Well, let me tell you ’bout this fella, Verne Gagne. Heard he was a big deal wrestler, you know, like them fellas on TV, all muscles and grunts. Verne Gagne, yeah, that’s the name. They say he was a champion, like, many times over. Don’t know much about wrestlin’ myself, seems like a whole lotta sweaty men huggin’ and thumpin’ each other.
Now, this Verne fella, he wasn’t just wrestlin’, oh no. He was a promoter too. That means he put on the shows, told folks where to go, when to fight, probably how much money they’d get. Seems like a smart fella, this Verne. He owned somethin’ called the AWA, whatever that is. Musta been important, seein’ as how they keep talkin’ about it. Heard he was the boss, the big cheese, the one callin’ the shots.
- He was a champion many times, they say eleven times!
- He ran a wrestlin’ show called AWA.
- He wrestled and then told other folks to wrestle too.
They say he wrestled all the way into the eighties. Imagine that! An old fella like him, still thumpin’ and bumpin’. Musta been tough as nails. He held that AWA title thingy ten times, and another one in Japan, they say. Japan, can you believe it? All the way over there, and they knew about this Verne fella. Guess he was famous, huh? Ten times champion! That’s a lot of wrestlin’.
Now, here’s the sad part. This Verne, he up and died. Yep, passed away at his daughter’s house, they say. In the Twin Cities, wherever that is. Probably a nice place, with doctors and nurses and all that. Makes you think, don’t it? All that wrestlin’, all that shoutin’, and in the end, you just go home and… well, you know. His friend, Gene Okerlund, told folks about it. Friends, they’re important, you know. They remember you when you’re gone.
He was 89 years old, they say. Lived a long life, that’s for sure. Seems like a good age, though I reckon it’s never long enough when it’s someone you care about. Heard he was a big star in the sixties and seventies. That was a long time ago, before all these fancy gadgets and whatnots. Back when things were simpler, I guess. Just men, muscles, and a ring, thumpin’ and shoutin’. This Verne fella, he was part of all that.
This wrestling thing, it’s a strange business, if you ask me. All that pretend fighting, but they get hurt for real, you know. And this Verne, he was right in the middle of it, for years and years. Guess he loved it, though. Why else would you do it? You wouldn’t keep getting thumped and bumped if you didn’t enjoy it, at least a little bit. Wrestler and promoter, that was Verne Gagne. He musta seen a lot, done a lot. A life full of thumpin’ and hollerin’ and travelin’ to places like Japan.
So, that’s the story of Verne Gagne, as best as I can tell it. A wrestler, a boss, a champion, and a fella who lived a long life. He died at his daughter’s house, old and probably tired. But folks remember him, they still talk about him. That’s somethin’, ain’t it? To be remembered. Even if all you did was thump and bump and shout in a ring. Verne Gagne, remember the name. He was a big deal, even if I don’t understand all that wrestlin’ stuff.
Tags: Verne Gagne, AWA, Wrestling, Champion, Promoter, Death, Obituary, Wrestler Death, Minneapolis, Gene Okerlund
