Longtime fans of NWA and WCW will no doubt remember the name of Larry Sharpe, who had a decent career as a midcard wrestler, but is best remembered for being the man behind the legendary Monster Factory, which produced perhaps more pro wrestling stars than any one institution before WWE consolidated its developmental promotions.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Sharpe (real name Larry Weil) passed away on Monday night at the age of 66 following a lengthy battle with liver cancer.
“Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe was, as the name would suggest, a flamboyant heel who worked in basically every promotion you can imagine from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s. But his biggest contribution to the sport and its history came in 1983, when he and Buddy Rogers opened the Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey.
The Monster Factory (which was taken over by Danny Cage some years back, although Sharpe still had a hand in it before he got sick) produced a staggering amount of talent, including Sharpe’s prize pupil Bam Bam Bigelow, Tony Atlas, King Kong Bundy, Chris Candido, The Godfather, Tatanka, Balls Mahoney, Raven, D’Lo Brown, and Sharpe even trained Sheamus at the school in 2002.
Sharpe’s legacy will continue to be felt for decades to come. Our deepest condolences to his friends and family. You can see him below in his wrestling days as “Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe, taking on Dominic DeNucci at Madison Square Garden in 1980.
If Memphis is more your speed, here he is getting in Jerry Lawler’s face and riling up the locals.
