(Quick cool story… a wooden, round table was the scene of a “Wooden Roundtable” of sorts back in 2004… when Cowboy Bill Watts, Jim Cornette, Les Thatcher, Terry Taylor and Jerry Lynn all sat backstage at a show in Tulsa that I was booked to announce on. Charlie Haas was there with me to commentate and we just sat quietly and listened to the group share stories and knowledge. One of the best experiences of my life.)
So, of the men mentioned above, are any of them considered to be like John Wooden for modern day pro wrestling? Are any of them powerful enough and influential enough to shape generations of both wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike? All can be but Vince McMahon is the only one with the ability to reach the masses all the time and no one would ever compare VKM to John Wooden.
Put it this way… When Vince dies, will anyone outside the McMahon family speak as fondly of Vince as the basketball masses spoke about John Wooden?
But did you know that Vince McMahon has some things that John Wooden might like? In fact Vince McMahon displays strong resemblance to many of the attributes on the “Pyramid of Success”. Of course, “Loyalty” is in the center of the bottom row and that would be one block surely missing from Vince’s pyramid.
Also notice how “Faith” and “Patience” are like the mortar for the Pyramid. You must apply both without relying too much on either, so says Coach Wooden. Vince has none of the former and is lacking the latter.
As I said earlier, John Wooden can work wonders for you, regardless of the line of work you are in, including professional wrestling. Let’s pull some classic Wooden quotes and apply them to the wrestling industry.
