In professional wrestling, legit (from "legitimate") is a slang term used to describe a match or event which has not been booked or a performer who relies on genuine wrestling skill and ability as opposed to his gimmick. In the recent past many matches and wrestlers were presented as being "legit", although this was not always, or even often, the case.
The term is also often extended to mean a wrestler with a legitimate background as an actual street fighter or brawler, who brings legitimate fighting skills to the apparent, but often tightly controlled, "chaos" of the pro wrestling arena. A "legit" competitor in this instance may tend to revert to the actual violence of real fighting, causing concern (and genuine danger) among opponents, and others.
In March 2005 a new professional wrestling league was announced called "Real Pro Wrestling". This promotion is being packaged as being strictly legit, although it should be noted that such promotions in the past have either proven to be short-lived or have soon resorted to booked and worked matches, which professional wrestling smarks claim is due to what they see as the inherently dull nature of legit wrestling.
Last updated: 05-30-2005 23:31:59
