Bockwinkel was Verne's guy, his champ. The promotion centered around him, son Greg and pretty much Verne himself. Promised Hogan the world, but never came through which was absolutely deranged. He wanted in-ring, mat experienced technicians with wet noodle personalities, not charismatic, larger than life personalities which would sell-out any arena and send TV ratings through the roof. Verne thought the 80's was the 50's.
That last line of yours hit the spot, IMO. Even Vince Sr. appears to have been oblivious to what was required in the 1980s and didn't want to do anything with Hogan after he appeared in Rocky III. Nevertheless, Verne takes the cake. Everything I have heard about that guy does not paint him in a good picture.
I also heard that Verne would take money from the Wrestlers earnings and use it for his own vacation each year and that really pissed a lot of Wrestlers off.
Verne gagne fucked up big time. Didnt want hulk to have the title. But vince was so smart put the belt on Hogan n hulkamania ran wild vince is a damn smart guy
That's not a hard decision. Doesn't take a genius. I think there is more to this story. I mean where is the mafia and illuminati in all of this? I know nothing gets to the big time without those two things intervening
Vince was a smart guy, but he never considered that Hogan was aging and it was time to build up new stars. After WrestleMania VI in 1990, that should have been the time to build up a new star. Ultimate Warrior had the look and the charisma, but his ego was off the chart and he could not cut a decent promo. That was why his title run failed, forcing him to drop the title to Sgt. Slaughter. 1990 was the beginning of the end of Hulkamania. Hogan left the WWE before he turned 40. Vince relied way too much on Hulk Hogan in the 1980s.
Had Verne put the title on Hulk and treated his wrestlers better, AWA would have stuck around a lot longer and maybe longer than the WWE. Rumor has it that CBS offered to host a show on sunday night that would feature Hulk against Bockwinkle where Hulk would win the title. That would have put AWA on the map as the biggest wrestling promotion, but Verne turned it down. Had Hulk stayed with the title, Jesse, Mean Gene and many others would have stayed as well.
I honestly don’t think so. While other promoters were still doing the same thing in wrestling Vince had a bigger vision. Vince mixed more main stream culture into his wrestling program. They had musicians popular sports athletes famous actors all intertwined into his show. They even a cartoon. Hulk was his final piece to bring it all together. Verne would of never beaten Vince
@@bigdaddyhd76 I think you’re partly wrong on this one. All these things that took WWF into the mainstream came after Hulk Hogan arrived. Terry and Vince probably shared that vision and it took of. Hulk was a mainstream star before coming back to WWF under Vince JR.
@@bigdaddyhd76 I don't think Verne would have beaten out WWE, but I think AWA would have stuck around a lot longer had they put the belt on Hulk especially if Hulk would have picked up the belt on CBS. That could have been the turning point to get the AWA into the mainstream. Eventually, Vince would have won the war, but it would have been a tight race I think. Also, Vince have had to put the belt on someone and that someone would have had to have enough charisma to pull it off. SGT Slaughter might have been a good pick as he was pretty popular at the time. Or, Vince maybe would have gone after one of the Von Erics. Rumor has it that Vince had his eye on Kerry Von Eric from 83-84 so who knows maybe that was his back up plan.
@@JoeG2324Kerry Von Erich R.I.P. had a great look and natural charisma, but couldn't talk well. Slaughter was missing the look. Hogan was the perfect guy for this bc he had the all-around that Vin Man was looking for. AWA doing right by Hogan would've definitely changed things. For sure.
Verne’s business model was flawed like all the bosses of his era who wrestled because it centered around him imo. Even if he managed to hang on to Hogan, Hogan would have had to have taken control which Verne wouldn’t allow. He chose to be a gangster. Fred Kohler tried to muscle Verne and Verne ran him out of wrestling. Twenty years later, Vince pulled the same move on Verne
@@TheHannibalTV I have heard that Verne wanted the bigger percentage of Hulk's Japanese revenue and plus not giving him any percentage on his merchandise.
@@TheHannibalTVhe tried to rob Hogan. Hogan had to say no to Verne R.I.P., goofy Greg and the AWA. The AWA basically created "That doesn't work for me, Brother."
Verne R.I.P. beat Verne bc he didn't change w/ the times. Losing Hogan in 83 & then The LOD in 86 aren't moves you just bounce back from unfortunately.
@@MrPotatoesLatkieHogan is the guy Vin Man used to change the Pro-Wrestling game. And Hogan did exactly what he was supposed to do, ran with the ball. Hogan wasn't the best in-ring worker, he didn't need to be
@@bigdaddyroy5382part of the deal of Hogan being AWA champ was Verne R.I.P. gets a good part of Hulk's Japan funds. Which DID NOT work for Hogan, Brother. And what you said about the merch. He tried to just put the Hogan merch money in his pockets and not share it. Agree w/ you 1000%
@@PontFlair yup. Greedy. Just like vern made all the people sign a contract that if trained if he got money from their bookings for life (unless they bought it out like flair did)
IIRC, Verne also offered the Iron Sheik $100,000 to shoot on Hogan and injure him when Hogan was going to become the WWF champion. Imagine being a piece of s**t who injures people and treats them poorly, then when someone leaves for a better situation, you're scared of them putting you out of business so you try to pay someone over there to injure them. Verne is lucky he didn't end up in prison.
Hulk Hogan when he went today wa he should have had the title the whole time he was there Fern gagne did not know what to do with Hogan Vince capitalized on what Vern didn't do it made Hogan the best ever
Verne did not understand the new world of television, and the need for larger than life characters to be entertaining. He was stuck with smokey arenas and actual wrestling ability, he could not adapt.
Smokey arena? They were in the same large arenas that the WWF would later hold shows. Where does the smoke come from? A large number of the general public smoked, so unless the arena did not allow smokey, it probably would have been smokey. That sounds like 1980s WWF propaganda.
Vern had his chance twice when he put the belt on Hogan , but he would take it from do to rules first time ok rematch in the money so then give him the belt feed him bad guys and i think we maybe watching AWA today think the group vince took from vern built the WWF we watch today
Well he was good in his prime - though didn’t treat the wrestlers too well. But the awa thrived and was strong for a long while… he just couldn’t adjust to the times… couldn’t adjust to Vince jr and the wwf. His mistakes came back to haunt him… and of course Greg is a lying idiot.. so no help there…..
@@datacipherI consistently call Greg Gagne a goofball. Him, his dad R.I.P. and the AWA ran off the biggest star in Pro-Wrestling history. If they did business right, its possible the AWA could still be around today. When you run off guys like Hogan and LOD R.I.P., you kill your chances of survival
Actually both schedules are way easier than AWA now. WWE is running less house shows than ever. AEW only has TV tapings and a large amout of contracted wrestlers just sit at home getting paid. Verne would never have paid wrestlers to do nothing.
When Hogan was in the AWA he should have had the title the whole time he was on there but Vern gagne did not give him the chance that he deserved Vince capitalized on what Verne gagne did not do with Hogan and made Hogan the best wrestler ever
Bockwinkel was Verne's guy, his champ. The promotion centered around him, son Greg and pretty much Verne himself. Promised Hogan the world, but never came through which was absolutely deranged. He wanted in-ring, mat experienced technicians with wet noodle personalities, not charismatic, larger than life personalities which would sell-out any arena and send TV ratings through the roof. Verne thought the 80's was the 50's.
That last line of yours hit the spot, IMO. Even Vince Sr. appears to have been oblivious to what was required in the 1980s and didn't want to do anything with Hogan after he appeared in Rocky III. Nevertheless, Verne takes the cake. Everything I have heard about that guy does not paint him in a good picture.
Yeah God forbid they want to pay tribute to the martial art that pro wrestling came from catch wrestling instead of cartoon characters.
Nick wasn't a wet noodle personality.
@@frankcabanski9409 He pretty much was. He was the AWA's version of Backlund who was ridiculously more popular world-wide.
@@robmetaldeth1889 Bockwinkle was one of the best mike artists in the game.
Terry was actually smarter than his character Hulk let on.
Thanks for the insight Ken👌
Fascinating, isn't it?
Great to see Ken.
Verne's biggest mistake was letting Hulk go to WWF.
Verne didn't see it coming.
Actually his biggest mistake was accidentally killing his roommate at the nursing home.
Whoops, you mispronounced “Not giving him the belt”
That, and keeping Hogan's merch $$, @@MarvelMTs
And, telling him if we put the belt on you, we're getting that Japan $$ too
N not accepting Vince McMahon deal
Wow!!! This is cool, glad i found Your channel
Glad you enjoy it!
I also heard that Verne would take money from the Wrestlers earnings and use it for his own
vacation each year and that really pissed a lot of Wrestlers off.
That why he lost his golden goose early Ric flair
That was a great video thanks👍
Verne gagne fucked up big time. Didnt want hulk to have the title. But vince was so smart put the belt on Hogan n hulkamania ran wild vince is a damn smart guy
That's not a hard decision. Doesn't take a genius. I think there is more to this story. I mean where is the mafia and illuminati in all of this? I know nothing gets to the big time without those two things intervening
Vin Man did in about a month what Verne R.I.P. and goofy Greg wouldn't do in the months leading up to Hogan leaving the AWA
Vince was a smart guy, but he never considered that Hogan was aging and it was time to build up new stars. After WrestleMania VI in 1990, that should have been the time to build up a new star. Ultimate Warrior had the look and the charisma, but his ego was off the chart and he could not cut a decent promo. That was why his title run failed, forcing him to drop the title to Sgt. Slaughter. 1990 was the beginning of the end of Hulkamania. Hogan left the WWE before he turned 40. Vince relied way too much on Hulk Hogan in the 1980s.
Had Verne put the title on Hulk and treated his wrestlers better, AWA would have stuck around a lot longer and maybe longer than the WWE. Rumor has it that CBS offered to host a show on sunday night that would feature Hulk against Bockwinkle where Hulk would win the title. That would have put AWA on the map as the biggest wrestling promotion, but Verne turned it down. Had Hulk stayed with the title, Jesse, Mean Gene and many others would have stayed as well.
I honestly don’t think so. While other promoters were still doing the same thing in wrestling Vince had a bigger vision. Vince mixed more main stream culture into his wrestling program. They had musicians popular sports athletes famous actors all intertwined into his show. They even a cartoon. Hulk was his final piece to bring it all together. Verne would of never beaten Vince
@@bigdaddyhd76 I think you’re partly wrong on this one. All these things that took WWF into the mainstream came after Hulk Hogan arrived. Terry and Vince probably shared that vision and it took of. Hulk was a mainstream star before coming back to WWF under Vince JR.
@@bigdaddyhd76 I don't think Verne would have beaten out WWE, but I think AWA would have stuck around a lot longer had they put the belt on Hulk especially if Hulk would have picked up the belt on CBS. That could have been the turning point to get the AWA into the mainstream. Eventually, Vince would have won the war, but it would have been a tight race I think.
Also, Vince have had to put the belt on someone and that someone would have had to have enough charisma to pull it off. SGT Slaughter might have been a good pick as he was pretty popular at the time. Or, Vince maybe would have gone after one of the Von Erics. Rumor has it that Vince had his eye on Kerry Von Eric from 83-84 so who knows maybe that was his back up plan.
@@JoeG2324Kerry Von Erich R.I.P. had a great look and natural charisma, but couldn't talk well. Slaughter was missing the look.
Hogan was the perfect guy for this bc he had the all-around that Vin Man was looking for.
AWA doing right by Hogan would've definitely changed things. For sure.
Verne’s business model was flawed like all the bosses of his era who wrestled because it centered around him imo. Even if he managed to hang on to Hogan, Hogan would have had to have taken control which Verne wouldn’t allow. He chose to be a gangster. Fred Kohler tried to muscle Verne and Verne ran him out of wrestling. Twenty years later, Vince pulled the same move on Verne
I loved the AWA it’s too bad it fell
@@TheHannibalTV what is the reason for that?
@@kamranaziz6889 All of the wrestling talent that Awa had before. Which Verne was too stubborn to realize before it was too late.
The AWA didn’t have the vision to use Hogan correctly anyway.
Really makes you wonder if Verne would've done what's best for business, and just given Hogan the title.
It didn’t matter either way. Verne’s days as a power were numbered
Hé apparently wanted to but Hunk didn’t want it because there were too many conditions involved.
@@TheHannibalTV I have heard that Verne wanted the bigger percentage of Hulk's Japanese revenue and plus not giving him any percentage on his merchandise.
@@TheHannibalTVhe tried to rob Hogan. Hogan had to say no to Verne R.I.P., goofy Greg and the AWA.
The AWA basically created "That doesn't work for me, Brother."
Vince beat Verne,. first and foremost, because he had a lot more money. Now we have comic book wrestling.
Verne R.I.P. beat Verne bc he didn't change w/ the times.
Losing Hogan in 83 & then The LOD in 86 aren't moves you just bounce back from unfortunately.
Greg would have beat Hulk had Hulk stuck around lol
If Verne had his way..yes Hogan would of been a jobber for Greg..lol
@@jasonhowell9723 and Verne too...
@@jasonhowell9723that would've been HORRID
@@chrismemphis8062somehow, Verne R.I.P. beating Hogan would be less horrid LOL
The Gagnes f___ up
Verne R.I.P., his goofball son and the AWA ran off the biggest star in Pro-Wrestling at the time. And created "That doesn't work for me, Brother."
As far as pro wrestling goes Hulk Hogan is no doubt the best pro wrestler ever
That depends on what type of pro wrestling one likes.
I'll let that slide because you're obviously 10 years old or trolling
It's true. He's carried the business on his back while it blew up. Sure, others helped play their part but he was the one constant on top
He was the biggest draw ever for sure
@@MrPotatoesLatkieHogan is the guy Vin Man used to change the Pro-Wrestling game. And Hogan did exactly what he was supposed to do, ran with the ball.
Hogan wasn't the best in-ring worker, he didn't need to be
I remember Killer Ken Resnick was in the WWF for a while - probably about '86 or so. I guess Hogan brought him in..
I think if Vern gagne would have put the belt on Hogan and let Hogan keep the belt I think the AWA would have been around to this day
Nah was more to it then that, vern kept all the t-shirt money with his likeness on it and tried to get Japan % from hogan as well
@@bigdaddyroy5382part of the deal of Hogan being AWA champ was Verne R.I.P. gets a good part of Hulk's Japan funds. Which DID NOT work for Hogan, Brother.
And what you said about the merch. He tried to just put the Hogan merch money in his pockets and not share it.
Agree w/ you 1000%
@@PontFlair yup. Greedy. Just like vern made all the people sign a contract that if trained if he got money from their bookings for life (unless they bought it out like flair did)
Verne Gagne wanted to deliberately hurt one of his own announcers just to kayfabe him?...Verne was a strange guy
IIRC, Verne also offered the Iron Sheik $100,000 to shoot on Hogan and injure him when Hogan was going to become the WWF champion. Imagine being a piece of s**t who injures people and treats them poorly, then when someone leaves for a better situation, you're scared of them putting you out of business so you try to pay someone over there to injure them. Verne is lucky he didn't end up in prison.
Hulk Hogan when he went today wa he should have had the title the whole time he was there Fern gagne did not know what to do with Hogan Vince capitalized on what Vern didn't do it made Hogan the best ever
@@westbygodvirginia63 I guess you used the voice to text option to write your comment. Next time read it before you post.
Verne did not understand the new world of television, and the need for larger than life characters to be entertaining. He was stuck with smokey arenas and actual wrestling ability, he could not adapt.
Smokey arena? They were in the same large arenas that the WWF would later hold shows. Where does the smoke come from? A large number of the general public smoked, so unless the arena did not allow smokey, it probably would have been smokey. That sounds like 1980s WWF propaganda.
Vern had his chance twice when he put the belt on Hogan , but he would take it from do to rules first time ok rematch in the money so then give him the belt feed him bad guys and i think we maybe watching AWA today think the group vince took from vern built the WWF we watch today
Verne was a crappy businessman
Well he was good in his prime - though didn’t treat the wrestlers too well. But the awa thrived and was strong for a long while… he just couldn’t adjust to the times… couldn’t adjust to Vince jr and the wwf. His mistakes came back to haunt him… and of course Greg is a lying idiot.. so no help there…..
@@datacipherI consistently call Greg Gagne a goofball.
Him, his dad R.I.P. and the AWA ran off the biggest star in Pro-Wrestling history.
If they did business right, its possible the AWA could still be around today.
When you run off guys like Hogan and LOD R.I.P., you kill your chances of survival
Aew schedule like AWA
Actually both schedules are way easier than AWA now. WWE is running less house shows than ever. AEW only has TV tapings and a large amout of contracted wrestlers just sit at home getting paid. Verne would never have paid wrestlers to do nothing.
When Hogan was in the AWA he should have had the title the whole time he was on there but Vern gagne did not give him the chance that he deserved Vince capitalized on what Verne gagne did not do with Hogan and made Hogan the best wrestler ever