Wrestling Hall of Fame – Verne Gagne
Wrestling fans might know about great wrestlers like Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Pat Patterson, The Legion of Doom, Marty Jannetty, Curt Hennig, Scott Hall, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, “Sensational” Sherri, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Larry Zbyszko and Sgt. Slaughter, but few remember the man who promoted them in the vast world of professional wrestling. Few remember the great wrestler and promoter, Verne Gagne who gave all his life to promote professional wrestling in United States. Verne Gagne was also a legendary wrestler who wrestled, promoted and expanded the art of wrestling throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Verne Gagne was a multitalented person since his early childhood. He excelled in three sports at the same time, as he played baseball, football and wrestling. But Verne Gagne always knew that his true passion was professional wrestling. Verne Gagne won many State Championships before joining the University of Minnesota. He was yet to devote his full energy towards professional wrestling, as he was still playing football and wrestling at the same time. Gagne took a break from the world of sports when he joined the U.S army as part of Marine Corps at the end of World War II.
After his return from the war front in 1945, a new era begin in the world of professional wrestling. By that time Verne Gagne had won four Big Ten wrestling Championships and two NCAA wrestling Championships. He also became part of the United States of America’s Olympic team and AAU wrestling Championship in 1949. The force known as Verne Gagne simply became unstoppable for both amateur and professional wrestlers. He briefly played football as a part of Green Bay Packers in NFL, but then quit for good to pursue professional wrestling. Verne Gagne won several regional championships and then joined the new American Wrestling Association (AWA). He became the new AWA champion when he defeated another great wrestler and AWA champion, Pat O’ Connor.
The greatest skill and art of Verne Gagne was to fight and promote wrestling at the same time. Promotion of professional wrestling is a very tricky business, and it takes great managerial skills to sell different type of matches to wrestling fans. After working as a wrestling promoter for some years, Verne Gagne became the sole owner of AWA. Verne Gagne captured the AWA championship title for 10 times during his career. He also paired up with “Mad Dog” Vachon in 1979 to win the prestigious AWA Tag Team Wrestling Championship.
Compatriot Nick Bockwinkel had a famous rivalry with Verne Gagne in American Wrestling Association (AWA). This rivalry was so great and lengthy that it was only Nick Bockwinkel and Verne Gagne who held the AWA title between 1968 and 1982. The ninth title reign of Verne Gagne lasted for more than 7 consecutive years. In 1981, this great wrestler and promoter retired from competing in professional wrestling.
The most infamous moment of Verne Gagne’s career came when he made the legendary Hulk Hogan leave AWA. It has been rumoured that Verne Gagne offered to give $100,000 to The Iron Sheik if The Iron Sheik completed the task of breaking Hulk Hogan’s leg during the Championship match. The Iron Sheik refused to accept the offer of Verne Gagne.
1991 was the last year of functioning for the American Wrestling Association. However, the wrestlers who learned from Verne Gagne proved to be a great asset for the world of professional wrestling, as many of these wrestlers became wrestling legends after joining WWE and WCW. Verne Gagne sold his video library to WWE in 2003. Though Verne Gagne never directly contributed to WWE, his services to the world of professional wrestling were unmistakable. He was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame on the night before Wrestle Mania XXII. Though Verne Gagne does not promote professional wrestling anymore, his legend and services will live forever.
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