''Legends of Wrestling'' is a series of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s based on the best wrestlers of all time, from WWF/WWE,

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

, and various independent promotions. It was developed and published by Acclaim. It was released in 2001 for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

, then in 2002 for the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

. In 2006, Canadian game publisher

Throwback Entertainment Throwback Entertainment is a video game developer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History In 2006, Throwback announced the purchase of the Acclaim Entertainment library, consisting of over 190 titles such as ''Iggy's Reckin' Balls'', '' Extreme ...

acquired the license and publishing rights to ''Legends of Wrestling''.

''Legends of Wrestling''

''Legends of Wrestling'' was released on the PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2001, and on the Xbox and GameCube on May 27, 2002. It contains over 40 of the biggest names in pro wrestling.

''Legends of Wrestling II''

''Legends of Wrestling II'' is the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the

Legends of Wrestling ''Legends of Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling video game based on the greatest wrestlers of all time, from WWF/WWE, NWA, WCW, WCCW, AWA, ECW and various independent promotions. It was developed and published by Acclaim. It was rele ...

''. It was published by

Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...

and released on November 26, 2002 for both the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It was later released for the Xbox on December 5, 2002. ''Legends II'' contains 25 new wrestlers, though also excludes

Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

, presumably because he had recently been signed to a WWF contract following the recent end and buyout of

. However, the game did contain

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is ...

, who, although unemployed at the time he signed a likeness deal, re-signed with WWF when the game was released. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions included video interviews with many of the legends featured in the game while the European version of the game included four additional exclusive legends from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Kendo Nagasaki Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis. The name derives from the modern martial art of Japanese fencing ( K ...

, Big Daddy, Mick McManus, and

Giant Haystacks Martin Austin Ruane (10 October 1946 – 29 November 1998) was an English professional wrestler of Irish parentage, best known by the ring name Giant Haystacks. He was one of the best-known wrestlers on the British wrestling scene in the 1970s ...

''Showdown: Legends of Wrestling''

''Showdown: Legends of Wrestling'' is the third installment of the ''Legends of Wrestling'' video game series. It was published by Acclaim Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was released in June 2004. The game features nine new legends. A version of the game for the

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

, as well as a PC port of the game, was also planned but was cancelled.

Rosters

All ''Legends of Wrestling'' games feature character rosters filled with wrestlers of the past. Several characters appear in all three games so far produced, whereas others only make an appearance in one or two. ''Legends of Wrestling II'' also features fictional characters that the player can compete against but not use themselves.

Reception

The ''Legends of Wrestling'' series has received mixed to average reviews from critics ever since the release of the first game.

References

External links

''Legends of Wrestling'' (PS2) on Game Rankings
* * ttp://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/561722.asp ''Legends of Wrestling II'' (PS2) at Game Rankings
GameSpot review of ''Legends of Wrestling 2'' (PS2): 6.0 (Fair)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legends Of Wrestling (series) 2001 video games 2002 video games 2004 video games Acclaim Entertainment games PlayStation 2 games Xbox games GameCube games Game Boy Advance games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States