Legends of Wrestling

The very definition of a cultural obsession would be the fact that I have spent 20 hours over the last week listening to youtube videos of The Legends of Wrestling roundtable discussions.

Legends of Wrestling is a roundtable discussion featuring 5 important figures of wresting history.   A legend is not too large a word to describe most of the participants.  Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Pat Patterson, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, and Michel Hayes are some of the former wrestlers who participate in these discussions.  Managers like JJ Dillon and announcers Jim Ross and Gene Okerlund also participate.   Many of the participants also have backstage and booking experience like Sergeant Slaughter and Mike Graham which adds another dimension to the conversation.  

Each show is loosely based around a theme, such as Southern Wrestling, Heatseakers, or Badasses, but in reality it is just a panel sitting around, getting drunk and telling stories. 

And what stories!  These men traveled the roads from town to town in the old days of professional wrestling.  No plane rides, no limos, no handlers, just three or four giant men crammed into a car with two cases of beer and a three hour drive ahead.  These men lived a life, that’s for sure.  They have had life experiences that few of us can really understand.  Even if you are not a wrestling fan, the stories of traveling, carousing, and fighting will be entertaining.  

No story is left untold by these guys, especially about halfway through the show when most of them are two-thirds in the bag.  This is one of the rare WWE produced shows that is a true “shoot,” meaning they treat wrestling as the form of entertainment it is, and no one pretends that it is real.  The performers of the 70s and 80s are so accustomed to protecting the reality of the business, that it is rare to get them talking out of character and telling the true stories.  It makes for a VERY entertaining watch for wrestling fans, and even non-fans can enjoy the funny stories.

The Legends of Wrestling programs were a feature of WWE 24/7 which is a pay-per-view service.   So, sometimes the “E” forces youtube to pull the videos.  They aren’t up for long, so you kind of have to watch them while they are up.  I’m going to link to some of them, but if you are reading this in archive, don’t be surprised if the links don’t work.  Especially once the WWE network starts up.  I’d imagine this type of old footage will be a staple of the network.