This was a post I wrote in 2022 addressing the Indie vs. Legend debate, after someone asked how a few cards like Lenny Lane should be classified:
"The line between Indy and Legend is an interesting discussion. Regardless of what product line they were made for, you could sort of go either way on most of them, except Lenny who I think is a straight-up Legend.
To me, you're a Legend if you:
1.) Are/were pushed for a national wrestling promotion or a pre-1984 territory (not just doing job guy work, unless of course you're making a job guy card). WWF/E, WCW, AEW...I don't put ROH guys in this category, for reasons that may not stand up 100% to scrutiny but because I still feel ROH was always a "super-indy" rather than a true national, touring promotion. TNA/Impact is sort of in this category in that I stopped really regarding them as any kind of national promotion around the time they fell to PopTV, and certainly after Pop cancelled them. ROH and modern Impact guys can cross the line in other ways, though, like with...
2.) Are/were pushed for a major Japanese promotion, whether as native or foreign talent. "Major" is pretty loose, especially after the big '90s boom and modern-day AJPW and NOAH aren't much bigger than some indy promotions nowadays. But they still can draw in the thousands for their big shows and still have national TV presence in the country. And most big Japanese indy guys end up working alongside major promotions at some point during their careers with all the crossover and interpromotional booking going on, to the point where basically if you wrestled in Japan at all, you're a Legend. Especially in the '90s and before.
3.) Are/were pushed in ECW. Definitely skirting the line for a "national" company, but they had PPV clearance and had a greater tangible influence on the Big Two at the time than any promotion since. Ultimately, why them and not ROH? Because the first Legends set established the precedent by including the Sandman.
4.) Are/were pushed in the major Mexican promotions--namely UWA, AAA, CMLL, and IWRG. I guess the Crash and some other modern promotions might fall into that category as well, as well as Promo Azteca.
5.) Are/were pushed in the NWA--maybe--sorta? I don't know how I think of the modern Powerrr version of the company at this point. I lean towards yes because of the history and because of their recent attempts to at least try to run as a nationalized product with a touring champion, and because of the old-school Legends aesthetic. If not for COVID derailing them two years ago their case may be stronger today.
And then there are other instances like maybe guys who worked for Otto Wanz in Europe, or in other international promotions, that sort of have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Were they at least a semi-mainstream name in their country like Mamdouh Farag was in Egypt? Did they draw sizable crowds? Did they tour other places? Did their promotion have a major television presence? It's not always going to be foolproof but I believe in drawing a line somewhere, even if maybe it's iffy whether Lord Zoltan is a "legend" even by 1982 standards while the Beer City Bruiser may not be.
I associate Lenny with WCW so to me he's a straight-up Legend and I'm pretty sure he was released as such. Daivari worked for WWE and Impact. Bodhi's card is basically the same as Kizarny's so for all of the cup of coffee he had with WWE, it's enough. Madison was in Impact for years when it was still a semi-viable national company. Same with James Storm. Cardona and Myers were in WWE even if their cards sort of reflect them as indies."
Edit: This was before ROH was bought out by AEW. At this point there's not much difference between the two so modern (summer 2022 and beyond) ROH guys are pretty much Legends now.
This isn't a knock on Vegas by any means, but if Chad/Cory/Tim stat a card, I consider it a legends card. Vegas has his own style that fits the indy style of today, and that is great for the fans of that line, but I don't think I could use Storm, Cardona, Myers, Hernandez etc in Legends. I think they're a bit too strong for legends, but thats ok (well, Myers is more of a compliment to Cardona though). There are like 300 legends cards I can choose from.
