Jim Cornette on Why Lou Thesz Never Dropped The NWA World Championship To Verne Gagne

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  • Опубліковано 29 січ 2025

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  • @King4sshole89
    @King4sshole89 Рік тому +63

    I love a good history lesson from Cornette and Last.

    • @davey3884
      @davey3884 18 днів тому

      Brian gets his "history" from Wikipedia

  • @maxxdahl6062
    @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +62

    Served multiple purposes it let Verne start promoting on his own and amicably split with the NWA so that the NWA could escape a monopoly lawsuit, etc.

    • @Mr.Majestic77
      @Mr.Majestic77 Рік тому +4

      Great analogy.

    • @optobob
      @optobob Рік тому +1

      Absolutely correct.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +3

      @@optobob Hell I seem to remember that the AWA and NWA split was so amicable and friendly that Verne was still on their voting board for who the champion would be, who the industry would blacklist, etc still.

  • @dominushydra
    @dominushydra Рік тому +54

    "I'm Greg Gagne and I'M IN A RAGE! I want Brody and I want him in a cage!"
    Jim: 🤦

    • @MyNameIsUnavailable
      @MyNameIsUnavailable 9 місяців тому +1

      I knew all the words since 1986 😂 still do

    • @GraemeCree
      @GraemeCree 7 місяців тому

      Good guess, but nothing to do with the video. You can go back to sleep now.

  • @insupportofjunhado
    @insupportofjunhado Рік тому +19

    NWA: Why do you keep refusing to put over our champions?
    Lou Thesz: Because they can't beat me! Find some real wrestlers!
    NWA: But most of those can't beat you either.
    Lou Thesz: Find me someone who can at least plausibly do it!

    • @mjonlyfan
      @mjonlyfan 15 днів тому +1

      I think in a straight up wrestling, Gagne would beat Thesz. Gagne was an Olympic level amateur, Thesz was only ever a national champion as a teenager. It's similar in a lot of ways to Lesnar vs Angle, Brock knows a lot but he was a collegiate wrestling champion and Kurt was an Olympian. He knew more and he did defeat Brock when they had an amateur scuffle backstage.

    • @Rjensen2
      @Rjensen2 13 днів тому +1

      Verne would have slaughtered Thesz. That shouldn't even be up for debate.

    • @mjonlyfan
      @mjonlyfan 13 днів тому

      @@Rjensen2 That's probably a lot of the reason behind Thesz never wanting to do the job for Verne. Everything I've seen about Thesz seems to implicate he was a massive twat.

    • @Rjensen2
      @Rjensen2 13 днів тому +1

      @@mjonlyfan I'm not sure it was a Thesz thing... what I was always told was it was because Gagne wouldn't break with Fred Kohler. Kohler was a promoter in Chicago that was always making trouble with the NWA. Factor in the consent degree the NWA had to sign for the anti-trust lawsuit in the 50s, and Muchnick just let Verne get on with it, as far as the AWA was concerned.
      Verne was an NWA member anyways because of his ownership in other NWA territories.

  • @aaronholman8288
    @aaronholman8288 Рік тому +11

    Really enjoy watching old Thesz vs Gagne Matches. Reminds me of early MMA bouts in Pancrase and Pride

  • @420ChrisTodd
    @420ChrisTodd Рік тому +48

    I trained with Mr. Thesz in the late 80's in Norfolk Va. Still one of the few wrestlers with a move named after him. Good guy.

    • @dreampopwavestudiob7282
      @dreampopwavestudiob7282 Рік тому +6

      how was the training ? I totally want to know.

    • @georgecosrove3651
      @georgecosrove3651 Рік тому +4

      Thesz press

    • @alexhobbs1208
      @alexhobbs1208 Рік тому +2

      Doubt

    • @Millyyy95
      @Millyyy95 Рік тому +3

      ​@@alexhobbs1208 what reason would they have to lie about something like that lol

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +3

      @@Millyyy95 Not calling him a liar, as I have no idea, thesz was active untill really, really late in his life. But if he is indeed lying, would be more than likely why any troll would do it, for attention.

  • @WorldCupWillie
    @WorldCupWillie Рік тому +46

    Lou Thesz vs Verne Gagne. Back when you could sport a comb over and still be a bad ass.
    Edit. To be fair, the comb over were later than 1952.

    • @bigmike2464
      @bigmike2464 Рік тому +8

      Helps when they could turn you into a human pretzel if you tried talking shit to them; both were legit

    • @chrisbutler1668
      @chrisbutler1668 Рік тому +2

      @@brendandenamadrai5353 Comb overs were never in style...they were a last resort for desperate men before it was acceptable for grown men to wear baseball caps.

    • @ryanjacobson2508
      @ryanjacobson2508 Рік тому +2

      ​@@chrisbutler1668 Going full bald was uncommon before the 90's. But in the 90's and later on, a lot of balding guys just shaved everything off which seems to have led to fewer comb-overs.

    • @chrisbutler1668
      @chrisbutler1668 Рік тому +1

      @@ryanjacobson2508 Yes, that was mostly thanks to Michael Jordan. I think he gets the credit for that (but not the credit for trying to bring back the Hitler mustache).

    • @gjfwang
      @gjfwang Рік тому +1

      As opposed to hulk hogan and his incredible hair

  • @Mr.Majestic77
    @Mr.Majestic77 Рік тому +19

    Things happen for a reason. There would be no AWA (American Wrestling Association) if Lou Thez dropped the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship to Verne Gange.

    • @grawakendream8980
      @grawakendream8980 Рік тому +1

      i don't think verne wanted it. he wouldn't have wanted the work schedule of the champion, working 20+ days a month minimum, going all over the country for single shots. I think he preferred to homestead where he was home at night, performed 15 times a month tops, with summer off. the AWA was basically Verne's retirement plan

  • @johnnysorrowful
    @johnnysorrowful Рік тому +14

    That classic Lou vs. Thesz match from the classic Chicago footage is one of the best matches of all time.

  • @bilklein
    @bilklein Рік тому +10

    Uh, guys, ever heard of wrestling magazines? I knew there were world's champions other than Gagne. I knew of Sammartino and Dory Funk, Jr. We weren't ALL ignorant before the internet.

  • @natmason5528
    @natmason5528 Рік тому +11

    Growing up in Chicago during the 60s I can relate to the AWA comments. We knew no other champion except Gagne or whomever he let hold the belt for a month or two. I didn't find out about NWA wresting until the 70s when I visited my aunt in Virginia.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +1

      A little bit later you would know the WWA champion.

    • @SuperJoshdave
      @SuperJoshdave Рік тому

      You never read any of the wrestling magazines? I grew up in MA in the 80’s until I got cable in late 87 I only knew WWF but I would read my cousins pwi magazine

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +2

      @@SuperJoshdave There wasn't much of a magazine presence in the 60's.

    • @SuperJoshdave
      @SuperJoshdave Рік тому

      Matt Mania ran from 64-68 Ring wrestling 58/84 they actually had a ladies wrestling magazine in the 60’s. Not as much as now but still some.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +1

      @@SuperJoshdave Were those national? Some weren't.

  • @johannesnuka3908
    @johannesnuka3908 Рік тому +59

    I wonder sometimes, if the legends of wrestling past (Gagne, Thesz, Rogers etc) could see wrestling today - and nothing in between - would they wven recognize it as the same industry that they ruled back in the day? 🤔

    • @PaxBisonica89
      @PaxBisonica89 Рік тому +20

      Either they'd be extremely impressed, or absolutely mortified.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +17

      @@PaxBisonica89 I'd side with mortified, at least at the goofy, 110% unbelieveable guys that think wrestling should be comedy acrobatics skits.

    • @richardnealiii462
      @richardnealiii462 Рік тому +6

      If not for the ring, collar-elbow tie-up & a few of the basic holds (headlock, arm wrench, hammerlock etc) they probably wouldn't

    • @lilsunny7399
      @lilsunny7399 Рік тому +14

      it depends who. They would throw up at the mere sight of The Young Bucks but then they might look to say, Danielson vs Claudio and see a legitimate wrestling contest. ditto for WWE, as much as seeing someone like Logal Paul in a wrestling ring would make them hurl, seeing say, Gunter vs Sheamus might keep them interested.
      Remember, the matches most fans consider the best nowadays (that arent named Dave Meltzer) are the ones with hard hitting action, stiff strikes and solid technical and fundamental wrestling.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +9

      @@lilsunny7399 I doubt they'd see it as a legit contest, as even those guys are a bit more cartoony than what Thesz or Gagne would have been used to.

  • @marksturley101
    @marksturley101 Рік тому +2

    Keeping it real here...... That picture is truly majestic with or without The Green Hills being there :)

  • @georgeriley4818
    @georgeriley4818 5 місяців тому +1

    I'll tell the truth. Thesz was my grandson. He told me, "Pa pa, I just can't drop the title to this SOB!"

  • @benespinosa6725
    @benespinosa6725 Рік тому +8

    This topic is very interesting

  • @Stratsrule
    @Stratsrule Рік тому +11

    The artwork is fire!!

  • @kylek9684
    @kylek9684 Рік тому +6

    7:09 killed me lmfao "Sounded like you had it in a barrel"

  • @williamgregory1848
    @williamgregory1848 Рік тому +15

    Edouard Carpentier defeated Lou Thesz to win the NWA title in Chicago, but the NWA later overruled the decision of the referee in Chicago and gave the title back to Thesz. However, certain NWA territories including Nebraska refused to go along with that decision and continued to recognize Carpentier as the new NWA champion. Carpentier dropped the title to Gagne in Omaha on August 9, 1958, making him the recognized NWA World champion in the NWA territories that had recognized Carpentier as the NWA World Champion.
    It might be that certain territories didn’t want to see Thesz (or maybe Thesz himself) drop the title to Gagne, so Carpentier was put in as a transitional champion.

    • @mjonlyfan
      @mjonlyfan 15 днів тому

      Not quite the reason for the title switch from Thesz to Carpentier going sideways was because Eddie Quinn, the promoter of Carpentier's home territory quickly realized that he would lose his biggest draw if the title switch stuck so he backed out of the deal and thus the disputed decision.

  • @franciscoj.figueroarivera8337
    @franciscoj.figueroarivera8337 Рік тому +6

    What l've heard was that the NWA leadership ( some of the leadership) were worried that Kharbo and Gagne would control the NWA championship at their own will. At least Gagne suspected that the NWA board of directors didn't want him to be the top guy, and that's why, according to him , he told Thesz that he was going to beat him if they were to wrestle a fourth time for the title, but when both he and Kharbo realized that Thesz was not going back to Chicago, that's when they decided to buy out Joe Stecher ( the promoter ) and established the American Wrestling Association.

    • @Rjensen2
      @Rjensen2 13 днів тому

      You didn't hear that, stop lying.

    • @franciscoj.figueroarivera8337
      @franciscoj.figueroarivera8337 13 днів тому

      Check the dvd that the WWE put out about the American Wrestling Association titled " The Spectacular Times of the American Wrestling Association " where Verne Gagne tells the story that he told Thesz that he was going to beat him and Greg Gagne says that his father and Kharbo asked the NWA board of directors for a meeting before they splitted from the NWA along with a group of promoters that supported them.

    • @Rjensen2
      @Rjensen2 13 днів тому

      @franciscoj.figueroarivera8337 The Gagnes are not in any way a reputable source, particularly Greg.

  • @uproar17
    @uproar17 Рік тому +3

    Waiting for my Facebook group approval. Like waiting outside the house in Fight Club.

  • @chrisgrudge6964
    @chrisgrudge6964 Рік тому

    I like more stuff about this golden era. Lou thesz book is a great introduction for anyone wanting to know more about this period

  • @buffalomanicwolf
    @buffalomanicwolf Рік тому +4

    I’ve always felt Thesz and the NWA relationship itself was a reason. By this point Thesz was on the outs with the office. He went on to create the International title which he told me once was just to slap the office in the face. I think Thesz picked Hutton because he fit the criteria but also straight up to fail. Also the only reason he came back in 63 I believe was just because he hated Rogers to the point he was willing to go in and possibly shoot on him.

    • @grawakendream8980
      @grawakendream8980 Рік тому

      i think thesz choosing hutton was a kayfabe. if he picked a guy who could legitimately guzzle anyone, it would give his own reign cred

  • @thehammockdistrict5355
    @thehammockdistrict5355 Рік тому +1

    As an AWA mark, this is awesome stuff

  • @tomwalker389
    @tomwalker389 Рік тому +3

    Thesz considered Verne a Light Heavyweight.
    i.e. he thought he was too small

    • @orangesilver4568
      @orangesilver4568 Рік тому +1

      Lous Thesz lost to Danny Hodge in Japan and Hodge was smaller than Vern Gagne.

    • @grawakendream8980
      @grawakendream8980 Рік тому

      lou was in his 50s at the time though@@orangesilver4568

  • @calikid05
    @calikid05 Рік тому

    Idk if it’s been asked but what were thing Buddy Rogers say about Ed Lewis.

  • @curtisburgdrof8618
    @curtisburgdrof8618 Рік тому

    Thank you Jim cornette and brain last very interesting about but the NWA back in the old days very interesting

  • @rudyrusso711
    @rudyrusso711 Рік тому +1

    Old Soul dude that would've fit perfectly in the 70s an early/80s...I always thought he would've had great success if used the right way and in the right Territories! ✌️

  • @dreampopwavestudiob7282
    @dreampopwavestudiob7282 Рік тому +4

    Buddy Rogers all day Camden , NJ aka CMD

    • @Ken-uo7iw
      @Ken-uo7iw 2 місяці тому +1

      On a drive to Atlantic City, I stopped for gas in Camden. The guy who pumped my gas, had Rogers on his shirt. I asked if Rogers was his last name or first? He said last. I asked him...He said he was a cousin & Buddy still owned a house there.

    • @dreampopwavestudiob7282
      @dreampopwavestudiob7282 2 місяці тому

      @@Ken-uo7iw What gas station was it in Camden ?

  • @jabrockobiden9434
    @jabrockobiden9434 Рік тому +8

    Anyone except Hutton should've won it.

    • @King4sshole89
      @King4sshole89 Рік тому +4

      A one legged midget would have been a bigger draw than Hutton

    • @grawakendream8980
      @grawakendream8980 Рік тому

      lewis and thesz lobbied for hutton because it would raise their credibility by association@@King4sshole89

  • @hiddensword9387
    @hiddensword9387 Рік тому +4

    Jim says Thesz hated Rodgers but on the Thesz documentary/biography Thesz said he got on and liked Rodgers and they both spoke Hungarian together. Maybe at the time Thesz didn't like him but he made no mention of any issues apart from maybe professional rivalry but that doesn't mean he hated him, maybe Jim is misinformed or just got confused on this.

    • @takerdust
      @takerdust Рік тому

      it was a professional bio, not a shoot video. So who knows how Thesz really felt?

    • @gtor2286
      @gtor2286 Рік тому +4

      Thesz had real heat with Rogers because Rogers was disrespectful toward Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Lewis was Thesz’s mentor. Thesz reconciled with Rogers after they retired and they became friendly. But during their heyday…… Thesz NEVER let Rogers beat him due to the real heat they had.

    • @grawakendream8980
      @grawakendream8980 Рік тому

      they spoke german but that wasn't uncommon back then

    • @Jim-Tuner
      @Jim-Tuner 2 місяці тому

      Past a certain point, nobody trusted Buddy Rogers in the ring because he had a reputation for hurting guys. He also had his own clique of guys that he promoted in wrestling. Guys would work with Buddy Rogers, but they would never put themselves in an exposed position to him in a match.
      Views toward Rogers changed over time and everyone kind of mellowed out as they got toward the end of their careers. Thesz may have hated Rogers in the 1950s but got along with him in the late 1960s.

    • @Rjensen2
      @Rjensen2 13 днів тому

      That was the beginning. Rogers talked trash about Strangler Lewis and Thesz hated him for the rest of his life.

  • @VishalSharma-wo6nj
    @VishalSharma-wo6nj Рік тому +1

    Lou Thesz was an NWA soldier

  • @Boc-x1i
    @Boc-x1i 19 днів тому

    Gagne was a TV pioneer

  • @5SK.RoyaltyTV
    @5SK.RoyaltyTV Рік тому +3

    Since Jim has no interest in starting a new pro wrestling promotion. I think he definitely needs to make a pro wrestling encyclopedia.

  • @rickyspanish2412
    @rickyspanish2412 Рік тому

    Still haven't got in the Facebook group I gave up on it I guess I just don't get in been listening to this podcast since i found it 3 years ago 🤷🏽‍♂️

  • @markradewagen5075
    @markradewagen5075 9 місяців тому

    fun discussion

  • @jvharbin8337
    @jvharbin8337 Рік тому

    Separate but equal, the way wrestling should be! Lol 🤣🤣🤣 J/K

  • @jamaalmoses8821
    @jamaalmoses8821 Рік тому +6

    Thesz casts such a large shadow..I've never seen any footage of Verne Gagne in his prime..when I think NWA Champs,I think more of the guys in the 70s and 80s..The Funks,Race,Flair,and Rhodes..Would a Gagne vs Thesz match have happened?Weren't they both considered babyfaces?

    • @Sargebri
      @Sargebri Рік тому +4

      Thesz was considered what would later be called a tweener. He could work as a face or heel and would do heelish things to get a reaction from the crowd.

    • @rubenarriaga3029
      @rubenarriaga3029 Рік тому +4

      There’s a UA-cam video of them wrestling

    • @rubenarriaga3029
      @rubenarriaga3029 Рік тому

      ua-cam.com/video/yvv1wvegguA/v-deo.html

    • @jamaalmoses8821
      @jamaalmoses8821 Рік тому

      @@rubenarriaga3029 thanks. Watching it right now.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +1

      @@jamaalmoses8821 In the Mid-West, Gagne if he wasn't more popular than thesz, he could definitely give thesz a run for his money . Gagne wasn't a slouch at all.

  • @jonathanhensley6141
    @jonathanhensley6141 Рік тому +1

    Lou was in Japan during the early 90s and called wrestling in the usa a circus show and not pro wrestling.

  • @HonestUAWElectrician
    @HonestUAWElectrician Рік тому

    If you watch The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, according to Mike Chapman, who is quite well respected, he says what apparently happened. The NWA wanted to keep control of the belt with Lou. They were afraid that if Gagne got it, Fred Kohler would keep Verne in the Chicago territory, and they would be shutout. Now how true that is, I don't know, but Mike Chapman knows his stuff.

  • @CARTOONIVERSE2.0
    @CARTOONIVERSE2.0 7 місяців тому

    Please get Maurice Freeman back.

  • @tgfabthunderbird1
    @tgfabthunderbird1 12 днів тому

    Gagne was the world jr champion in the NWA. Thesz definitely respected Gagne. Was Gagne too small? Did Gagne want too much money? Was it Gagne's connection to Kohler?

  • @Rjensen2
    @Rjensen2 13 днів тому

    Gagne didn't get the NWA title because they didn't want to deal with Fred Kohler.

  • @CARTOONIVERSE2.0
    @CARTOONIVERSE2.0 7 місяців тому

    Wow...
    Why are you not still using THIS artist?
    GET THEM BACK...what ever it takes.
    This artist and GET YOYRSEKF A THEME SONG and you can freshen up this aging podcast. INCREDIBLE ARTWORK!

  • @Travlr013
    @Travlr013 Рік тому

    Rogers was not the first big heel champ: Bill Longson held the old NWAssociation world title for nearly 6 years in the 1940s (which at that point was an INCREDIBLY long reign, since that title usually changed hands about as often as the WWF belt did in the late 80s and early 90s. But Longson was a travelling champion in much the same way as the NWAlliance champion would a decade and more later. And people paid a lot of good money over those years to see him get beat. Which he was 3 times, by Yvon Robert, Whipper Watson and Lou Thesz, with the last win by Thesz would end up unifying the two NWAs championships after he was awarded the Alliance title after Orville Brown's car accident
    In fact, it was Longson's fued with Whipper Billy Watson that helped keep Frank Tunney's promotion in Toronto continue after Frank's brother, John -- the original promoter after Jack Corcoran-- and made Toronto one of the four "Meccas of Professional Wrestling". Other than Nanjo Singh and The Sheik, Longson was the big baddie for Toronto fans. And they PACKED Maple Leaf Gardens for years for his appearances.

  • @Jim-Tuner
    @Jim-Tuner 8 місяців тому +1

    If you look at Gagne and Thesz in the ring together, its easy to understand. Gagne was just too small to be NWA world champion.

  • @kent2290
    @kent2290 Рік тому +1

    Who does this great art??

  • @roxydog2004
    @roxydog2004 4 місяці тому

    They have the 2 out of 3 match when Verne was 25 Thesz was about 32 it ended in a draw of course.

  • @lawrencedorfman5543
    @lawrencedorfman5543 8 місяців тому

    If my idol Johnny Valentine would have stayed let's say in NY and beat Bruno. But kept his roughness/ just imagine him going against the ones bruno beat and or others. In a way Johnny was like Rocky but tougher. In other parts of the country Johnny was somewhat different and lost to some he would have destroyed in NY. In closing for the record I was Bruno's first Fan Club President with frank Amato. Plus we were good friends in the day with Georgina Masters.

  • @larryfloyd4993
    @larryfloyd4993 10 місяців тому

    on pat o'connor.. look what other say on him... you could feel him as you wrestle him..he was so smooth... but he could bury you

  • @bilklein
    @bilklein Рік тому +3

    There is a video on YT of Lou Thesz wrestling on AWA All-Star Wrestling. Appears to be just a one-shot deal, Thesz against a jobber. Looks like late 60s-early 70s. If there was any heat, it had cooled down by then.

  • @GregHuffman1987
    @GregHuffman1987 Рік тому

    Verne gone yeah

  • @larryfloyd4993
    @larryfloyd4993 10 місяців тому

    thesz train with a ton of shooter's... verne not as much... later in the late 70's 80 with billy robinson.. thesz would have destory verne gagne.. that is why the nwa kept in on him

    • @robr5786
      @robr5786 8 днів тому

      Ask Dr Bill Miller when he tried to shoot on Vern

  • @JeffWoods1973Music
    @JeffWoods1973Music Рік тому

    Please approve me for the Facebook group…

  • @spanky9676
    @spanky9676 Рік тому +1

    Why wasn’t Lou Cez ever champion? Lou Cez vs Hobo Brazil would have main a main event anywhere

  • @larryfloyd4993
    @larryfloyd4993 10 місяців тому

    rogers was ric flair and hogan... a no skilled wrestler

  • @stevehartman1730
    @stevehartman1730 Рік тому +1

    Gagne was great but Thez was Greatest.

  • @alexrekzu4079
    @alexrekzu4079 Рік тому +10

    Lou would drop the belt to Kenny Omega 🍷

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +15

      I think someone is in need of a wellness test. lol

    • @alexrekzu4079
      @alexrekzu4079 Рік тому +6

      @@maxxdahl6062 yea I'm just a shlub tryin' to get heat

    • @revelstatus2346
      @revelstatus2346 Рік тому +3

      He probably would honestly, after threatening Kenny to not pull his usual ha ha shtick during their match.

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 Рік тому +9

      @@revelstatus2346 if he wouldn't drop it to rogers there's zero way Omega would have a chance even if he became a serious wrestler overnight. lol

    • @Copperstoned
      @Copperstoned Рік тому

      Meltzer would die from an orgasmic shock if that idea was even pitched.