As previously reported, WWE recently announced Sid Vicious and Bad News Brown as members of the 2026 Hall of Fame Legacy Award class. This is the first time WWE has publicized the Legacy inductees individually.
According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has altered its policy regarding the Hall of Fame Legacy wing. The Legacy inductees will now be recognized as a way to honor those who have passed away. This change aims to streamline the ceremony, which has faced criticism in recent years for being overly lengthy and for some inductions feeling rushed.
The report also mentions that it is unclear whether family members will be allowed to give speeches for the Legacy inductees, as has often been the case for other significant stars who have died. So far, the 2026 class includes Vicious and Brown as Legacy inductees, Dennis Rodman as a Celebrity wing inductee, Demolition as a group, and AJ Styles and Stephanie McMahon as individual inductees. WWE has not yet announced an Immortal Moment for this year, which debuted last year featuring Bret Hart and Steve Austin’s match from WrestleMania 13.
Legacy inductees were previously inducted as groups starting in 2016, when names like Art Thomas, Ed Lewis, Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Lou Thesz, Mildred Burke, and Pat O’Connor were honored. From that point until 2021, nominees were announced and inducted as groups. There were no Legacy inductees in 2022, 2023, or 2024. Last year saw the return of the category with inductions for Dory Funk Sr., Kamala, and Ivan Koloff, which were announced just over a week before the induction ceremony.
