odessasteps Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 1926-2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGFanJay Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/42279-verne-gagne-passes-away-at-89 Dave's post is up. I really enjoyed Verne as a commentator and what little in-ring stuff I've seen of him from the AWA stuff on ESPN Classics. It's a shame he had a rough final decade or so, but he did at least get to venture out for one last theatrical showing of The Wrestler before passing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAN Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I watched this last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Conn Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 vs Lou Thesz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac_Fu Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I will risk the banhammer for the following statement: Lou Thesz v. Verne Gagne IS pro wrestling, motherfucker. End of argument, statement, and debate. Raquisat In Pace, Verne. Ya did good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDSONG Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I watched Verne on TV when I first came to Minnesota from California in 1977. a cousin of the Gagnes was a Job Coach for me at Lifeworks for a few years. I am in stunned shock over this. We lost a major legend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Conn Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 vs Nikolai Volkoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 1926-2015 Such a tremendous match. Unfortunately it said more for Lou than it did Verne to me, probably because I've seen very little of either and Lou came across as such a great heel. The near immediate pass-out in the second fall was perfect and all his little cheap shots made you want to slap him. At the same time Verne as fiery underdog was fantastic. My grandfather on one side of the family was a WWII vet of Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal (he was an artillery gunner) and he died suffering from dementia in a vet hospital. I (somewhat) know what the Gagne family went through with Verne ending up the same way and accidentally killing another patient and my deepest regards go out to them. Verne was a crazy, stubborn old bastard but he gave us some of the best wrestling we will ever see. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have Flair, Iron Sheik, Ricky fucking Steamboat... the list goes on. Rest in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstout Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 The guy's influence on The Biz~! is mind-blowing. He had a very direct hand in making both Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan what they are today (in different ways), not to mention countless others. The whole pro wrestling landscape would be vastly different without him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Never really watched a Gagne match but without him the biz wouldn't be the same and I wouldn't have had hours of Bockwinkle to watch so god bless him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Shunna Ver 3.0 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I never saw much of Verne in his prime, and to be honest I never really looked. Thanks for posting all of these matches. I will watch them today. One thing I did see was a lot of Verne's AWA in the 80's. I think it's safe to say he really laid out the blueprint for Hogan, and so many other 80's WWF stars, and that the boom probably wouldn't have happened if he didn't prep so many guys before they jumped. Just thinking about how many guys got their start, or learned their basics, or got polished, or learned how to be a star from Vern is incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stowell Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I know I dont post here, but I wanted to chime in on something. My overwhelming memory of Verne Gagne was an interview he did with Wade Keller shortly after Bruiser Brody was murdered. Keller asked Verne about the murder and Verne's response was "I think he got exactly what he deserved". Verne also had so much integrity around his championship belt that he sold title reigns to Baba, Otto Wantz, and New Japan. Verne also was the innovator of training guys but then trying to hold them up for 10% of their earning for the rest of their careers. There was an incident I remeber hearing about at a Pro Wrestling USA show where he went off of Ricky Steamboat because he hadnt been paying up on his 10% for all the years after Verne had gotten him into the buisness. Finally Verne was an innovator of sticking it to the fans. in 1989 he'd run shows with matches that would end in a draw and then the would "pass the hat" around the crowd to get them to throw in money for the match to continue. I remember hearing about this at a local show here in Pittsburgh with a match of Larry Zybysko vs Rocky King ended in no decision. They did the pass the hat gimmick but got less than $5 so then just went to the back. So, yeah, not a fan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I know I dont post here, but I wanted to chime in on something. My overwhelming memory of Verne Gagne was an interview he did with Wade Keller shortly after Bruiser Brody was murdered. Keller asked Verne about the murder and Verne's response was "I think he got exactly what he deserved". Verne also had so much integrity around his championship belt that he sold title reigns to Baba, Otto Wantz, and New Japan. Verne also was the innovator of training guys but then trying to hold them up for 10% of their earning for the rest of their careers. There was an incident I remeber hearing about at a Pro Wrestling USA show where he went off of Ricky Steamboat because he hadnt been paying up on his 10% for all the years after Verne had gotten him into the buisness. Finally Verne was an innovator of sticking it to the fans. in 1989 he'd run shows with matches that would end in a draw and then the would "pass the hat" around the crowd to get them to throw in money for the match to continue. I remember hearing about this at a local show here in Pittsburgh with a match of Larry Zybysko vs Rocky King ended in no decision. They did the pass the hat gimmick but got less than $5 so then just went to the back. So, yeah, not a fan.... In other words he was a wrestling promoter? Not going to address any of the points, except to say, NO ONE could last that long in the business without being shady(or close to it). He was a human being, and had flaws, but the guy just died, let him RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidNatural Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Unless it's somebody like Hitler or Osama bin Laden, I think that basic humanity requires that people shouldn't speak ill of the dead a day after their passing. RIP Verne Gange 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Verne is the gallant and goofus of pro wrestling. Watching those old matches you get a sense of just how good he was. Until the world changed, he was a hugely successful promoter. It was obvious how important supporting high school wrestling was to him, to give back, at least when it came to the things he cared about. He was a legendary trainer. And then there are the stories of him going nuts because Jannetty and Hennig would padlock everything in sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driver Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Guess the other inhabitants of that nursing home are just relieved that "one more run" isn't going to happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 I know I dont post here, but I wanted to chime in on something. My overwhelming memory of Verne Gagne was an interview he did with Wade Keller shortly after Bruiser Brody was murdered. Keller asked Verne about the murder and Verne's response was "I think he got exactly what he deserved". Verne also had so much integrity around his championship belt that he sold title reigns to Baba, Otto Wantz, and New Japan. Verne also was the innovator of training guys but then trying to hold them up for 10% of their earning for the rest of their careers. There was an incident I remeber hearing about at a Pro Wrestling USA show where he went off of Ricky Steamboat because he hadnt been paying up on his 10% for all the years after Verne had gotten him into the buisness. Finally Verne was an innovator of sticking it to the fans. in 1989 he'd run shows with matches that would end in a draw and then the would "pass the hat" around the crowd to get them to throw in money for the match to continue. I remember hearing about this at a local show here in Pittsburgh with a match of Larry Zybysko vs Rocky King ended in no decision. They did the pass the hat gimmick but got less than $5 so then just went to the back. So, yeah, not a fan.... In other words he was a wrestling promoter? Not going to address any of the points, except to say, NO ONE could last that long in the business without being shady(or close to it). He was a human being, and had flaws, but the guy just died, let him RIP. Yeah, there aren't exactly many promoters known for their moral integrity. Shit, HOW many, and can we name any? There's a few like Vince Sr, Don Owens, Les Thatcher, and Giant Baba who tend to be spoken of better than most; but even those guys have some rather dark negative stories/rumors about them. Suffice to say, I've personally known indy promoters who have done every single thing that Andy complained about (changing a few small details, but basically the same carny bullshit). The "charging a 10% tithe for his trainees' entire careers" and actually expecting to receive it is the only one I'd call even uncommon in da biz, although still not unheard-of. It's a filthy industry, full of fucked-up people (which included myself, while I was in it). Verne was just better known for it because he was a crabby old guy with more enemies than average. Hey, anyone here seen Verne's old movie The Wrestler (not to be confused with Marisa Tomei's erotic showcase with the same title)? I seem to recall seeing a few clips wherein heel Dusty and Dick Murdock were drunkenly tearing apart a bar and it actually looked pretty amusing. Of course, Wrestlecrap's text review made the movie look like a painful disaster to watch, but that is RD Reynolds' job after all so who knows if it's any good or not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 I enjoyed the movie a lot. It's great seeing all the old guys and Robinson is pretty good in it for a wrestler. Verne was good as the bad guy, a selfish old timer clinging to his main event spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 I bought The Wrestler for $5 at my old workplace (a grocery store with a $5 bin, natch) and it was entertaining the one time I watched it, with the bar fight being a highlight because hell, it's the Texas Outlaws fighting I think Odd Job and somebody else in a bar and being that that was what they did for fun at the time, why not. The kayfabe storyline is amusing too knowing what we know now and that even before he went into the retirement home Verne was STILL pulling kayfabe on the WWE's AWA documentary. Now I'm gonna have to dig it out again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Execproducer Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 I have it laying around, but haven't seen it since it was at the drive-in when I was a kid. What I remember is the freeze-frame on the sole of Verne's boot and then the credits roll. Oh hell, should I have spoiler-tagged that shit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 No way in hell Verne hit that fucking dropkick on Billy Taylor, God dammit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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