The wrestler 1974 vs the wrestler 2008 may 12, 2016. Gagne won two ncaa wrestling championships while at the university of minnesota, and was a member of the 1948 olympic wrestling team for the united states. With edward asner, elaine giftos, verne gagne, billy robinson. For more than four decades, verne gagne was a legendary wrestler and promoter in minnesota and was an instrumental figure in the expansion of sportsentertainment in the early 1980s. Jun 16, 2019 this fathers day, take a stroll down memory lane with a 35mm presentation of verne gagnes 1974 independent film, the wrestler and a special appearance by the awa tag team, the high flyers. Vernes championships in the ring has only surpassed his titles on the mat. Jan 26, 2012 in the movie, verne gagne plays an aging wrestler he was 47 in 1974 who feels pressured to retire and give the championship belt to a contender named billy taylor played by gagnes friend and. The wrestler is a 1974 independent film directed by jim westman, produced by professional wrestler verne gagne and w. Courtyard music series begins or see a free movie in. He was one of the best, he was the greatest with a great wrestling background and professional, amateur, and he was excellent. In 1949 or 1950 depending on whom you believe, gagne traded his cleats for wrestling boots, building off his legitimate credentials as an accomplished amateur wrestler gagne and the golden age.
Maintained by opygump contributor 46853406 unknown. Mar 31, 2011 gagne is the daughter of former professional wrestler greg gagne, and granddaughter of famous twin cities wrestler verne gagne. Wrestling legend verne gagne implicated in death of man, 97. Together they have three children, two sons and a daughter.
Famed wrestler gagne linked to death of man, 97 wrestling legend verne gagne, 82, reportedly fought with a 97yearold man who later died. If you buy stuff from amazon using this link, we receive a minor promotional bonus from amazon, not from you. It also has clips of the crusher, the bruiser, verne gagne and many of the famous wrestlers of. Please click this line if you do not care and want to view it anyway. Jan 27, 2010 a scene from the movie, the wrestler 1974 starring ed asner and verne gagne. Verne gagne also stars in the film as mike bullard, the current wrestling champion of his league. In the movie, verne gagne plays an aging wrestler he was 47 in 1974 who feels pressured to retire and give the championship belt to a contender named billy taylor played by gagnes friend and rival billy robinson. Laverne clarence verne gagne february 26, 1926 april 27, 2015 was a former american professional wrestler, football player, pro wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter gagne was the former ownerpromoter of the american wrestling association awa, based in minneapolis, minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout the midwest and manitoba, canada for many years. Verne defeated the veteran abe kashey by disqualification and he was on his way. Verne gagne american professional wrestler britannica.
Although he never quite achieved the status of heavyweight champion like his father, gagne was a twotime american wrestling association awa tagteam champion with partner jumping jim brunzell later. Yes, thats ric flair on the right of billy robinson. The difference from real life is that these two have different names, though bizarrely every other wrestler is still playing themselves. A final goodbye to verne gagne, a true legend april 27, 2015. Gutmann, 97, was a former cancer researcher who came to this country after fleeing. Verne gagne cagematch the internet wrestling database. Wrestling legend accused of bodyslamming nursing home.
Greg gagne july 27, 1948 is an american former professional wrestler and is the son of verne gagne. This movie takes place in a universe where verne gagne is playing an aging wrestling champion who uses a dropkick and sleeperhold. The iron sheik discusses verne gagne audio, matt tremont. Promoter verne gagne poses in minneapolis with the flexing arm of wrestler ken patera in 1972. Jesse the body ventura to stardom, is under police inves. Greg is married to mary graiziger, they were wed on june 3, 1978. Contains some real shooters, billy robinson, dan gable, danny hodge. After a long reign as champion, bullard is getting older and. The movie, 30 years in retrospect, looks more like a cheeky documentary produced in the classic kayfabe style the traditional promotion of wrestling as a sport, cloaked in mystique and tradition. Rip verne gagne the professional wrestling dvdvr message. Apr 28, 2015 my overwhelming memory of verne gagne was an interview he did with wade keller shortly after bruiser brody was murdered. In the movie, verne gagne plays an aging wrestler he was 47 in 1974 who feels pressured to retire and give the championship belt to a contender named billy taylor played by gagne s friend and rival billy robinson. Billy robinson is playing a british wrestler in his prime.
Verne gagne was asked to play in the college allstar game in chicago against the nfl champions the philadelphia eagles. At the university of minnesota, he won four big ten conference wrestling titles, was a twotime ncaa wrestling champion, was an alternate on 1948 olympic team and was an allstar football player. Mat pioneer verne gagne helped shape industry mike. Westerman, elaine giftos, verne gagne, dusty rhodes, ric flair, harold sakata. Gregory alan greg gagne born july 27, 1948 is a retired american professional wrestler. All of that seemed well in the past until just weeks ago. In this scene, ed asner is the local promoter giving a soliloquy defending the sport of pro wrestling to reallife.
On april 1, gagne will take his place among many of sportsentertainments other big names when he is inducted into the wwe hall of fame. Promoter gary stecher is credited with recruiting gagne into wrestling. Frank, starring ed asner as frank bass, a wrestling promoter. Greg gagne ring names greg gagne height 6 ft 1 in 1. Apr 27, 2015 in the mid1960s, james raschke, a young wrestler from omaha, neb. Wrestling talked with two of the movies stars wrestling legend verne gagne and tv icon ed. Authorities say ex wrestling champ verne gagne, 82 and suffering from alzheimers disease, apparently bodyslammed a 97yearold fellow patient at. Backlund has deservedly been named into the wwe hall of fame and the wrestling observer newsletter hall of fame, and you probably still would not want to fall into. You can support the development of the website and database backend via patreon.
Keller asked verne about the murder and verne s response was i think he got exactly what he deserved. The wrestler 1974 verne gagne film the underground. The wrestler is a 1974 english film stars verne gagne, james a. This fathers day, take a stroll down memory lane with a 35mm presentation of verne gagne s 1974 independent film, the wrestler and a special appearance by the awa tag team, the high flyers. Greg gagne indepth on why pro wrestling usa project flopped awa, jcp, gcw, memphis collaboration. In the wrestler, the champion of the league mike bullard verne gagne is getting old and there is pressure to replace him with a younger wrestler. Verne gagne also enjoyed a brief stint playing professional football with the green bay packers. Legendary wrestler verne gagne and a tragic tale minnpost. He also made a brief appearance in the movie highlander during the opening scene at madison square garden. In i960, gagne returned to the twin cities with the newly formed american wrestling association becoming the worlds heavyweight champion. In the movie, verne gagne plays an aging wrestler he was 47 in 1974 who feels pressured to retire and give the championship belt to a contender named billy taylor played by gagne. Expro wrestler vern gagne accused in nursing home death.
An amateur and professional wrestling legend, verne gagne s career covers the entire period of wrestling from the real to fake to entertainment eras. Verne gagne was a man of his word, a great professional wrestler and a worldclass athlete. Gagne rightfully took his place among many of sportsentertainments other big names when he was inducted into the wwe hall of fame in 2006. There are icons of the professional wrestling business and then there are individuals such as verne gagne. In 1973 wrestling promoter verne gagne took some of the best wrestlers in the pro wrestling world and got them to make a movie about pro wrestling. His eldest son, jonpaul verne born october 27, 1980 is known. Verne gagne, laverne clarence gagne, american professional wrestler born feb. Son of the legendary amateur and professional wrestler verne gagne, greg gagne had a fulfilling career himself as a professional wrestler. This text is hidden because it is only available in german language. The wrestler 1974 verne gagne film learned about its existence today. Top 20 wrestlers trained by verne gagne thesportster. In an interview with podnasty, iron sheik gave his thoughts on verne gagne.
The product of verne gagne and eddie sharkey was once the top wrestler in all of the wwe, and he to this day has that companys secondlongest world heavyweight championship reign. Gamblers, mobsters, unscrupulous wrestlers, moneygrubbing promoters, and fixers conspire to corrupt the industry, but frank tries to make the. Scene from the wrestler 1974, produced by and starring verne gagne. Verne gagne returns to screen in the wrestler hackman. Minneapolis during his glory days as a pro wrestler, verne gagne shared the spotlight with other burly men in trunks, guys with names like killer kowalski, mad dog vachon, the crusher and. Read the the wrestler movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on. Expro wrestler accused in nursing home death nbc news. Dinner with ric flair, billy robinson, and verne gagne from. He was the owner and promoter of the minneapolis based american wrestling association awa, the predominant promotion throughout the midwest and manitoba for many years. Gagne was a legend of the industry, a world heavyweight champion on at least 16 occasions and. Gagne was one of televisions first stars as wrestling grabbed the nations attention and imagination in the early 50s. Laverne clarence gagne february 26, 1926 april 27, 2015 was an american professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. Mar 05, 2009 minneapolis during his glory days as a pro wrestler, verne gagne shared the spotlight with other burly men in trunks, guys with names like killer kowalski, mad dog vachon, the crusher and. He also make a brief appearance in the movie highlander during the opening scene at madison square garden.
Funny clip of dusty rhodes and murdoch in the 1974 movie, the wrestler. Wrestling legend verne gagne, who climbed to fame as a likeable giant of the ring and helped launch hulk hogan and former gov. Wwe hall of fame inductions sincere and entertaining. Verne gagne wrestlers database cagematch the internet. A scene from the movie, the wrestler 1974 starring ed asner and verne gagne.
Verne gagne celebrity profile check out the latest verne gagne photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Thought a bunch of people here would be interested. Introduced at the beginning of wrestling matches as the wrestler that made milwaukee famous, crusher was successful as a solo wrestler, winning the awa world heavyweight championship three times, the first time unifying it with the omaha version of the world heavyweight championship on july 9, 1963, in a match where he defeated verne gagne. Promoting the world of professional wrestling at the expense of the plot itself, frank bass ed asner takes a stand and defends what he thinks is right.
Notorious teacher sex scandals 62 photos first published on march 31. For more than four decades, verne gagne was a legendary wrestler and promoter in minnesota, and was an instrumental figure in the expansion of sportsentertainment in the early 1980s. Often won his matches with his trademark sleeper hold. Verne gagne couldnt have entered the ring at a better time as wrestling was enjoying its golden age, largely due to the. The high flyers enjoyed a number of highprofile feuds within the american wrestling association awa with the likes of bobby duncum and blackjack. The wrestler is a 1974 independent film produced by professional wrestler verne gagne and w. Dinner with ric flair, billy robinson, and verne gagne. Learning from verne gagne impacted my whole life in such a positive way, said funk jr. Laverne clarence gagne was born on 26 february 1926, in corcoran, minnesota usa, and was a professional wrestler, wrestling trainer and promoter, best known to have been the owner of the american wrestling association awa being head of the company until it folded in 1991. Verne also had so much integrity around his championship belt that he sold title reigns to baba, otto wantz, and new japan. Greg inducted his father, verne gagne, into the wwe hall of fame on april 1, 2006. Verne gagne born may 10, 1923, on a farm near minneapolis, verne gagne was a great allaround athlete. Verne gagne, 82, is a former wrestling champion who has attained folk legend status in minnesota. The difference from real life is that these two have different names, though bizarrely every other wrestler.
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