Verne Gagne

Verne Gagne
Data
Ring name	Verne Gagne
height	180 cm
Fighting weight	98 kg
birth	February 26, 1926 Corcoran , Minnesota
death	April 27, 2015 Bloomington , Minnesota
Announced from	Robbinsdale , Minnesota
debut	1949
retirement	1981

Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne (born February 26, 1926 in Corcoran , Minnesota , † April 27, 2015 in Bloomington , Minnesota) was an American wrestler , footballer , wrestler , wrestling coach and wrestling promoter. Until 1991 he was the owner of the American Wrestling Association , one of the leading wrestling leagues, before the World Wrestling Federation . He was inducted into both the WWE Hall of Fame (2006), WCW Hall of Fame (1993), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2004), and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (1996). His son Greg was also a wrestler.

Beginnings

Gagne grew up in Minnesota, where he attended Robbinsdale High School and was already successful there in the sports of American football , baseball and especially wrestling . In 1943 he came to the University of Minnesota and continued to play football there. He joined the Marines a year later , before becoming twice NCAA wrestling champion on his return, was brought to the NFL by the Chicago Bears in 1947 , and was finally a member of the expanded Olympic freestyle wrestling team in 1948 .

Career

In 1949 Gagne began professionally with wrestling in Texas and was active in various regions of the wrestling umbrella organization National Wrestling Alliance in the 1950s . Due to his outstanding technique, derived from amateur wrestling, he was very popular with the fans and was one of the best-paid wrestlers in the business at the time.

AWA

In 1960 Gagne opened his own promotion, the American Wrestling Association . He himself first became her top star and got the highest title, the AWA World Heavyweight Title , which he should hold a total of ten times. One of these reigns lasted from August 31, 1968 to November 8, 1975, one of the longest in the wrestling business.

As a promoter, Gagne relied primarily on technically based wrestling, in contrast to the competition, which was more based on the show effect. Many well-known wrestling superstars appeared in the AWA, such as B. Nick Bockwinkel , Jerry Lawler , Jesse Ventura and also Hulk Hogan . In addition, Gagne trained over 90 wrestlers, including Ric Flair , Ricky Steamboat and Curt Hennig , who are known for their excellent skills .

In 1983 the AWA had to cope with a bitter loss: the already very popular Hulk Hogan switched to WWF and became a top star there. Since the show in wrestling became more and more important in the following years and Gagne continued to rely on the "old school", the AWA had to close in 1991 for good. The WWF then acquired the rights to all AWA records. In 1996 former AWA employees Dale Gagne (unrelated) and Jonnie Stewart acquired the rights to the promotion and reopened it under the name AWA Superstars of Wrestling . However, the rights to the logo and the records remained with the WWE.

Life in retirement and death

Gagne last suffered from Alzheimer's and lived in a nursing home in Bloomington, Minnesota.

On January 26, 2009, an incident occurred when he got into an argument with his roommate Helmut R. Gutmann, who was also suffering from Alzheimer's disease, in the course of which Gutmann was allegedly pushed to the ground by Gagne. Gutmann broke his hip and suffered severe head injuries. Shortly after his discharge from the hospital Gutmann died of complications from the injuries that Gagne allegedly inflicted on him. On March 13, 2009, Gagne was acquitted because he suffered from dementia .

Gagne died on April 27, 2015 at the age of 89.

successes

• AWA World Heavyweight Title (10 ×)
• AWA World Tag Team Title (4 ×)
• IWA World Heavyweight Title
• NWA Texas Heavyweight Title (3 ×)
• NWA US Title (2 ×)
• NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
• NWA World Tag Team Title

Others

• In 1974 Gagne produced the film The Wrestler , where he played an aging wrestler. At that time he was 47 years old.
• According to Hulk Hogan's biography, he is said to have offered the Iron Sheik money to break Hogan's leg before Wrestlemania I, which would have meant the end for Gagne's main competitor, McMahon's WWF .
• His daughter Kathy was married to the wrestler Larry Zbyszko .
• During his active time, Gagne was always known as " Face ".

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Legendary wrestler Verne Gagne dies
2. ↑ Featherly, Kevin: Legendary wrestler Verne Gagne and a tragic tale , MinnPost.com. February 18, 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 19, 2009.  
3. ^ Featherly, Kevin: Verne Gagne and aging pro athletes: Studies focus on brain damage , MinnPost.com. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
4. ^ Walsh, Paul: Famed wrestler Gagne linked to death of man, 97 . In: Minneapolis Star Tribune , Avista Capital Partners, February 19, 2009. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2014. 
5. ↑ Ex-wrestler will not be charged in senior's death ( Memento from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ CBS Minnesota - Minnesota Wrestling Icon Verne Gagne Dead At 89

Web links

• Verne Gagne's WWE Hall of Fame profile
• Profile on Neckbruch.com