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39-578: Gene Anderson formed the original Minnesota Wrecking Crew with his kayfabe brother Lars Anderson in 1966. They wrestled throughout the country in the late 60s until Lars left to live in Hawaii. In 1969 Gene then brought in Alan Rogowski, and renamed him Ole Anderson . They dominated tag team wrestling in the 1970s, winning the NWA World Tag Team Titles 8 times. Over those years, Lars Anderson

78-401: A face and utilized the sleeper hold as his finisher. His longest reign as champion was for 7 years, from August 31, 1968, to November 8, 1975, dropping the title to Nick Bockwinkel. He would regain the title from Bockwinkel on July 18, 1980, and drop it back to Bockwinkel on May 19, 1981. After his last title lost in 1981, Gagne would wrestle occasionally for AWA until 1986. His last match was

117-516: A professional wrestling school with Nelson Royal. Wrestlers trained by Anderson included Ken Shamrock . Anderson later became a deputy sheriff in North Carolina . Anderson was married to Edith "Edie" Anderson (née Simpson). The couple had a son, Brad , who also became a professional wrestler, as well as two daughters, Alicia Anderson and Pauline Anderson. Anderson had a damaged neck, which caused him to constantly twitch. Anderson died of

156-462: A 97-year-old resident of the Bloomington, Minnesota nursing care facility where they both resided. According to Gutmann's widow, who was not present during the altercation, Gagne picked Gutmann up and threw him to the floor, then broke his hip by pulling back on his body. "'The attack happened quickly while the men were at a table', Bloomington Police Chief Jeff Potts said. 'It was more like "a push and

195-656: A choice. In the same interview, Greg mentioned that wrestling was a much better paying job at the time than playing football and as a result, Verne chose wrestling over football. By 1949, Gagne had signed with the NFL's Green Bay Packers . He went on to play three preseason games with the Packers before being released. In 1949, Gagne decided to wrestle professionally, starting his career in Texas. In his debut, he defeated Abe Kashey, with former World Heavyweight boxing Champion Jack Dempsey as

234-654: A few months before Ole retired. Also in 1990, Ole managed the Minnesota Wrecking Crew 2 in NWA while Arn was out injured. This team consisted of Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom . Both members were from Minnesota and wore masks. The two men were the then-current AWA World Tag Team Champions , but were beaten by NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick and Scott Steiner in the NWA. In 2001 in Ohio Valley Wrestling , Brock Lesnar and Shelton Benjamin (once teammates on

273-534: A regular basis. Gagne's booking strategies for the wrestlers themselves continued to follow more traditional themes than those of the WWF, believing as he did that the top stars should be highly gifted technical wrestlers rather than those with just charismatic personalities. Throughout the mid to late 1980s, the AWA would lose the vast majority of its top stars to McMahon, while ratings and live attendance continued to decline. By 1991,

312-637: A result of the death as, because of Gagne's dementia, he lacked the mental capacity necessary to be criminally culpable. Gagne was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (or possibly chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by a lifetime of head injuries) and had been living in the memory-loss section of a Bloomington, Minnesota health care facility. In January 2012 he was living in the home of his daughter Beth and her husband Will. He continued to make public appearances in his last years, aided by his son Greg . On April 27, 2015, Gagne died in Bloomington at

351-571: A shove" and it caused Gutmann to fall.'" Neither man had any recollection of the incident. Gutmann was admitted to the hospital, and died on February 14 from complications of the injury. On February 25, 2009, the older man's death was officially ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office. On March 12, 2009, the Hennepin County Prosecutor's office officially announced that Gagne would not be criminally charged as

390-470: A six-man tag with his son Greg, and Jimmy Snuka defeating Boris Zhukov , John Nord and Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie on June 29, 1986. As AWA head, Gagne was known for putting on an "old school" show. He sought out wrestlers with amateur backgrounds over the larger, more impressive-looking wrestlers who dominated professional wrestling in the 1980s. This led to a problem with his biggest draw, Hulk Hogan , whom Gagne had acquired after Hogan had been let go by

429-554: A sudden heart attack on October 31, 1991, while attending a law enforcement training event in Huntersville, North Carolina . Verne Gagne Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Laverne Clarence " Verne " Gagne ( / ˈ ɡ ɑː n j eɪ / GAHN -yay ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler , football player , wrestling trainer and wrestling promoter . He

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468-789: A wrestling promotion of his own. In 1960, Gagne formed his own promotion, the American Wrestling Alliance (later it became Association). Before this, the Minneapolis territory was under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) umbrella. Setting up to pull away from the NWA, the Minneapolis territory (as it was known), gave a "story-line only" edict to the NWA in May 1960 that unless their NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor defended his title against Verne Gagne with 90 days, Verne Gagne would become recognized World Champion by default. There

507-534: The Dumont Network , where he wowed audiences with his technical prowess. He was rumored to be one of the highest-paid wrestlers during the 1950s, reportedly earning a hundred thousand dollars a year. On June 14, 1957, Edouard Carpentier defeated NWA Champion Lou Thesz in Chicago. The NWA later overruled the decision of the referee in Chicago and gave the title back to Thesz. However, certain wrestling territories of

546-645: The Minneapolis, Minnesota –based American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1961. In 1965, he formed the tag team The Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Lars Anderson , who was billed as his brother . Anderson made his first appearance with the Atlanta , Georgia -based promotion Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) in 1963. In 1967, he and Lars Anderson held the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) on two occasions . The duo also won

585-907: The NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship (renamed the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship in 1973) on six occasions . On January 29, 1975, the duo were crowned the inaugural NWA World Tag Team Champions (Mid-Atlantic version) . They went on to hold the championship on six further occasions . The duo's final reign ended when they forfeited the championship in December 1981 after Anderson sustained an injury. In 1979, Anderson took control of Buddy Rogers' stable of wrestlers, naming it "Anderson's Army". Between 1979 and 1981, Anderson managed wrestlers including The Iron Sheik , Jimmy Snuka , Ray Stevens , The Masked Superstar , and Ivan Koloff . The stable

624-548: The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship on seven occasions between 1974 and 1977. In 1966, Anderson (along with Lars) began regularly wrestling for the Charlotte, North Carolina –based promotion Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW). After Lars relocated to Hawaii in 1969, Anderson reformed the tag team with Ole Anderson , who was also billed as his brother . Between 1970 and 1975, he and Ole Anderson won

663-674: The NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) in April 1967, vacating the championship later that year. Anderson resumed wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) in the mid-1970s, this time with Ole Anderson as his partner. The duo held both the NWA Macon Tag Team Championship and the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) on one occasion in 1974, and

702-719: The University of Minnesota wrestling team) formed the Minnesota Stretching Crew in honor of the Wrecking Crew. More recently, independent women wrestlers Lacey and Rain have used the name Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew in homage to the Andersons' classic tag team. The Canadian sketch comedy troupe The Minnesota Wrecking Crew are also named in honor of the original MWC tag team. Gene Anderson (wrestler) Eugene Avon Anderson (October 4, 1939 – October 31, 1991)

741-559: The World Wide Wrestling Federation and who Gagne also felt was not championship material, due to the fact that Hogan was a power wrestler rather than a technical wrestler. Seeing Hogan as the company's top draw, Gagne did, however, let Hogan feud with Bockwinkel. Eventually, as noted on the 2006 Spectacular Legacy of AWA DVD, Gagne agreed to make Hogan his champion after Hogan's feud with Bockwinkel ran its course in April 1983, but only on condition that Gagne would receive

780-466: The 191-pound class to win his first NCAA championship in Pennsylvania. The next year, he returned to the championships but had moved up a class, to heavyweight. In the final, he met future NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dick Hutton , the two-time defending national champion in the division. The showdown ended in a 1–1 tie, but Gagne was awarded the win because he controlled Hutton for longer periods of

819-622: The Crew with Arn Anderson (his kayfabe nephew) as his partner. They won the NWA National Tag Team Titles and were members of the original Four Horsemen as the Wrecking Crew, reuniting with their kayfabe cousin Flair. They disbanded in 1987 when Ole was kicked out of the Horsemen. Arn and Ole revived the Wrecking Crew in 1990, yet again in alliance with Flair as Horsemen, but it lasted for only

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858-587: The Greco-Roman team would not be competing. Gagne joined the National Football League (NFL) soon after being drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 16th round (145th pick) of the 1947 NFL draft . In 2006's The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA , Verne's son, Greg , said in an interview that Bears owner George Halas prevented his father from pursuing both football and wrestling, and forced him to make

897-701: The Marine Corps. Gagne's football and wrestling career was interrupted by a tour of duty with the United States Marine Corps in 1943. He played on the Marines Football Team with the likes of Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch , Gopher Great George Franck and other NFL Stars. Gagne also served with the U.S. Navy 's Underwater Demolition Team . He chose to return to the University of Minnesota , where, as an amateur wrestler, he captured two NCAA titles. In 1948, he beat Charles Gottfried of Illinois in

936-467: The NWA including Nebraska refused to go along with the decision and continued to recognize Carpentier. Carpentier lost his title to Gagne in Omaha on August 9, 1958, making him the recognized NWA World champion in the NWA territories that had recognized Carpentier, before dropping the belt three months later to Wilbur Snyder . By early 1960, the wealthy Gagne rarely wrestled and turned his focus towards building

975-466: The WWF. McMahon wished to take his promotion "national" and do away with the traditional territorial system that dominated the North American pro wrestling landscape for decades. Unlike most of his contemporaries, by the mid-1980s, Gagne began promoting the AWA beyond the geographical bounds of its traditional territory. In September 1985, ESPN began broadcasting AWA Championship Wrestling , giving

1014-637: The Year " by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1975 and 1977. Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota to Royal Anderson and Pauline Sergeant. He competed in amateur wrestling while attending South Saint Paul Secondary , becoming a state champion. He attended North Dakota State College of Science . Anderson was trained by Verne Gagne , making his debut in 1958. He spent several years wrestling in Calgary, Alberta , Canada for Stampede Wrestling . Anderson joined

1053-459: The age of 14 after his mother died. He attended Robbinsdale High School , where he went on to win the state championship for high school wrestling in 1942 and 1943. In 1943, he was recruited to play football at the University of Minnesota as defensive end and tight end, while also continuing wrestling. As a freshman, Gagne won the Big Ten 175 pound wrestling title in 1944 after returning from duty in

1092-529: The bulk of Hogan's revenues from both merchandise sales and his matches in Japan, which Hogan refused. In late 1983, Hogan accepted an offer from Vincent K. McMahon to return to the WWF. The Iron Sheik , whom Gagne trained, alleged that Gagne bribed him to inflict career-threatening damage on Hogan's knee after it became apparent that Hogan was leaving for the WWF. What followed was an exodus of major stars from various territories and promotions, including Gagne's AWA, to

1131-630: The damage had been done, and the AWA shut down after 30 years. Gagne would eventually end up in bankruptcy court. In April 2006, Gagne was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his son, Greg Gagne . He is one of only seven people to be inducted into the WWE , WCW and Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Nebraska Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. On January 26, 2009, Gagne got into an altercation with Helmut Gutmann,

1170-411: The match. He was also an alternate for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at the 1948 Olympic Games , after losing a closely contested wrestle-off match to the eventual gold medalist Henry Wittenberg . He earned the starting spot for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team for the 1948 Olympics by finishing second in the U.S. freestyle wrestle-offs, but upon arriving to London, the U.S. coaches decided that

1209-411: The promotion national exposure like the WWF. However, the AWA suffered numerous setbacks. ESPN did not treat AWA Championship Wrestling as a priority; the show was sometimes not aired in its regular time slot (occasionally ESPN would change the time slot without advertising the change beforehand), and sometimes it was preempted by live sporting events. This resulted in many fans being unable to tune in on

Minnesota Wrecking Crew (professional wrestling) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-561: The record for the longest combined reign as a world champion in North America and is third (behind Bruno Sammartino and Lou Thesz ) for the longest single world title reign. He is one of only seven men inducted into each of the WWE , WCW and Professional Wrestling halls of fame. Gagne was born in Corcoran, Minnesota , and grew up on a farm in Robbinsdale, Minnesota . He left home at

1287-635: The referee. On November 13, 1950, Gagne captured the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Junior Heavyweight title in a tournament for the vacant championship. In September 1953 in Fred Kohler Enterprises , Gagne was awarded the newly created Chicago version of the NWA United States Championship . Gagne became one of the most well-known stars in wrestling during the golden age of television , thanks to his exposure on

1326-678: Was an 11-time world champion in major professional wrestling promotions , having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship ten times and the IWA World Heavyweight Championship once as the IWA World Heavyweight Championship was considered a world championship in Japan. He has also won top professional wrestling promotions World Heavyweight Championships such as the World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) five times. He holds

1365-675: Was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager . He is best known for being one-half of the tag team the Minnesota Wrecking Crew , first with Lars Anderson , then with Ole Anderson . He was a marquee performer for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from the late-1960s, appearing with promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (ACW). The Minnesota Wrecking Crew were named " Tag Team of

1404-608: Was disbanded when Anderson reformed The Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Ole Anderson. In October 1981, Anderson received a stiff baseball bat blow to the back of his head from Wahoo McDaniel , resulting in a stroke . In 1982, Anderson joined Sir Oliver Humperdink's stable, the House of Humperdink. Humperdink acted as Anderson's manager for the remainder of his time in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW). Anderson wrestled his final match in 1985. Anderson ran

1443-609: Was never any intention of such a match taking place. At the end of the 90 day period, the AWA was formed in August 1960 and it was announced that because NWA champion Pat O'Connor failed to meet Gagne, that the AWA recognized Gagne as the first AWA World Champion . Some of Gagne's biggest feuds were against Gene Kiniski , Dr. Bill Miller (under a mask both as Dr. X and then Mr. M), Fritz Von Erich , Dr. X , The Crusher , Ray Stevens , Mad Dog Vachon , Larry Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel while champion and title changes. He always wrestled as

1482-417: Was on occasion brought back in as part of this team. A young Ric Flair was promoted in the mid 1970s as being the cousin of the Andersons who fell out with them resulting in a family feud over the NWA World Tag Team Championship - with Flair enlisting Greg Valentine as his partner - throughout the late 1970s. When Gene stopped wrestling in 1981 to manage, the team was disbanded. In 1985, Ole reformed

1521-470: Was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis -based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded. As an amateur wrestler, Gagne won two NCAA titles and was an alternate for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at the 1948 Olympic Games before turning professional in 1949. Gagne

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