The Word Legend

The word legend seems to be over used in the world of wresting. I don't want to be negative for the sake of being negative but it seems to me that the word is beginning to lose it's worth. What's the point of calling someone a legend when the word can be throw onto anything.

The main reason this has been on my mind is because of a shoot interview trailer I saw a few months ago. RF Video released a trailer for a wrestler called Bobby Jagger, by watching the trailer you get the feeling that he thinks he was one of the biggest stars in the world back then but in reality he did nothing of worth. Sure he was around during the territory days and was apparently backstage during when Bruiser Brody got stabbed but besides that what did he do. RF Video took out several hours to film an interview which resulted in this guy getting a blown up ego, he was talking crap about loads of legends. What really annoyed me was that same week they released a shoot with Paul London & Brian Kendrick and it got overshadowed by this. I even got into a debate about it when commenting on Youtube.

Here's the thing, RF Video and Highspots for that matter actually go out of their way and spend money filming shoot interviews with EVERYBODY! I understand that there are wrestlers out there who I've never heard of but have made a impact in some sense but that still doesn't change the fact that these companies probably shouldn't take the time to film a long shoot interview with them when the market with them will be a lot smaller than say a shoot with Ric Flair. When you watch some of the trailers for these wrestlers you've never heard of you will find one of two things they will either run their mouths off and act like a mega star or they will act bat shit crazy. A prime example is Billy Jack Haynes Conspiracy Theories shoot from RF Video, Billy Jack may have worked for the big leagues but he never made a lasting impact and by watching that shoot you wonder what the heel went wrong with him (seriously if you haven't seen it Billy Jack just comes out and says that Vince McMahon caused the death of a ton of wrestlers and was directly involved in the Chris Benoit disaster).

But the biggest problem I have with calling so many wrestlers legends comes in the form of one man, Koko B.Ware. The guy who went into the WWE Hall of Fame. I said it before he doesn't deserve to be in there! What do you think when you say his name? Oh he was the guy with the bird. Nothing more. Why would such a quality put you in the Hall of Fame when guys like Jake Roberts, Bruno Sammartino and Randy Savage are still not in there! Koko may have been a good worker but what did he do?
This basically sums up my argument here. In my view to be a legend in wrestling you should of achieved something big through out your career. If I said the name Ricky Steamboat you would likely think of a classic match or feud he was in, the same can be said for many of the other names within the WWE Hall of Fame but a guy like Koko B.Ware that isn't the case. You would struggle to remember a "classic" match that involved Koko and if you did I bet many others would disagree. A match like Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage is called one of the best matches of all time by everyone.

I'm not saying this stuff to create a reaction or start a argument I'm saying it because I can't stand the fact that the word legend gets thrown around and will result in it becoming meaningless. Look at it like this, would you call the Brooklyn Brawler a legend? No and why? Because he did nothing of worth, he may have stayed in WWE for a really long time but he was just used as a jobber. All I'm saying is that if you want to be called a legend you should do something during your run. Rowdy Roddy Piper is regarded as one of the greatest of all time, did he win countless titles? No but he may a huge impact without winning titles.
A legend is not someone who breaks records like winning more titles or having the longest title reign, a legend is someone who made a lasting impact on the wrestling business and that's how it should be.