“Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
On April 3, 2010, at the end of “The Big Bang” iPPV for Ring of Honor, I felt I had finally achieved success because I did exactly what Coach Wooden speaks of in the above quote. I’ve been announcing wrestling since 1991 but it took all the way to 2010 to finally get close to getting it right. I worked to not only deliver a broadcast worthy of the effort of the great competitors in the ring but also to achieve “Competitive Greatness…
But enough about me… who is the John Wooden of wrestling? Is it a renowned teacher like Stu Hart, a multi-generational icon like Terry Funk or a territorial giant like Cowboy Bill Watts?
How about Jim Ross? He recently wrote about Coach Wooden’s passing on his website, http://www.jrsbarbq.com (and order some sauce while you are there… JR would love it!)
What about Dory Funk Jr., who has been both a World Champion and trainer for many greats?
Ole Anderson is someone I came to admire from reading his book “Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling” http://www.amazon.com/Inside-
I think all of these men and others like Dr. Tom Prichard, Rip Rogers, Ricky Steamboat, Dutch Mantell, Jim Cornette and Les Thatcher have elements of Wooden and I think could make up a “Wooden Roundtable” for pro wrestling but all could still learn from the Master Wooden, despite the collective decades these men’s careers encompass.
