| Joe E. Legend | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Legend in 2019 | |
| Birth name | Joseph Edward Hitchen[1] |
| Born | (1969-09-02)September 2, 1969 (age 55) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Billy Johnson[3] Bluto Belushi[3] Dragon[3] Joe E. Legend Joe Legend Joe Sampson[3] Just Joe[3] Legend[3] Master Joe Storm[3] Nord[3] XL-Legend[3] Joe X-Legend[3] Joe Ace[3] Joe Megalodon[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 252 lb (114 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Toronto, Canada, Canada Glasgow, Scotland (as Nord) "Parts Unknown" (as Dragon) |
| Trained by | Ron Hutchison[3] Sweet Daddy Siki[3] |
| Debut | 1992[2] |
Joseph Edward Hitchen[1] (born September 2, 1969)[4] is a Canadianprofessional wrestler and trainer, known under hisring nameJoe E. Legend. He also wrestled for theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 2000 to 2001 under the ring nameJust Joe.
Joe Legend began wrestling in Canada before becoming a part of the successfultag teamSex and Violence withSexton Hardcastle in theDetroit area. His debut match was against Zakk Wyld (Keith Assoun) in Brampton. Ontario in 1992. From 1992 to 1993 he worked in Japan. During 1997, Sex and Violence were a part of a bigger gang which was known asTHUG Life, which was composed of Legend, Hardcastle,Christian Cage, Zakk Wyld, Bloody Bill Skullion andRhino Richards. Among his catchphrases used was "Heroes come and heroes go, but legends live forever!"
Hitchen later competed under XL Legend in theCatch Wrestling Association which is based inGermany. He later teamed withRhino Richards to win the vacantWorld Tag Team Championships by defeating Rico de Cuba andAugust Smisl on October 10, 1998, inHanover, Germany. The title was vacated in October 1998 when Rhino Richards left the promotion after signing withExtreme Championship Wrestling. Legend found success in Germany and England.
In April 2005, he was one of the lead trainers ofCelebrity Wrestling in the United Kingdom onITV. This Saturday evening reality show saw celebrities learn wrestling and compete in challenge matches. After a few weeks the program was set to be cancelled, but instead was moved to Sunday morning to finish its final episodes.
He can now be found wrestling in and around the United Kingdom for promotions such asAll Star Wrestling, working regular shows atButlins holiday parks after throwing out an open challenge to potential rivals for his Pan Pacific and GSA heavyweight titles. He has also toured Wales for both Orig Williams and Alan Ravenhill.
During his time in the now defunctFrontier Wrestling Alliance he wrestled for theFWA British Heavyweight Championship in a five-way match at The Champions Series Final on January 5, 2006, inHoddesdon,Hertfordshire, England, but was defeated by Hade Vansen.
Hitchen also has wrestled in many other countries around the continent, countries such as Denmark, Poland, Italy, France, Portugal, Austria, Russia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Greece. Overall, he wrestled in more than 24 countries around the world.
In 2014, in February he lost toDavid Hart Smith in a DWA/PWF match in Germany. Then he lost to Andrei Ivanov in Pro Wrestling Showdown in the Netherlands. In March he lost to Wolfgang in Premier British Wrestling. In April and May he competed in German organizations Deutsche Wrestling Allianz, German Hurricane Wrestling,Westside Xtreme Wrestling and Power of Wrestling.[5]
After a few try-out matches, Joe got signed in June 2000. He made his TV debut on the August 8, 2000 episode ofHeat where he lost toWWF Light Heavyweight ChampionDean Malenko asJust Joe in theWWF. His gimmick was that of a messenger who tried tostir the pot.[6] He scored victories overGangrel,Joey Abs,Brooklyn Brawler andEssa Rios. until being taken off TV that November. He was released from his contract in March 2001.
During his time in the United States, Hitchen competed in thePuerto RicanInternational Wrestling Association under the ring nameNord. On March 8, 2003, he captured theIWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship by defeatingGlamour Boy Shane inToa Baja, Puerto Rico. He lost the championship toChicano inBayamón, Puerto Rico on April 19 the same year.
He returned to America in 2004 to compete in theNashville, Tennessee-basedTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling. During his time in TNA as part of the Red Shirt Security, he won theNWA World Tag Team Championship withKevin Northcutt. They held the belts from January 28, 2004 to February 4 of the same year.
Hitchen made his debut in Russia as he competed at Independent Wrestling Federation'sWrestliada 2006 inMoscow, Russia, under the ring nameJoe Legend.[7] At the July 28, 2007 event he defeated Volcano to become the first IWF World Champion. During his reign he defeatedRaven to retain the championship.[8]
In August 2006, he worked forPro Wrestling NOAH on their Shiny Navigation Tour, and in April 2007, he worked on the Spring Navigation tour.[9] From July to September 2010, he toured withPro Wrestling Zero1 working the likes ofMasato Tanaka,Shinjiro Otani,Ikuto Hidaka, andSylvester Terkay.
Joe E. Legend tours annually withWorld Wrestling Professionals (WWP), a South African promotion currently airing on a nationally broadcast network. He also acts as their scouting agent, having been responsible for bringing Mikey Whiplash, Angelico and Murat over to WWP. Joe Legend worked for WWP in 2007 and 2008 and returned in 2009.
The January 10, 2009 episode of WWP saw Joe Legend defeat PJ Black (better known asJustin Gabriel) to capture the then vacantWWP Heavyweight World Title for the first time.
His most recent appearance for WWP was on a tour of Nigeria in August 2014, where he interfered inTornado's match, causing him to lose to Nigerian wrestler De Ultimate Commander.[10]
Joe Legend came back 25 November 2017 (Showdown 33), defeating Alexander James in a match for a spot in the Pro Wrestling Showdown World Cup.
Joe Legend joined the German based company Unlimited Wrestling in 2019, where he mostly competes in the most important matches on the card.[11]
In December 2007, Joe E. Legend became the co-host ofThe Main Event Radio, the official podcast of TotalWrestling.net.
In May 2009, Hitchen was announced as one of the competitors on the Turkish version ofGladiators, which began filming in September 2009.[12]
Joe E Legend has also acted in several films in France and the UK as well as taking the role of "fight choreographer" for these features. Joe is represented by Jessica Soss of V.S Films and is actively pursuing further roles in film and TV.
Hitchen is good friends with fellow professional wrestlersTerry Gerin,Don Callis,Jay Reso, andAdam Copeland. He and his wife, Svenia Hitchen, have twin boys named Connor and Maverick.[1]
Hitchen is the co-author ofMarie's World, published in June 2014 by Austin Macauley Publishers.[13]
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