So who would the "Stan Lee" of wrestling be?

[wildojinx]

I just watched the ABC special on Stan Lee. Does Pro Wrestling have its own Stan, a (mostly) beloved individual who changed wrestling for the better and who's legacy still lives on to this day?

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Most promoters were pieces of shit, only Paul Boesch and Don Owen were semi decent.

[thirteen3]

Toots Mondt? He practically invented Pro Wrestling as we know it today, and if it weren't for him convincing Vince McMahon Sr to make Bruno Sammartino his top star there would be a high chance that none of us would be wrestling fans today.

Edit: I think I may have misread the point of this thread.

[wildojinx]

Hmm,,yeah, Toots would be a good choice, as long as we leave it to that (as for some of Toots's business practices, we'll just ignore that for now).

[petef3]

Dec 20, 2019 21:21:31 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Most promoters were pieces of shit, only Paul Boesch and Don Owen were semi decent.

I don't think he was a piece of shit, but it's not like Stan is universally beloved by fellow writers and artists.

I think Jim Barnett might be the closest answer here. Much of what the territorial era of wrestling was like was built on his ideas. He invented studio wrestling, wrestling as a weekly TV show in and of itself as opposed to just televised arena matches, likely invented the squash match, and was a major figure all over the world from the '40s straight up through the early '00s (he was working as a consultant for WWE up until his death and was telling anyone who would listen that John Cena was the future of the business.)

[Allie Kitsune]

Give it 10 years and it might be Cody Rhodes.

[ogreknee]

Taking credit for somebody else's work?

Vince McMahon

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Lou Thesz's style and ringwork arguably changed the style of wrestling as we know it and The Thesz Press is still commonly used as a move today. Not sure if he's the STAN LEE of wrestling but he did so much for it

[Joe Neglia]

Apples and oranges. No one in the wrestling business did the same thing Lee did and definitely no one who was "(mostly) beloved"

Toots and Vince K are the closest, but neither of them line up with Lee in a lot of areas. Barnett isn't close.

[Deleted]

Like it or not, it’s Vince.

When he passes, everyone will look back and remember him for giving us all these great characters and memories.

[rnrk supports BLM]

To the mainstream, he's a lovably kooky visionary, and practically synonymous with the genre he brought to prominence.

Within the industry, he can't not be respected as an extraordinary businessman, but there's always going to be a sour note there, of folks who think of him as a self-serving huckster who built his success off the backs of collaborators who got exploited and cheated out of the profits of their labor.

Vince McMahon or Stan Lee? Yes.

[ritt works hard fo da chickens]

In this bit off analogy I'd have to agree it's Vince = Stan and I'd see Toots is Jack Kirby.

[Brian Suntan]

Dec 21, 2019 2:11:55 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

To the mainstream, he's a lovably kooky visionary, and practically synonymous with the genre he brought to prominence.

Within the industry, he can't not be respected as an extraordinary businessman, but there's always going to be a sour note there, of folks who think of him as a self-serving huckster who built his success off the backs of collaborators who got exploited and cheated out of the profits of their labor.

Vince McMahon or Stan Lee? Yes.

Does a fandom exist where it isn't a popular opinion to believe that the mainstream figurehead isn't the genius they're made out to be and actually it was some lesser known figure who was the true hero?

[ogreknee]

Dec 21, 2019 3:14:51 GMT -5 Brian Suntan said:

Dec 21, 2019 2:11:55 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

To the mainstream, he's a lovably kooky visionary, and practically synonymous with the genre he brought to prominence.

Within the industry, he can't not be respected as an extraordinary businessman, but there's always going to be a sour note there, of folks who think of him as a self-serving huckster who built his success off the backs of collaborators who got exploited and cheated out of the profits of their labor.

Vince McMahon or Stan Lee? Yes.

Does a fandom exist where it isn't a popular opinion to believe that the mainstream figurehead isn't the genius they're made out to be and actually it was some lesser known figure who was the true hero?

You know it was always pat patterson as the finish man

[dav]

Dec 21, 2019 3:14:51 GMT -5 Brian Suntan said:

Dec 21, 2019 2:11:55 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

To the mainstream, he's a lovably kooky visionary, and practically synonymous with the genre he brought to prominence.

Within the industry, he can't not be respected as an extraordinary businessman, but there's always going to be a sour note there, of folks who think of him as a self-serving huckster who built his success off the backs of collaborators who got exploited and cheated out of the profits of their labor.

Vince McMahon or Stan Lee? Yes.

Does a fandom exist where it isn't a popular opinion to believe that the mainstream figurehead isn't the genius they're made out to be and actually it was some lesser known figure who was the true hero?

Studio Ghibli?

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Dec 21, 2019 2:11:55 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

To the mainstream, he's a lovably kooky visionary, and practically synonymous with the genre he brought to prominence.

Within the industry, he can't not be respected as an extraordinary businessman, but there's always going to be a sour note there, of folks who think of him as a self-serving huckster who built his success off the backs of collaborators who got exploited and cheated out of the profits of their labor.

Vince McMahon or Stan Lee? Yes.

Not sure there is anything like the mainstream adoration for Vince that there was for Stan, guy was put on trial for pushing steroids on his talent and keeps having to explain why so many of his former employees drop dead before they reach the age of retirement. He hasn't done much of anything to soften his image aside from making fun of the XFL a decade ago, and he's reviving that because he feels those goshdarn minorities aren't respectful enough of the flag, troops and police officers who keep shooting them.

[Cyno]

"Vincent Kennedy McMahon is the Stan Lee of this business, DAMNIT!" - Vince McMahon probably

[corndog]

Dec 21, 2019 6:40:14 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Dec 21, 2019 2:11:55 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

To the mainstream, he's a lovably kooky visionary, and practically synonymous with the genre he brought to prominence.

Within the industry, he can't not be respected as an extraordinary businessman, but there's always going to be a sour note there, of folks who think of him as a self-serving huckster who built his success off the backs of collaborators who got exploited and cheated out of the profits of their labor.

Vince McMahon or Stan Lee? Yes.

Not sure there is anything like the mainstream adoration for Vince that there was for Stan, guy was put on trial for pushing steroids on his talent and keeps having to explain why so many of his former employees drop dead before they reach the age of retirement. He hasn't done much of anything to soften his image aside from making fun of the XFL a decade ago, and he's reviving that because he feels those goshdarn minorities aren't respectful enough of the flag, troops and police officers who keep shooting them.

Yeah, considering the John Oliver episode, the Benoit tragedy, the steroid trial and recently the whole Saudi Arabia situation, Vince is not beloved by mainstream public and media. He is seen as what most wrestling promoters were before him and what he hates being tied to, a carny sleazeball. He definitely is known as the man when it comes to pro wrestling in the modern day, due to his incredibly job of branding WWF/WWE as wrestling. But when a less than flattering story about WWE and/or himself comes out, no one really acts surprised.

[doguncle]

Stan Lee quite frequently gave credit to Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and his other artists.

[honsou]

The closest person would be Giant Baba