RIP Gene LeBell

[King Kamala]

This thread could probably go here, MMA or TV/Film

Gene LeBell, Famed Stuntman and “Godfather of Grappling,” Dies at 89

A martial artist and judo champion, he taught Bruce Lee, fought in an early mixed martial arts fight and served as an inspiration for a Tarantino character.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

A pioneer in MMA, a legendary stuntman (he was the inspiration for the character Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, a wrestling promoter, and perhaps most importantly, the guy who allegedly made Steven Seagal poop his pants.

In wrestling, he's most known for helping train "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and reffing Ali Vs Inoki.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I'm surprised Inoki didn't bribe him to work a match in the 70s during the Inoki MMA period.

Some fun stuff in Gene's later career results like working Bad News (Brown) in a Judo match shortly after Brown's Olympic run. And Gene worked vs Piper and Keith Franke (a not yet gimmicked Adrian Adonis) in a tag team in the later 70s.

 

[alkeiper]

No doubt Inoki tried.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

meltzer's obit on him would almost be worth getting a sub for. super important figure and lots of fun stories.

 

[BruiserBrody]

meltzer's obit on him would almost be worth getting a sub for. super important figure and lots of fun stories.

"Lebell mastered the Judo throw at age 8, but he lacked the fire Kenny Omega shows when uses the V Trigger. Had a booker like Tony Khan been around in 1967, Lebell likely would have been a house hold name."

Edit: Should have less proper grammar.

 

[tekcop]

That seems unfair to Meltzer tbh.

 

[BruiserBrody]

That seems unfair to Meltzer tbh.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1558070435048202240

My bad. Time to update the man crush to Will Ostrich.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

TBF Ospreay is better than Omega even if neither of them should have that many, especially compared to many other workers.

The one thing Dave does very well are obits though. He puts a lot of work into them and even with his writing style they're a lot of fun to read.

 

[BruiserBrody]

TBF Ospreay is better than Omega even if neither of them should have that many, especially compared to many other workers.

The one thing Dave does very well are obits though. He puts a lot of work into them and even with his writing style they're a lot of fun to read.

I agree. I have his Tribute books and loved his obits from the early 2000s (and boy howdy did he have a lot of them to write). I was just being snarky.

 

[King Kamala]

Gene LeBell Did It All

Over a legendary career as a judoka, pro wrestler, and Hollywood stuntman, LeBell was a pioneer in mixed martial arts and choreographed violence—and one of the toughest guys in the business

www.theringer.com