As PWMania.com recently reported, WWE announced that Sid Vicious and Bad News Brown will be inducted as Legacy Award members of the 2026 Hall of Fame class. This is the first time WWE has publicly announced the Legacy inductees.
According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has changed its policy regarding the Hall of Fame’s Legacy wing. The Legacy inductees will now be honored to recognize potential inductees who have passed away, aiming to streamline the ceremony. This change comes in response to criticism that recent ceremonies have been too lengthy and that some inductions felt rushed.
The report also mentioned that it is unclear whether family members will deliver speeches on behalf of the Legacy inductees, as has often been the custom for larger stars who have passed away. So far, the 2026 class includes Vicious and Brown as Legacy inductees, Dennis Rodman as an inductee in the Celebrity wing, Demolition as a group, and AJ Styles and Stephanie McMahon as individual inductees. WWE has yet to announce an Immortal Moment for this year; this category debuted last year with Bret Hart and Steve Austin’s WrestleMania 13 match.
The Legacy inductees were previously recognized as groups starting in 2016, when Art Thomas, Ed Lewis, Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Lou Thesz, Mildred Burke, and Pat O’Connor were inducted. From that point until 2021, nominees were announced and inducted as groups.
There were no Legacy inductees in 2022, 2023, or 2024. Last year’s ceremony marked the return of the category, with Dory Funk Sr., Kamala, and Ivan Koloff being inducted, just over a week prior to the induction ceremony.
