Greg Gagne (wrestler)

Infobox Wrestler
name= Greg Gagne


names=Greg Gagne
height = height|ft=6|in=1
weight = convert|220|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
birth_date = birth date and age|year=1948|month=7|day=27
birth_place = Robbinsdale, Minnesota
death_date =
resides= Minneapolis, MN
billed=
trainer= Verne Gagne
debut= 1972
retired= 1991|

Greg Gagne (pronounced|ˈgɑːnjə) born July 27, 1948 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota) is a former professional wrestler and is the son of the legendary Verne Gagne. The pushes he received while working for his father often led to claims of nepotism. Gagne was a solid worker in the ring, but given his slight build (often under 200 lbs) was considered by some to be inadequate in the 1980s when larger wrestling physiques became more popular.

Career

American Wrestling Association

1972-1983

Greg Gagne started wrestling in 1972 in his father's promotion, the American Wrestling Association. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he achieved his biggest success as one half of the tag team The High Flyers with Jim Brunzell. The High Flyers enjoyed a number of high profile feuds within the AWA with the likes of Bobby Duncam & Blackjack Lanza, Pat Patterson & Ray "The Crippler" Stevens, The East-West Connection consisting of Adrian Adonis & Jesse "The Body" Ventura and The Shieks consisting of Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell.

The High Flyers' success as a team was cemeted on July 7, 1977 after defeating Duncam and Lanza to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship. The Flyers successfully defended the title in rematches with the former champions as well as other top contenders within the AWA ranks for nearly 15 months before they had to vacate the titles due to an injury that Jim Brunzell sustained while playing in a charity softball game. The titles were awarded to Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens in late September 1978. Although they were without the titles, the High Flyers continued to compete together over the coming years, still enjoying great success within the AWA ranks.

During the summer of 1981, the High Flyers entered into a feud with the East-West Connection over the titles, participating in a number of high profile matches. However, the Flyers defeated the Connection on June 14, 1981 to regain the AWA World Tag Team Championship. As with their first reign, the Flyers defended the titles against all the top contenders within the AWA ranks and were even more successful. The Flyers' held the titles for almost two years before dropping them to Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell on June 26, 1983. Though the Flyers came close to regaining the titles on several occassions, they never recaptured them. The team parted ways shortly thereafter, with Gagne entering into singles competition while Brunzell worked frequently as both a singles and tag team wrestler before departing for the World Wrestling Federation in 1985.

1984-1986

From 1984 to 1986, Gagne was involved in a feud with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie's army, which at the time included Bruiser Brody, who was billed as "King Kong Brody". The feud also saw Greg's retired father Verne return briefly for a number of matches. The David vs. Goliath feel to the Brody/Gagne feud boosted attendance at the time, a trend that might have continued, giving the AWA a much needed shot in the arm. Brody was best known to American audiences for wrestling for World Class Championship Wrestling, where he wrestled on a regular basis since the beginning of his career. Brody was one of the industry's biggest and most bankable stars, always getting offers from promotions all over the world. Brody attempted to split his time between WCCW, the AWA, and wrestling in Japan, sometimes resulting in no-shows for events held by the AWA. Before the feud could be marketed to its full potential, Brody left the AWA.

1985

In 1985, he began an ill-fated and short-lived metamorphosis, becoming a member of Sgt. Slaughter's Cobra Corps. The idea saw a fatigues-clad Gagne teaming with Slaughter. The ring attire looked hardly fitting on Gagne and in many ways hindered his flexibility and athleticism.

1986-1989

In the later 1980s, Gagne feuded with Curt Hennig, Ron Garvin, and Larry Zbyszko and briefly resurrected his feud with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie. His feud with Hennig over the AWA title only heated up when both fathers, Verne and Larry Hennig, became embroiled in the feud interfering on behalf of their sons during many of their matches. Gagne apparently won the title on several occasions only to have the belt returned to Hennig on technicality, a la the Dusty finish.

It was during this time that the AWA created the AWA International Television Championship. The AWA hadn't had a secondary championship since the America's Championship, worn by Zbyszko and Slaughter, which was deactivated in 1986. Gagne defeated Adrian Adonis in a tournament to be crowned the first TV champion. Many fans believed that this was a consolation prize. Hennig had a year long run as champion and was headed for the WWF along with the Midnight Rockers and other top AWA talent. It was rumored that Verne Gagne wanted Greg to be the next World Champion, but he received a great deal of heat from his close associates not to pursue the idea. Verne acquiesced, and the TV title was created. Hennig eventually lost the belt to Jerry Lawler instead.

Former NWA World Champion Ron Garvin left the NWA in the fall of 1988 and was splitting his time between the AWA and WWC in Puerto Rico. He defeated Gagne for the TV title, hitting Gagne with a foreign object to get the pin. The belt was held up until a showdown at SuperClash III. Gagne won the belt back as the result of a count out. The decision drawing the angst of the Chicago crowd.

After SuperClash III, the AWA stripped Jerry Lawler of the World Title (Lawler eventually left the AWA and competed in the USWA as that federation's World champion). It was then decided that the new champion would be determined in a battle royal in February 1989. Many fans expected either Gagne or Slaughter to win the title that night and the crowd reacted with shock when both were eliminated late in the match. The crowd was even more stunned when Larry Zbyszko became the new champion by eliminating Tom Zenk to end the match.

Gagne challenged Zbyszko for the belt at "War in the Windy City", but was unsuccessful (television time had expired). It was also around this time the Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie attacked Verne Gagne during an interview. As a result, Gagne turned his attention to Adnan in a feud that eventually involved a young Kokina Maximus, who would later be better known as former WWF World Champion Yokozuna.

End of career

Gagne's wrestling career ended during a match for the vacated AWA World Tag Team Titles. Gagne and Paul Diamond were facing the The Destruction Crew in the finals when Adnan and Kokina came to the ring and confronted Gagne. Kokina slammed Gagne on the cement floor outside the ring and then splashed his leg, apparently doing damage to Gagne's knee. Gagne retired due to the injury and began to work in the broadcast booth and in production. Publicly, he enlisted the help of Jerry Blackwell to exact revenge on Adnan and Kokina. Despite the build up, the match never occurred.

Other promotions and the end of AWA

Following an ongoing exodus of talent and the disastrous Team Challenge Series, the AWA became inactive in late 1990. The Gagnes made an attempt to revive the AWA in May 1991, but were unsuccessful. Gagne teamed with Wahoo McDaniel to face the Destruction Crew in the main event of the last AWA show promoted by Verne Gagne in May 1991. When it was apparent the AWA couldn't continue, Gagne became a road agent for World Championship Wrestling. Gagne never returned to the ring, and when his run with WCW was over, he worked in local business in Minnesota, namely selling automobiles.

On April 30, 2006, it was announced that Gagne would be working for World Wrestling Entertainment full-time as a Road Agent, starting at the Backlash 2006. He has also been sent to help with the booking of Ohio Valley Wrestling. In September 2006, it was announced he was released from the WWE from his OVW position. The WWE front office believed Gagne's views of wrestling were "antiquated" and simply not in touch with their vision of sports entertainment.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Association
**AWA International Television Championship (2 times) (First and Last)
**AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Jim Brunzell
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI Tag Team of the Year (1982) with Jim Brunzell
**PWI ranked him # 168 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
**PWI ranked him # 49 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jim Brunzell in 2003.

Personal life

Gagne appeared in the 1973 movie, "The Wrestler".

Greg's son, J.P., is a baseball pitcher who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. His daughter, Gail, played basketball at Northern Colorado and is currently an assistant coach at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Greg inducted his father, Verne Gagne, into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006.

He's now a sales manager at Bloomington Hyundai in Bloomington, MN.

External links

*imdb name|id=0300918|name=Greg Gagne