Greg Gagne - How Vince McMahon Stole Hulk Hogan from AWA
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- čas přidán 12. 02. 2024
- Greg Gagne discusses how Vince McMahon stole Hulk Hogan from his father's company AWA. Stream New Shoot Interviews 📺 TitleMatchNetwork.com
Former AWA star/promoter and WCW agent/WWE trainer Greg Gagne talks about the talent raid of the American Wrestling Alliance.
Back in the 1980s, Vince McMahon purchased the WWF from his father. It was during this time that McMahon would start buying out regional wrestling promotions or signing away their top talent.
Vince would also buy out TV time from different wrestling markets. One of McMahon's biggest targets was the AWA ran by Verne Gagne. Hulk Hogan was the top star of the AWA before Vince signed to an exclusive contract, making him miss his last 6 scheduled AWA dates.
Aside from Hulk Hogan, Vince also signed away Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Mean Gene Okerlund, David Schultz, Ken Patera, Adrian Adonis, Tito Santana, Jim Brunzell and Wendi Richter from the AWA.
Greg describes that it was his father Verne who was ready to tour the country with Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant, years before Wrestlemania 3!
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They kept playing and wouldn't put the belt on him I would have left to.
Remember what Ventura said. Vern was shorting Jesse on his paycheck while the Gagne family was off on a ski trip to Colorado.
Was I the only one who found it strange that Verne was able the short Jesse on the payoff, when Verne was off on vacation?
It sounded to me like Wally Carbo was doing the payoffs and deflecting blame to Verne to make his job easier.
Hogan wasn't under contract...he left for a better opportunity. Nobody "stole him"
If hogan would have stayed in the AWA he would win the title and then Verne would win it back at the spry age of 62 (or what ever age he was then). I I grew up in MN and loved the AWA. the worst thing about the AWA were the Gagnes. Greg weighing in at 210 pounds should have been enhancement talent at best and Verne was hard to watch.
😂😅 True 🤣
Verne looked like hammered dogshit, but I enjoyed The High Flyers as a kid. I think Greg was fine as upper mid card talent. He most certainly could work like a mothereffer and sold his ass off for most of the matches I recall. AWA was great fun as a kid in MN, and we have Verne and Greg to a great extent, to thank for that.
@@PulverizerAI was born in 1986 but I always followed the wrestling business. Crazy that it just happened to be in Minnesota for the first time in my life helping put together an Amazon warehouse in Shakopee when Verne died.
I was there until August. I asked around if there was anything I could go visit that was AWA related but only one person ever knew what I was talking about lol
Verne created AWA. There would have been no AWA without Verne. Your opinion is ridiculous.
My understanding is that Verne left the then WWWF to make himself the center of a midwest promotion built around himself as a World Champion.
Hulk Hogan went on to much greener pastures and became a pop culture icon with Vince.
Ya Think?
Gagne was the owner, booker and 90% of the time was the champion. Oh and also his SON! Neputisim at it's finest. Gee Wally! I wonder why the Beaver left the AWA... They seem real open minded.
The awa, which ESPN classic used to show, was the most BORING wrestling I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching. Truly awful
Nepotism gone wrong.
Fritz Von Erich did the same thing with his kids. Jerry Lawler was the owner of the USWA and brought his son into the territory. It was normal. Back then you'd send your champion and your big stars to other places and had to hope they'd come back. So it needed to be people you could trust.
There is nothing wrong with what you call Nepotism in a family business. Greg went to the training camp with the other guys, and went into the AWA and earned his way up to the tag team ranks. While watching their arena matches, the fans were behind them strongly. As a singles wrestler, he was not as good.
@@MrPotatoesLatkieyou sir are correct. There is nothing wrong with it. Just dont expect NON family members like Hogan to stick around and tolorate it. Which is how baby greg thinks. Fast Forward to today... AWA out of buisness. Lol. So neptism didnt seem to work well, but it was their RIGHT to try!
A wrestling organization with a 50-60+ year old man as its nearly perpetual "champion" - who also happened to own the promotion, whose matches were 30-45 minute hugfests, was something that not even a child could not take seriously.
Hogan should have been allowed to win the AWA world title
It would have happened eventually. I grew up in AWA territory. Hogan was as over as possible, every arena was sold out watching him chase Bockwinkel.
I believe if Hogan was the champ, McMahon would have still taken him and paid him more.
What would that have done? Not a single soul would ever want to live in/work out of freaking Minnesota versus NYC, even for all the money in the world
I think Greg explained what was going to happen and why he couldn't win at that time.
@@emptyhand777I don't think Verne was ever going to give Hogan the title. Years ago the WWE released a DVD called the rise and fall of the of the AWA. On the DVD Verne talks about how he thought Hogan was nothing special and wasn't championship material. Which paints you a picture of how doomed that company was, showing how Verne lacked vision towards the end.
@@Axs_Nice_Hair - if Verne actually believed that he was a fool who doomed his own company.
I was a kid at the time watching the AWA every weekend. Anything to do with Hogan was electric. There really is nothing to compare it to.
Verne screwed Verne, I don’t ever believe the Gagne’s were going to give Hogan part ownership of The AWA
No, being located in freaking Minnesota versus NYC is what “screwed” them
@@marcbasil Hogan never wanted to leave the AWA according to a few friends.
Only if he was going to marry his daughter. It was basically the wrestling Mafia bro. Crazy!
@@marcbasillocation has nothing to do with it. Look where wcw was located in the 90s...Atlanta GA! And they made a slew of money. Verne could brand or market the product properly.
@@marcbasil Even people living in Minnesota preferred watching WWF or NWA in the 80s, to AWA matches.
Verne wouldn't give Hogan the belt so he left. Bad move on the part of Verne. When Hogan left others left as well.
The Stamford shitbag was going to put Verne and everyone else out of business no matter what.
Verne wanted a cut of hogans $ from japan. They also couldn’t agree on merchandise. Had nothing to do with the belt
No, Hogan left because Vince gave him more money, and Hogan saw his vision, and decided to join in, hoping to make more money, and become more popular with the mainstream. Also, New York City was a major media bub. That's a big reason why the WWF got so big. They came from the largest population area.
@@MrPotatoesLatkie you have a good point. I disagree it still had something to do with the belt. Hogan was very popular. Verne wanted an actual wrestler to have it.
@@connorstebbins2396 I did hear something about the merchandise cut. Verne only wanted a person who could actual have it. Hogan at that time was very popular. According to Greg Gagne, Verne was going to give it him but by time Vince offered him the belt.
Hogan chose to leave, How TF you gonna say a grown man was stolen. Hogan only left Vince Sr for AWA bcuz Vince Sr didn't want him to do Rocky 3.
That is the truth about Hogan and Rocky 3. Hogan left AWA for WWF for 1 million reasons plus all the perks that came with it. No way,Verne Gagne was going to challenge it.
A proper title would be "how Verne drove Hulk Hogan away"
You never hear from anybody that stayed and said "Verne and Greg are right." Everybody left, and Greg has the same story. "Oh we had a huge story set for you."
There's always smoke blowing in any business. Before I started my own company, the tech company I was working for promised annual raises and market adjustments, but didn't live up to it in 2021. If we don't believe we're getting treated to the level we feel we're worth at 1 company, it's on us if we don't make a move and get the same result.
he handshake agreed to him a bunch of lies, giving the Hulkster reason enough to jet. The Hulkster had to take care of himself and his lil brother Eddie Boulder. Brother.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest, even if Verne agreed to a deal with Vince McMahon, he wouldn't have paid him in full.
Verne would have been smart enough to demand the money up front. Vince was already known as a bankrupt artist.
Gagne has never told a story the same way twice. The only detail that’s ever the same is that he’s the virtuous tragic hero
Just like Hogan and every other wrestler.
Gagne starts lying. It's never his dad's fault blah, blah.
I love that he implies Hogan vs Andre was Verne’s idea. It had been done at Shea stadium in WWWF already. Besides, Verne kept putting off Hogan as champion. So why wouldn’t he go to a bigger market for more money with the promise of being the top guy. Doesn’t sound “stolen” to me.
Having lived in Wisconsin, I get a bit of a chuckle out of Greg saying Green Bay was a major market town!
At the time it was. So why are the Packers there then?
@@worldclassact1389Milwaukee was the bigger market. Green Bay is only relevant due to the NFL
He was stolen? Or he just went to a bigger promotion to get the push Verne wouldn’t give him and pay him 5-10x more than Verne?
He wasn’t stolen, he went to a better situation! Period!!!
True
McMahon stole the entire AWA roster
Another mark. It's like the rich company poaching away talented workers out of a poorer company. Man wwe fans are delusional bots cause they can't really have brains to just follow the company line like this
McMahon stole the entire AWA roster due to having deeper pockets
But Hogan proved what a ass he is.... could not finish his nights before leaving...it's not stolen, it's jumping ship. And not being a man enough to fulfill his part
It was Andre who encouraged Hogan to f#ck over the AWA while they were in Japan to sign with Vince Jr.
I think it was a pretty easy decision for Hulk way more money, he gets the belt and I think he could see Vince's international vision.
@@rudistorm3348 The clown show with the AWA belt and the crowd really fired up for Hulk to win the title should have been it right there. Verne didn’t want pro wrestling to remain in the 1970s…he want to go back to the 1950s.
Ridiculous. Hogans didn’t screw anyone. He sent them his resignation - brief as it was. They chose not to believe it. Meanwhile they didn’t tell Hogan about any of their alleged big plans. Besides Greg’s constant lying, there’s a reason why guys like Andre, hulk, Ventura - even a guy as nice as Bill Eadie didn’t respect the Gagne’s antics.
@@datacipher The whole calling his dad “Verne” during interviews also comes off weird to me.
@@jrupp8853 that is weird - never even thought about it. To busy laughing at his stories… like Hogan literally crying and Greg saying: what’s wrong big man? And hogan saying I’ll never make it in the business… but Greg cheered him up and told him they’d teach him and help him! lol… that was supposed to be hogan after rocky 3, after wwf, Japan, and awa stints… headlining with Andre in shea stadium…. Then later, Greg taught him to rip his shirt off…. 😂😂😂😂
From all accounts ive heard, Greg and Verne are delusional and they tried to scam Hogan out of money they were not entitled to. Its 100% their fault he left but they cant accept responsibility. Thats just what I heard.
"heard" , pure conjecture. hogan was making damn good money, Stamford shitshow was going to put every out of business, by hook or crook.
@@stealthbomber2127 heard from people who would know. Yes. Verne was sleezy
Bockwinkel begged Verne to put the belt on Hogan. Vern would not.
You can't blame Hogan for choosing Vince. Better money. Legendary title runs. World wide exposure. Hulk Hogan became an international superstar. He became a multimillionaire with his own cartoons, action figures, t-shirts, video games, starring movies roles, and TV shows. He wouldn't have gotten all that under Verne. Verne was booking his talentless son to win tag team titles and have heavyweight title matches. Greg is just mad because he knows that he is not worthy of lacing up Hogan's boots.
That isn’t why he wouldn’t have succeeded with gagne. Are you aware of where the AWA was located in relation to where the freaking WWF was located…? LOL
@marcbasil Lol. Your question makes zero sense. Nothing in my post was false. Hogan made the right choice. I don't really understand your stupid and condescending question. I never said why he wouldn't have succeeded with Gagne. I never even said he wouldn't have succeeded with Gagne. Let me repeat my statement because it obviously went over your pea brain. I said he wouldn't have had the same international success, movies, and merchandise with Gagne. Gagne ran a territory. Vince went national and then global. And yes, I did criticize Verne Gagne for booking his lame and boring son as a tag champion and heavyweight title contender. I criticize Nick Gulas for booking his talentless and boring son George Gulas too.
One was in Minneapolis; the other was in Stanford....and this was the mid-1980's... use critical thinking skills bro. Your comment makes no sense.@@marcbasil
@@Ryan-qr6iu this has to be sarcasm/irony…right..? Right??? 😂🤣
@marcbasil No. He was right. Your comment makes zero sense. It is also sarcastic and condescending. I never said Hogan would not have succeeded with Gagne. I said he wouldn't have gotten as much money, the international exposure, action figures, video games, movie roles, TV shows, and all that with Gagne. Gagne ran a territory. Vince went national and then global. Hogan made the right choice. Then I criticized Verne booking his talentless and boring son. Both of my points were valid. Your question makes no sense.
Hogan has said in interviews that Verne kept promising him that he was going to make Hogan the AWA World Champion. Verne kept Nick Bockwinkel as his World Champion. Here you have Hogan as the biggest name in the wrestling world after his appearance in Rocky 3 and Verne didn’t take advantage of it. He was old school and didn’t see the future. If Vince was asking Verne to sell him the AWA that should have been enough for him to know that Vince wanted Hogan because Hogan was the guy that would make the WWF the biggest player in the game. Verne had the future of wrestling in the palm of his hand and wasn’t smart enough to know that would make the AWA the top promotion. Vince ended up getting Mean Gene, Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura and other guys from the AWA in the process. He ended up taking over all the territories, but wasn’t exactly able to steal the NWA’s main territories away. That’s why the NWA ended up becoming the WWF’s main competitor for years. Vince kept getting AWA talent for years before the AWA couldn’t compete anymore. The 3 main companies in wrestling had all worked together for years before Vince Sr. sold the World Wide Wrestling Federation to his son. They all traded talent and all got along. Making Andre the Champion in any territory wasn’t needed. Andre was more of an attraction vs world champion of any of wrestling companies. All the companies shared Andre. They basically said to each other that they needed him for a certain amount of shows and he would go to the next company for a certain mount of shows. It was a way for Andre to make each company money. The shows he wrestled for each company were pretty much going to be sold out. Vince Sr told Vince Jr if he had known what his son was planning on doing that he would have never sold him the company. He even warned him that he’d be lucky if he didn’t end up dead.
I bet Greg could pass a lie detector test telling these tall tales. In the words of the great George Costanza “ it’s not a lie if you believe it” 😂😂😂
Lol...Hogan told him to say these lies I bet.
@@jolly7041 That's one thing Hogan taught Greg.
So much like Rocky V. Like Tommy Gunn, Hulk didn't sign a written contract, just a handshake. Like George Washington Duke, Vince McMahon promised Hulk the title shot and left.
Greg Gagne is one of the best interviews I've seen of all the wrestling interviews. He speaks coherently and comes across well.
Greg would fail many lie detector tests.
@@gloriaanderson7479 All I know is he tells better stories than most. I think Greg Gagne could sit in on any corporate meeting in America and fit in!
@@moonbeamskies3346 Yes, Greg would be a huge hit in the Corporate world.
@@gloriaanderson7479 which sort of proves your point :D
They should've made Hogan the AWA world champion and he probably would've stayed...on 2 occasions Hogan beat Nick Bockwinkle for the belt and both times they found some technicality to give the belt back to Bockwinkle....
JFC why the hell would you be in MN if NY wants you
The San Francisco show was not Sold Out at The Cow Palace on December 26th, there was only about 4,000 people there that night, I was one of them.
4138.
This is when a contract with Hogan would have been a very good idea. Promise him a guaranteed figure, get him a big advance, and lock him up for a few years. The whole carny handshake deal thing was convenient for the big promoters because it allowed them to do what they wanted with the wrestlers and to cut them loose if they weren't drawing. All fine but your biggest star maybe should have been under contract. Vince might not have been able to get Hogan then. I don't know if the NWA Champ was under contract either but there was a general feeling that something bad would happen to an NWA champ that just abdicated the throne with the belt. Of course, Flair did that in 91 but that was a different time by then.
Couldn't match what he could make in NY
Hulk did what was best for his family. Verne did screw over bunch of folks
I heard it was Greg Gagne’s idea to put David in a program with Goliath.
Absolutely shocking that Rob Feinstein cuts him off at 3 minutes, just let the man talk and finish the story! 😤
5:15 - Greg stated that Vince came in Spring of 1982 then again in August. He brought up that AWA had television in Canada on TSN (The Sports Network). TSN wasn't founded until September 1984.
Pretty sure it was 1983 when Vince approached Verne about a buyout. When Verne didn't agree, Vince focused on obtaining Hogan.
Gagnes timeline is way off, or he's thinking of something years later.
TSN went to air in September 84, but think awa didn't get on TSN until September of 85.
By that time, the Winnipeg market was on it's last days. I'd say putting the awa on TSN didn't help either.
Awa lost control of the Winnipeg arena,and the WWF could now book shows.
AWA went from the arena and being shown on local CKND as Major League Wrestling, to being booked in a church basement and now shown National as awa all star wrestling on a subscription channel. They were doomed in Canada.
WWF came along on free TV in the AWA timeslot in Winnipeg, watch the WWF to catch all your AWA stars 😂
Personally it sucked, going out with your friends and their dads to watch AWA live every month. To really never seeing them anymore cause the WWF really never came around except maybe once or twice a year.
Vince killed friendships 😅
I have known Greg for many years. And one thing I can say, with the utmost confidence, he's not a liar.
Then he's just an idiot, either way, he's not telling the truth
Hulk would have been a lot harder to "steal" if he'd been treated properly where he was.
No lol. NYC >>>>>>
Baloney. Madison Square Garden was the mecca then and almost any wrestler would go there if guaranteed the belt. In fact, it would have been way worse if Hogan would have left with the AWA belt.
Well maybe if Verne would've told Hogan ahead of time, he wouldn't have lost him to Vince and the WWF. Because it was the promise of winning the title that drew him away from the AWA and to the WWF. Bad business strategy. Gotta let your employees know what your plans are. If you leave them in the dark and another company promises to give them what they want up front, then you get a situation like this, where you lose them to another company and eventually go out of business.
It's not theft when you're refusing to pay for the merchandise.
Not true
Watch hulk hogan documentary where he says after Vince Sr kicked him out of wwe he did rocky 3 and then went to work for Verne Gagne and left there because it was not a situation that hogan wanted to be in
After he sent out his resume to everyone with all of his recent work Vince called and wanted him back
The Gagne family doesn't have a very good track record of telling the truth about there time in wresting
Sent a resume. JFC
Verne could have been huge if he saw syndication was the future but was one of the old school where you didn’t cross into other territories. Therefore, unless Greg or someone ruthless like Vince took AWA to the next level, they were doomed. Vince took all of AWA’s best (Hogan, Mean Gene, Jesse, Bobby Heenan) and it was pretty much lights out after that.
Verne was old school and wanted his World Champion to have a wrestling background. He teased giving the title to Hogan but he never did. Vince took advantage by promising Hogan a lot of money, the WWF World Title, and being the face of the promotion which he planned to go national.
I met Greg once test driving a Land Rover at the dealership in minneapolis. I didnt buy the car but it was a awesome test drive talking wrestling.
Greg was like floor it around this turn to feel the way this thing new land rover handles!
Greg Gagne lives in an alternate universe. Terry Bollea wasn't "stolen" because he was never OWNED by anyone or under CONTRACT to anyone!
I think Greg as pretty plain that all he expected was for Hogan to fulfill his 6 contracted dates and there would be no hard feelings. That's pretty much how pro wrestling worked in those days. McMahon, Jr knew that the AWA promoted Hogan heavy for that holiday season run, and having Hogan no-show would hurt the territory immensely. I don't think Greg was in any "alternate universe" here.
@@Xontar02come on, hogan sent fair notice by telegram.... Acceptable practise then and now... No hogan's fault Verne ignored it.
@@Xontar02the universe you are in has the owner also work as the booker.... And also makes himself the head guy... Champion. Then has Hogan lose to him. Lol. Gee, why Hogan would no show 6 shows is beyond me. This universe seems pretty one-sided for the gagne family.
@@Hester_Productions Many promoters in the territory days booked themselves or family members as champs. The Funks in Amarillo. The Sheik in Detroit. Lawler (who owned 1/2 the promotion) in Memphis. The Fullers in Alabama. Plus, Gagne never beat Hogan. Nick Bockwinkel did. You really don't understand the territory days. Hogan would.ve left for New York regardless of what happened in the AWA.
@@Xontar02and how many of those territorys are bigger than wwe? It has nothing to do with what " Everyone" was doing in those days. It has to do with "times were changing, and getting on the right train"... Do you really believe 6 more shows with Hogan would have saved AWA? If so, you are a fool. You sir don't understand how winners think!
In the end, almost everyone (managers, wrestlers, announcers) left AWA for WWF, and not just Hogan. You can guess some of the reasons why.
Better offers. That's how McMahon Jr. Was able to grab the top talent from around the country. If you are the top guy, and Vince offers you more than what you are making it's tough to say no.
This is great insight into the entire thing I bet there is some truth here
Hogan is the reason why I love wrestling but at the same time I believe Greg Gagne!!
Hulk going to the WWF changed everything
Made everyone jealous unless was Ric Flair
@@tonyslicer7399 oh flair was jealous too. Especially when he found out how much money he could have made in the wwf in the 80s.
This is a shoot video in which the person gets paid to make up things or greatly embellish real life events. Greg Gagne has already taken credit for all of Bischoff’s ideas that worked in WCW like the NWO and signing Hogan. Hogan didn’t trust the Gagne family after his time in the AWA. Hogan was smart enough to realize WWF was where the money and real success were at. Greg seems like a smart enough guy about pro wrestling but he’s very prone to telling whoppers.
Especially when he adds in things like they would give Hogan a piece of the business. There was no chance Verne would’ve entertained that.
I dont necc. blame Vince on this one. Behind the scenes, you already know that the fact there were no contracts involved with wrestlers (Greg's words), any owner should be able to gauge what their employees are planning to do. Hulk and Andre, by accounts were working behind the scenes to leave AWA, and that AWA was not coming thru those promises of titles etc. for Hulk.
No one would ever want to willingly live in or work out of Minnesota
@@marcbasil With the current situation in the Twin Cities and their shithole status, there is merit to your statement.
That thumbnail pic looks like Hulk Hogan with Danny DeVito.
In a better parallel universe, Hulk stayed with the AWA and they became the dominant promotion in North America...
I'd tell the Gagnes to kiss my a**, if they would have paid them more everyone would have stayed. It's called Business, not Friends. Anyone who pays me more money is the one I show temporary loyalty to.
Stole? Verne Gagne ran his own promotion, and spent most of the time putting himself over in the early days. By the time he neared retirement, he passed the torch to a 41 year old Nick Bockwinkel. During his AWA run, Hogan challenged plenty of times for the title, and was extremely over; on one occasion he was declared the champ but the decision was reversed for throwing Bockwinkel over the top rope. The buildup was there, and Hogan was over AF. If AWA was serious about making Hogan a champ, there was ample opportunity, but they never did anything about it. Putting myself in Hogan's shoes, I don't think it would have been a hard sell if the largest company came knocking. I know they spent a lot of time pushing Curt Hennig near the end, but it was too little too late by then. WWE's risk to challenge the territory model had already paid off, and was the only real game in town for the top stars who hadn't yet signed.
I can't wait for Vince McMahon movie i wanna see how that meeting went down between vince verne greg
Very poor communication with its top talent contributed to the AWA's demise. Vince, on the other hand, was a master communicator and marketer. The AWA blew it and they weren't the only ones.
Vince won--everything--but fans lost. The product today is horrible.
That may be the most idiotic thing
@@chrischar9428 No, he is correct.
@@ImYourHuckleberry205 dazzle me with your knowledge of this BS concept
@@chrischar9428 Your first answer was very vague, I do not continue dialogue with morons.
@@ImYourHuckleberry205 yet here you are asso de wipo
Vince McMahon:
the man who ruined pro wrestling
I agree. Verne was one of my favorites. I like the shooters.
He didn't ruin it, he helped though. All of those crooked a#$ promoters in the NWA played a big part in offing themselves and taking out wrestling. McMahon just gets all of the credit.
@@twomorningsbackfromyesterd1240 Most of those promoters were crooked, but they did not turn wrestling into a cartoon shitshow.
@@stealthbomber2127 I won't argue with that.
They did have a hand, a prominent hand in the dissolution of the NWA though. They at times gave McMahon whatever he needed to run them out of existence. They were treating it as a " bidness" when McMahon was running everything like a "business". They gave themselves to his sorry a$$.
Your old man wanted money from what he was making off of merchandise and from his time in Japan and lied to him countless times about putting the strap on him. So I don't blame him for leaving. Verne himself is what put was under
On top of the many things stolen from Greg, he invented the excuse. He’s also not credited with creating the term, “your truth.” His truth is fascinating when compared to the actual truth. It’s fantasy. It’s always well thought out and makes him sound like a freaking genius. Has anyone ever recorded this guy admitting he made a mistake, or been critical of himself? I have yet to see a video of that. He points out everyone else’s mistakes, but does he recognize his own? Is it possible for someone to be the perpetual victim?
Greg Gagne was fortunate to be born into the Gagne family, which owned the AWA and sucked up most of the profits for itself. Greg hasn't had to work a day in his life because he used the Gagne name to have a "wrestling" career and now a car dealership. Nice "work" if you can get it. It makes total sense that he's a spoiled brat.
Verne was cheap and refused to put the belt on Hogan. That was the beginning of the end for AWA.
Greg claims Vince met with them in the spring of ‘82 then later claims AWA was on TSN in Canada but TSN didn’t exist until late 1984.
Cars, stereos, and other personal property can be stolen. Independent contractors who perform in the wrestling industry CANNOT be "stolen." Hogan merely saw jumping to the WWF as the better opportunity. It was a smart decision made by an autonomous human being who was not the property of Verne Gagne and the AWA, and we all know it.
Problem is it’s Greg fn Gagne telling the story so u know anything that was said was complete and utter bullshlt…how do u know Greg Gagne is lying? His lips r moving….
As long as I'm bashing this great ,delusional wrestling dynasty, I'd like to point out that the apple didn't have far to fall. Greg's daddy bowed up to the Road Warriors and Bill Watts. In both situations Gagne acted like he wanted to fight....only to chump down when reality set in.
The story I always heard was that Verne wanted a portion of Hogan’s merchandise money (Hogan paid for his own merch) and part of the money Hogan made on Japanese tours in order to put the title on Hogan. When Hogan wouldn’t agree to it the writing was pretty much in the wall.
From what I have read and seen, long story short: They never were going to make Hogan Champion because he wasn't a "wrestler". Oh and Hogan has issues with merch money but Hogan was never going to be the top guy there. Even if Hogan became champ, Vince would steal him.
greg is lying through his teeth about the money over t shirts and verne wanted a share of his japan money
Hulk Hogan was smart for going the better deal!! Vern Gagne was not paying his talent much!!
I’m sure Greg is just trying to protect his father’s legacy, but I ABSOLUTELY believe the Iron Sheik story regarding Hogan.
Seriously, why wouldn’t Verne do something like that? Especially since it was not too long after Hogan left? Stuff like that happened in the 70s and 80s. Why wouldn’t Verne do something like that?
So, I’m sorry Greg, but I’m sticking with Sheik on this one.
Why would you pay $10,000 back in 198? to have Sheik break a leg, when that wouldn't even solve your problem? For $10k, you could have VKM whacked and everyone's problem would be solved. There's no logic to the story. Sheik changed his story over the years too. Verne and all the rest of the promoters were going to pay in 1 interview, just Verne in others. Sheik told a whopper of a story and got a nice long run out of it. That's all.
Ya..of course Greg would deny that Verne would pay the Sheik money to break Hogans legs..that's his father..they would cover each other's ass to lie.
@@PulverizerA why would he? Here’s a better question: why wouldn’t he? Verne had a reputation to protect with the other promoters in the territories. Graham, Von Erich, Barnett, Watts, Boesch, all of them. If he didn’t do anything, he’d lose all respect from them. And that’s what wrestling was all about back in the territory days.
Also, like Vince, Verne was just as big an egomaniac. You think he’s just gonna let it go that his top star walked out on him? Of course he’d do that. I absolutely believe Verne would pay that kind of money JUST to get payback on somebody who fucked him.
@@masonclark4770 I'm not sure who would win the contest: You, or Maxine Waters...
Why wouldn't he? A) It's criminal. B) It doesn't accomplish anything. C) $10,000 is STUPID money for a broken leg. D) It potentially trashes your reputation, causing talent you may want to come in, to avoid your territory. E)There's no reason to be that upset. Verne was still doing great business. All that anyone was upset about was not giving notice. They all knew that talent goes where they make more money.
Did Verne put a hit out on Stan Hansen when he refused to do a job, bailed to Japan with the belt and then only sent the belt back (trashed) when threatened with legal action?
No. Guess what. He didn't try to hire anyone to break anyone's leg either. It's not that big of a deal. And he still had the respect of every other promoter out there. He was far too successful, for far too long, to not be granted that. Even Vince put him in his HOF. He knew the talent he produced, the operation he hustled to put together and the years of success the man achieved.
Honestly, I think you'd beat ole Auntie Maxine...
@@PulverizerA
Relax Greg, you know Shieky was telling the truth, no reason to lie, and we know Verne was a vindictive old pr!ck. Just admit it.
Away had some great talent but what happened with awa I don't know
I can't stand Hogan. However Verne Gagne kept screwing him around with the title. Where Poopie McMahon offered him the Golden Showe.. Oops Ticket. Sorry.
Had Hogan stayed with AWA there never would have been Hulkamania and Vince would never been a position to buy out everybody.
Vince was scum but JR was right. The promoters put the promoters out of business not Vince. Verne was a perfect example. 1982 and 83 AWA business was on fire WWF, Crockett, mid South were all down. But Verne just couldnt bring himself to put the title on a guy who couldnt wrestle. Even worse he Dusty finished the fans numerous times into believing Hogan had won. By March of 84 it was over. AWA was a coffin on skates
Hogan did what was best for him , he left the wwf to go do the rocky movie then he left the awa to back to the wwf and became the biggest wrestler in life , even went to wcw and took it to the next level again with the nwo .
this dude is a national treasure. He invented Hulkamania, Wrestlemania, Starcade, The NWO, The 4 Horsemen and the internet at least according to him
My favorite part about this is if we didn't know what really happened and we only went by the stories this guy told, we would totally believe them because they are so well-crafted. This level of delusion is out of this world and I and I'm here for it 😂
He invented wrestling😢
And XPac was there for all of them.
Greg will be the next president in 2024.
He did not get Hogan to turnereric. Bishop specifically said the reason hogan almost didn't come was because of greg gagne... He never really wanted to do business with him ever again or his dad. He also said he created the n w o which is bullshit
It’s less of Vince stealing Hogan and more of Verne losing Hogan by not pushing him like he should have.
Hulkamania was running wild in the AWA and Verne pushed him like he was Razor Ramon. A solid push, but not the top guy.
Lolno. It was one promotion being located in freaking Minnesota 🤮, and the other being centralized in NYC. That’s it, end of story
@@marcbasil I don't think you're aware of what AWA actually was or the TV the had.
@@marcbasilThe AWA was doing very well. They had television in markets across the country and Canada and the talent was paid well. But then Vince Jr took over, had more markets and paid better. It was the money and better exposure. The location was secondary.
@@Axs_Nice_Hair I genuinely thought this was a serious comment & that your parents might be related, up until the final sentence LMAO. You had me going there for a moment! Kudos 🤦🏻♂️😂
Hogan chose the NBA over the g league. Can't blame him there. Awa at that time was a shell of it self. Hogan didn't owe them nothing.
Well u know how Vince's buyout would have been. Like the other territories- Vince will give you some now and promise to pay the rest later but the final payments don't happen..he may have later said - hey Verne I will give you or Greg an on tv job....for a while
Verne mismanaged Hogan. He made it easy for Hogan to go to Vince. Multiple sources backup the fact that Hogan back in those days could book himself anywhere, because he was the biggest wrestling attraction in the world. One of those places was Japan, where he made HUGE money. Verne wanted to put the title on him, then claim he was entitled to a percentage of Hogan's Japan earnings, even though Verne had zero to do with him being booked there. Hogan said that he could keep the title. Which is why Hogan had those huge matches with Bockwinkel, and never won the title. THEN Verne was making all kinds of merch with wrestlers on it, and the wrestlers never saw a dime of the proceeds. Hogan also thought that was bullshit. So he went with Vince, because while Vince couldn't promise him guaranteed money, he could promise him an outlet to properly continue to build his brand. It's because of Hogan that wrestlers get paid the money they get paid on merch today. He ushered all that in. Basically Verne was an old timey promoter that loved to make a lot of money at the expense of his wrestlers, and Hogan wasn't just a big dumb wrestler. He was savvy, shrewd, and knew how to make money with his brand. Most importantly, he knew his value, and that he had all of the leverage with the AWA situation. Verne wasn't ready for that, and didn't know how to deal with that.
I'm curious what Verne's asking price for the AWA was.
Asked for 3 million when Jarrett wanted to purchase it in the fall of 1987. I thought Vince offered 2 million back in 1983.
Also interesting that Verne actually made Vince and offer to begin with. In 1983 before the national expansion I wouldn’t have thought they’d want to sell.
@@mr.perksyVerne had no interest in selling in 1983 as far as I know. The AWA was rolling in cash under the Hogan umbrella.
Two things can be true. Verne was being a hard-ass with the negotiations and he badly miscalculated when it came to Hogan's strong position, as, even then, the top box office attraction in American wrestling, to get a great deal. Greg blows it off but considering things others have said about Verne, him demanding a chunk of Hogan's merch money or Japan money doesn't seem too far fetched. He was taking a 10% "booking fee" from numerous wrestlers he trained no matter where they worked, and it was meant to last for their entire careers. That's...just being an asshole, tbh. He did like having his hand's in people's pockets.
At the same time, Hogan could have left like a man, with some honor. He had a handshake deal and if you have class, that should be enough. He could have made those towns, and he should have. No-showing screwed over fans who had paid to see him, screwed the AWA's return business in those places because they were now a promotion who couldn't deliver what they advertised, and screwed over the boys working on those cards who were just trying to earn a living, many of whom had sacrificed themselves to help make him a star. He could have left like a man, and he didn't.
So yeah, there are two assholes in this story.
On another note I know many from that era are pissed that Vince "destroyed" the territories. People need to realize if Vince didn't do it, someone else would. Times were evolving.
The handshake deal is such B.S. it completely favors the company. For example if Verne would of sold to Vince how would if have honored all those hand shake deals with 100s of wrestlers still working for him.
Sure, Greg. You were going to give him the title and part of the business. Never would've happened. He keeps trying to convince people of this, when everyone knows that they let the golden goose get away. 😅
He sounds like the car salesman after you call to explain that you got a better deal on the same car elsewhere and, therefore, are all set with them.
"Fine, but just so you know, we could've worked out a lower price than that"
Yeah, exactly, you could've. That's the problem.
Verne Gagne killed the AWA. NOBODY wanted to see an 80 year old man as champion again and again.
The AWA might have been headquartered out of Minnesota but they were broadcast on ESPN.
You can only do a Dusty finish so many times before fans get sick of it and don't watch anymore.
Giving Greg a push also angered the few fans they had left.
No offense to Nick Bockwinkle who was one of the best promo guys (and shockingly an okay rapper)
of all time but almost all of his matches were too long and consisted mostly of rest holds.
Greg is the second biggest mark behind only Bret.
that's too close to call, photo finish
@@TheTruth-on5zx Nobody is in the Hitman's league!
Mike Graham says hello
@@emperorburton Exactly!
@@gloriaanderson7479 except for most outside of Canada and the NE United States.
If hogan stayed in awa Vince would still have taken over the territories and gotten hogan anyway
This was the first time Verne heard, that doesn't work for me brother
I like Greg Gagne and I don't think Verne was that bad to work. AWA wrestlers didn't have to travel much so they could be home with their families and still make good money. I think they also had off 2x per week for the most part.
Idk this dude but I watched the interview and he seems very convincing.
The best conmen always do.
He lies all the time. Only one who lies more is Bruce Pritchard
AWA is a story of what could've been , think they had Hogan , The Brain , Jesse The Body , DR.D , Mean Gean basically every day who built up the WWF , So what would've happen if he had put the belt on Hogan and feed him bad guys to beat would we be watching AWA on mondays
Greg's dad killed another elderly man in a nursing home. What is the chance it was over Gagne skimming meds?
I believe Verne body slammed the 97 year old man and then applied the Gagne sleeper. Guy had no chance of living!
To be fair to Verne, he had Alzheimers disease and didn't know what he was doing. It's sad what that disease does to people.
All the AWA needed to do was QUIT screwing Hulk Hogan over with the Title. If you would have had Hogan as champion. You would have stayed in business.
Listening to this guy and listening to Hogan....If I had to guess, we are NO WHERE NEAR hearing a fraction of the actual TRUTH.
Whats really something is David Von Erich died about a month after Hogan won the belt. Not that has anything to do with anything.
A handshake can be a contract. A contract can arise constructively. Courts are not inclined in acknowledging this. Is it reasonable to assume that Hogan was advertised for five or six nights on the understanding that Hogan would appear only if he felt like it? Of course not.
You gotta know when to fold em
after 1000 years he still remember lol
Didn’t Verne want a piece of Hogan’s Japan money? I always understood that was a big reason for Hogan leaving….
I think that's BS
He wanted half of his money from Japan. He took 100 percent of merchandise from hogan. You can't blame hogan for going with Vince. Vince didn't steal him. Hogan would have left in time no matter what.
Imagine those two months had gone to original plan.