I might be willing to go as low as 10 years, but it really takes more than 10 years to become a legend.

So if they've just been around a long time? People have had long, crappy careers...

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Havin a legendary career.

 

[Skermac]

First I thought, people who'll be talked about forever or for a long time. But then I realised people like The Shockmaster and Koko B. Ware will be talked about for a long time and it doesn't mean they are legends.

Then I thought something like, "people that have been important to wrestling" but that's super vague. A hazy definition I have right now is: the names that you cannot tell the story of professional wrestling without. So, if for some reason that person were to be Benoited tomorrow, would history look much different or not really?

I don't know. That's why I made the thread. You named the criteria that would make someone a dead ringer, how much of those things would a person have to fulfill to meet the requirements of a legend?

So if they've just been around a long time? People have had long, crappy careers...

I also said in my post they have to have won a few championships. A person can be the greatest wrestler there is and then fade away in a year or 2 or 3, that doesn't make that wrestler a legend. But if the sticks around 10 or 15 years and wins the belt a few times spread out over time then he is a legend.

 

[Johnny_XTREME]

Well, The Rock hasn't been around even 10 years I think.. From his debut to his first departure was 8 years, right? Since then he was never again a full-time wrestler. And still, he's a legend, and actually one of the greatest legends. So I think it's actually more important what you can do in the ring, on the mic, and how you can add to wrestling more than how long you've actually been around.

 

[samizayn]

Havin a legendary career.

:Cornette

I also said in my post they have to have won a few championships. A person can be the greatest wrestler there is and then fade away in a year or 2 or 3, that doesn't make that wrestler a legend. But if the sticks around 10 or 15 years and wins the belt a few times spread out over time then he is a legend.

A belt, or "the" belt? Roddy Piper never won "the" belt.

I think being the greatest wrestler there was, ever, would qualify legend status though.

Well, The Rock hasn't been around even 10 years I think.. From his debut to his first departure was 8 years, right? Since then he was never again a full-time wrestler. And still, he's a legend, and actually one of the greatest legends. So I think it's actually more important what you can do in the ring, on the mic, and how you can add to wrestling more than how long you've actually been around.

That's another thing. The 10-20 years thing sounds sound, but Rock just shatters that.

 

[Vyed]

Rock is a special case. You cant include him.

Anyways OP, Edge is a Bonafide legend. Dont worry about it.

 

[Skermac]

Imo Rock is a great wrestler, but not a legend yet. He's not even eligible for the hall of fame yet. Roddy Piper won most of his matches and was undefeated for a long time. That makes him a legend.

 

[samizayn]

Rock is a special case. You cant include him.

Anyways OP, Edge is a Bonafide legend. Dont worry about it.

I will worry about it lol. And this is why:

Imo Rock is a great wrestler, but not a legend yet. He's not even eligible for the hall of fame yet. Roddy Piper won most of his matches and was undefeated for a long time. That makes him a legend.

Not going to flame, but how come you don't consider him a legend yet?

Also, in a situation where wins are predetermined, how would several wins make someone a legend?

 

[Rocky Mark]

a retired wrestling icon

for example John Cena is currently an icon , when he retires he will be considered a legend

 

[TJTheGr81]

If there was just one thing that could do it, I think it would be what someone contributes to pro wrestling as a whole. Whether its being extremely popular, having a career's length of great matches, just SOMETHING that engraves you in a fan's mind forever. You have guys like Triple H and Flair who have been World Champ a ton of times, then guys like Piper who have never won the belt. Guys like Bret Hart who are looked at as great technical wrestlers, then guys like Hogan who are the complete opposite in the ring. I think it's all about contributions.

 

[Skermac]

a retired wrestling icon

for example John Cena is currently an icon , when he retires he will be considered a legend

I think the same is true for The Rock, he is an icon not yet a legend. ButI don't think you have to be fully retired to be a legend. Just last a long time and make contributions. Ric Flair is a legend and he isn't fully retired, he doesn't wrestle anymore but he is still in the business.

 

[TJTheGr81]

I think the same is true for The Rock, he is an icon not yet a legend. ButI don't think you have to be fully retired to be a legend. Just last a long time and make contributions. Ric Flair is a legend and he isn't fully retired, he doesn't wrestle anymore but he is still in the business.

Yeah, but Flair's been called a legend for a long time, dating back to late 90's WCW even. And he was certainly an active wrestler back then. I think Rock has made tons of contributions and has accomplished pretty much everything. So what is it that keeps him at Icon, and doesn't push him to "legend?" Is there even really a difference if someone who's an icon turns into a legend as soon as they retire?

 

[Boss P]

A successful star who consistently contributed to wrestling in a previous decade no later than the 1990s. Successful meaning over. Consistently meaning on a regular basis for atleast 3 years. Contribute meaning adding star power or good performance. You couldn't have debuted after 2000.

 

[KeithBrown]

I think alot of it comes down to popularity but can also be defined by the years and personal sacrifice they endure.

 

[samizayn]

I think alot of it comes down to popularity but can also be defined by the years and personal sacrifice they endure.

Droz paid possibly the ultimate sacrifice for the WWE, does it make him a legend?

 

[thaKEAF]

Longevity, Popularity, Accomplishments

 

[Geralt of Rivia]

Imo Rock is a great wrestler, but not a legend yet. He's not even eligible for the hall of fame yet. Roddy Piper won most of his matches and was undefeated for a long time. That makes him a legend.

are you serious? piper won his matches because HE WAS SCRIPTED TO WIN THEM. ask anyone who the rock is. even non wrestling fans will know who he is. the rock is most definitely a legend, and is definitely a future HoF'r.