Yep, AWA kept pushing the older guys like 49 year old Nick Bockwinkel and even 57 year old Verne himself, while Verne had a prime 29 year old Hulk Hogan on the roster along with several other young terrific talents on the mid-card. The terrific young talents went elsewhere and became superstars while AWA faded away. 13 years later, the same story was repeated by WCW!
Hulk Hogan,Stan Hansen,the Roads Warriors,Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin,Curt Henning,Scott Hall and several others left the territory and he never got sufficient replacements,that was the reason the AWA went out of business,which is sad cause had Verne played his cards right the AWA would have been profitable and successful for years to come.
He gave to Bockwimkel instead and later gave it to Rick Martel. If Verne would have given the title to Hogan Maybe The AWA might have lasted longer then it did.
That was major mistake Number 1. Number 2 was not putting the Belt on Sgt. Slaughter during the time he was the face of G.I. JOE [one of the biggest toys brands for boys in the 80s] which no doubt led to him returning to the WWF to do his famous American traitor gimmick that gave him a short run with the WWF title. Then in 91 putting the belt on Zybysko instead of the young Tom Zenk.
Verne's greatest enemy was Verne. He was an old school territory guy who didn't want or welcome change. He held the title too long (or would wear it at too old an age). As much as I love Bockwinkel, Nick was too old to have held the belt as late as he did (He was 41 in 1975 when he was Champion and was 52 when he regained the title in 1986). Vinnie Mac's desire for WWF/E nationwide dominance was the death knell for AWA (and what was left of the territories). Sadly without the competition, (and "Sports Entertainment") we are left with the dud WWE (and an old out of touch Vince, like Verne) a miss/hit AWE gymnast fest, a hollowed out ROH bad Impact! and Billy Corgan's NWA hobby shows. Wish WWE would sell the massive wrestling library to an outside party that would release all the Old school territory footage, that would be best for all wrestling fans.
Yeah it's sad how far wrestling has fallen. Long gone are the days when a WCW wrestler could show up on raw and vice versa. WCW folding and no real rival and competition for WWE was the beginning of the end. I also think social media and the end of kayfabe really hurt wrestling and plus there's no bigger than life superstars anymore. In the 80's wrestling was so awesome as a kid and then the early to mid 90's was still great and compared to today was underrated then the attitude era and Monday night wars were just the pinnacle of professional wrestling,WCW folded and the ruthless aggression era was great but then with no real competition and no hated rival WWE and thus wrestling would slowly fade into a boring shell of it's former self.
I miss the territory days Houston promoter Paul Boesch was affiliated with the Nwa, Awa and Wwwf and showcased all of their current champions at the time
I never understood how people thought Hogan couldn't "Work". He DID Wrestle YEARS before "Hulkamania". Just look at his work in Japan Pre & Post Hulkamania. He just knew in the US the gimmick is what sold. In Japan he needed to both be the "character" & WRESTLE. He wasn't Bret Hart or Curt Hennig...but then again who is? Hogan was a better worker than most give him credit for.
If you watch Hogan's very first WWE house match against Ric Flair (available here on RUclips), Hogan basically did Flair's whole move set against him! I think Hulk was trying to prove that he could work, after years of people saying Flair was the superior in ring performer between the two.
AWA was great but you would have a semi-main event with Wahoo McDaniel or the Crusher or Superstar Billy Graham or Mad Dog Vachon then in the main event Verne would put himself always in it and he would put the entire arena to sleep with a 7 minute arm bar or toe hold.. Gagne just didn't get that part..
Even if Verne had put the belt on Hogan he wouldn't have known how to push him. Verne was stuck in the past as to how wrestling should be presented. Vince was a younger guy who had new ideas on how to present wrestling.
@@winnipegdocs211 Like Hogan would have known how to Run with that Ball and Score a Touchdown Without Fumbling it. Fact is he may not have been Ready to be the Man at that time .
Hulk said on many occasions including the spectacular legacy of the AWA DVD that when Verne offered him the title the night he was supposed to get it he wanted half of everything he made and Hulk turned it down
Sure, because Verne got a cut of Hogan's Japan matches, and the AWA champion's Japan matches. If Hogan was the champion, that's one cut instead of two. So Verne upped it to half of Hogan's income. Hogan said no. Without that idea, that's why Verne didn't want to make Hogan champion.
Back in 1985 after Vince took most of the younger talent from the AWA my friends started to call the promotion the "Alzheimer's Wrestling Association". Dick The Bruiser, Crusher, Maddog Vachon and Nick Bockwinkel were headlining cards...it was hilarious.
As a Minnesotan I was very surprised as a young kid to learn how many legends came from Minnesota. Ric Flair, the Road Warriors, Curt Hennig, Brock Lesnar, etc. It's a pretty impressive list.
Besides Verne messing up royally by failing to put the belt on Hulk, there also was a rumor that I've heard 👂 from a couple of sources that Verne wanted to put the belt on Hulk as long as he dated and married one of Verne's daughters. He realized Hulk would be great but wanted assurances that Hulk would stick around. That sounds like a ' dealbreaker '. Also, Verne wanted half of Hogan's money he made while he was in Japan too. Verne really couldn't see the ' big picture '.
@@CP-kb1du The promoter ( Verne Gagne ) was the one who decided who the champion was. Nick Bockwinkel allegedly wanted Hogan to be made the champ but Verne refused. And he went out of business as a result of that decision.
@Robert Rodriguez I like Nick. Not only great in the ring but a genius on the mic. The problem was Nick was 50 around this time and someone younger was needed to become champion.
By the early 1980s, a pro wrestler's size and flashy look sold a lot more tickets than his technical wrestling ability did. Verne Gagne was stuck in a rut, promoting his brand of wrestling that had not dramatically changed since the early days of kayfabe in the 1920s. When Bob Backlund lost to the Iron Sheik in late 1983, that was the end of the Classic Era of pro wrestling and the beginning of the Golden Era.
I agree, Backlund losing to sheik was the farewell to the classic era, Verne was a dinosaur and ignored basic business sense by being so stubborn with Hogan. He was also an arrogant thief, going on vacations and stiffing wrestlers for pay he owed, hell with him was what many thought when they left for the WWF and NWA.
Yup. Hogan and Snuka were the two biggest baby faces in the world in 1983. Two guys with great physiques who had a uniqueness you just couldn’t replicate.
Verne is the businessman who had every advantage and still failed. The AWA roster was stacked throughout the 80's but Verne made Hogan and later Henning wait forever for their big spot until he lost them to Vince. No one in wrestling had so much and did so little.
Best part about Jumpin Jim telling stories is you know they are 100% true and the B.S and embellishment level doesn't exist .. And no one in history had a better standing drop kick than him PERIOD!
I remember 11 yrs old in back seat of car on 494 south of Mpls when Brunzel and Hogan passed us. We kids flexed our muscles...Hogan (in passenger seat) flexed back! 😳😯 💪😎👍
I have loved these interviews with Jim....he seems very nice, and I love hearing his perspective on things because he witnessed quite a bit.....still looks good too. Nice work as always with your interviews.
It's so great to hear Jim say that Hogan "could work"! So many people love to bash Hogan for not being "a good wrestler", when in fact he was terrific at everything he did. Jim is awesome for getting it, great interview! 👍🏻✌🏻
Agreed, the thing about Hogan he could work when he wanted to - he was just - I don't want to say lazy, Hogan had a very "safe" way to work for longevity - and Vince wanted him to because as Jim said he was the golden goose. Hogan wasn't bad - he wasn't great - but he wasn't as bad as many say. I'll even give Hogan that.
@@vortega472 Yep! I think the best way to describe Hulk's work is "he didn't do much, but he did everything he had to do very well". He wasn't there to have 20 minutes spotfest full of headlocks, he was there to beat up the bad guys and entertain, and he did that better than everyone else. Hulk held the WWF championship for 4 consecutive years non-stop, for him to work as safely (aka in a predictable manner) as possible made a lot of sense, fans were still happy when they went home and that's all that matter. His 4 years on top (84 to 88) were fantastic.
San Francisco had become an AWA territory before Hulk jumped over the WWF, and I had time to get hooked on Bockwinkel, Heenan, Andre, the Hulkster, and Mean Gene Okerlund. And then one day, they started disappearing. And then one Saturday morning, there was no more AWA programming on KTVU (Channel 2 in the Bay Area), but rather WWF Superstars. Production-wise, a far superior product. And they had Hogan, Andre, Heenan and Okerlund! At first I thought it was a repackaged AWA, but quickly realized it was an entirely different promotion. At the time, I didn't even know there were any other promotions.
@@gregorylevi1826 I saw the Roy Shire promotion on occasion, but I really wasn't into watching wrestling until junior high. In the late 80s and early 90s some of the local UHF channels started showing USWA and Global. WCW had been on channel 36 since the mid-80s, but by then I was reading Pro-Wrestling Illustrated, so I was more informed.
Detecting an unusually low level of BS here. Kudos to Brunzell on being a straight shooter, and the guy seems to be holding up well too. God bless him.
Anything someone didn't witness themselves and they heard it from Greg is likely a revisionist version to not make his old man look like the bad business man he was. TV deals, they were gonna do Andre vs Hogan, they were gonna give Hogan the belt, I call BS on most of what Greg says related to Hogan leaving and all the stuff they were gonna do but didn't get the chance
I bet Verne was pissed when he saw what Hogan became with Vince P.S - Jumpin Jim is a legend.!! His LJN wrestling figure along with Brian Blair was my 1st wrestling figures I ever had along with my hulk hogan LJN Figure
Didn't Vern also take a percentage of Hogan's Japan earnings? It seems he did everything to push Hulk to NYC. It would have happened eventually, but that was really a miscue not giving Hogan a run with the title.
He wanted to take a cut. According to Hogan, Verne told him he was going to put the belt on him, but part of it was he would be taking a cut from Japan.
People don't focus enough on how greedy he was, always stiffing wrestlers and acting like they had nowhere else to go. He found out the hard way, ok then, bye Verne.
If you want to know a lot about the history of professional wrestling i would definitely recommend watching the spectacular legacy of the AWA on the WWE network
Jim is a great shoot interview. The part that got my laughing is Greg Gagne telling Jim that CBS sports wanted Hulk vs Nick Bockwinkle....Greg is a huge liar!
Hogan has faced jealousy his entire career. To hear everyone tell it, Hogan was the worst wrestler ever. He couldn't perform any move and he never drew any money. Meanwhile, you watch Hogan's matches in Japan and the guy knew a ton of moves and holds. Hogan and Greg Valentine had a great technical match. He may not have been the best from a technical standpoint, but he wasn't awful by a long shot. People took one look at Hogan and they just KNEW he was going to be huge. That is hard for people who spent their whole lives struggling to just be mid-carders. It hurt on a level that can't be explained. To see someone that just had IT and some of it was genetics. Hogan put in a lot of work, but some of his gifts were just given to him at birth. You can't earn them. I was never a Hogan fan because he was just pushed down my throat as a kid. I liked the villains more. But I understand what he meant to the wrestling business.
The WWE was a "cartoon" is tiresome. Cornette is largly responsible for spreading this nonsense . His loud obnoxious colours, personality, eye glasses, portly stature while carrying a tennis racket was the very definition of a cartoon character. Vince and Hogan made History- and Verne and the rest of the old timers never got over it.
It was not a cartoon when he got hulk, but Vince made it so about a year into Hulk's run. WWF early 80's was a big mans territory, slow and deliberate, and too many old veterans. The balance was off. Vince began poaching the AWA and some NWA wrestlers as well and restocked the shelves with young talent, and then his cartoon show took off for good after Wrestlemania. It was not a cartoon show when Backlund was Champion, but that era was gone for good. Freemasonry destroyed wrestling.
There was a story that Hogan told where Verne tried to coax him with making Hogan the AWA champion and handed one of Verne's daughters in marriage if Hogan gave Verne a certain percentage of the revenue in the Hulkamania T-Shirts that Hogan was making off of the trunk of his car. Yeah... Verne was a real piece of work.
Verne was too stupid to see with Hogan he had a Superstar Billy Graham, just as Vince Sr. couldn't see how valuable Graham was either. Vince Jr. saw it
The T-shirts the AWA owed a bunch of royalties to Hogan like $40,000 it’s kind of strange that they sold so many of those not a single one has ever popped up on eBay I’ve searched and I’ve never found one
i know this clip is almost 3 years old but its great to finally find one of someone calling out greg on his bulllshit, his old tag team partner no less
Hogan leaving the AWA is what led that company out of business. Vince knew there was only one guy that was gonna take his company to the next level. He couldn't have done it without Terry.
If one watches the Super Sunday Event between Bockwinkle v. Hogan and after that Dusty Finish is announced, that 18,000 seat house in Minnesota is livid, so Brunzell is correct, screw the fans over too much, hint at something too much, watch what happens.
the hogan vs bockwinkle matches were a farce. i have hogan's anthology dvd at home & hogan gets disqualified for a suplex over the top rope & that happened after the pinfall! was that an awa house rule or a trumped up charge (so to speak) created by gagne? no one in wwf or wcw ever got dq'd for that as far as i know.
Even if Verne made him champ, Hogan would have still went to WWF, to much money involved for him to stay in AWA, Verne would have not been able to afford him.
Bet he couldn't tell Daddy what to do, either. I can see him going for the idea, but not getting the old man to sign off on it. It does sound like a case of the 'shouldas', though. "Just wait, Hulk, Verne is warming up to the idea.."
If Hogan had stayed in the AWA, things would have completely changed that would still be relevant today. I have heard if Hogan did decline, Vince did have some other wrestlers in mind to be the face of the company. I have always heard Tommy "wildfire" Rich was a candidate, but this may be pure speculation.
@Greg Bailey I hear you, Hogan really was the right man at the right time. It was interesting because I started to get back into wrestling in 1985, and living in the Midwest, I was watching the AWA. Even though, Vince had raided the locker room by then, there was still some good talent, and that particular year, the success of the WWF I think actually helped both the AWA and the NWA because it was the first time possibly since the 1950s that wrestling had some mainstream appeal once again.
I have never heard "Wildfire" Tommy Rich being a candidate if Vince didn't get Hogan. Now I heard Sgt. Slaughter was a consideration along with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, & Kerry Von Erich. Although I think Vince could have achieved big success with Austin Idol if he didn't get Hogan.
Actually Hogan wasnt reason i started watching wrestling,as a kid 1st wrestling i remember watching was WrestleMania 2 watched it to see Andre.Andre made WWE he was known everywhere from traveling the territories like Flair.He was the q people tuned in to see,Mcmahon&Hogan rode his coattails.
How many bookers had Hulk Hogan in hand and didn't know what to do with him? Wrestlers who criticize Hulk as a worker don't understand their business. Most of them closed up their territories 30 years ago.
In Verne's mind he was indeed bestowing the greatest honor on Hulk Hogan. The AWA belt holder was never the true king. The company in-house monster baby face was always the true AWA pinnacle of success. Verne saw Hulk as something bigger than a champion. He would become the new generation replacement for the Crusher, defending the association against all eheel threats. Crusher was always the biggest draw, but he was aging. Hulk just didn't understand Verne's vision of hierarchy.
Agreed Flair might have been the better worker and story teller in the ring. But Flair never drew like Hogan or made his fame in pop culture on tv,TV, etc period. Hulk ruled ,he made me eat my vitamins qnd say my prayers growing up lol.
@@EFGeneral1 He was a big part of it, but my friend I went to see Piper main event Orndorff at the Boston Garden and there was maybe 6,000 people there. When Hogan was in the main event there (no matter who he wrestled) there was no less then 14,000 people there. Those were the numbers.
Saw him slam Andrae at Shea stadium. The unofficial 1st wrestlemania. Bruno and Zybisco in the cage. Backlund and Morales took the tag titles from the wild Samoans.
@@ryanpatrick131 You have to remember that that was not Hogan's first time in WWE (then WWF) Hogan was a heel during his first foray. It was after he left and appeared in Rocky 3 that people (outside of wrestling) took notice. When he returned to the WWF in 1984, he was given the WWF title and became a baby face. In order for the WWF to get to that next level (Wrestlemainia) and promote Hogan as this larger than life hero, the WWF needed THAT villain ( heel ). ROWDY RODDY PIPER.
Lets say Verne did let Hogan be the AWA champion, under a multi year contract, to keep him from jumping to the WWF. What would Verne do to keep him interesting during those years? He would need to come up with some tough opponents to avoid boredom from the fans. Having a multi year "back and forth" with Nick Bockwinkel would only go so far.
I’ve heard the real reason was Hogan wouldn’t give up Japan. Vern told him he would get the belt but his champion wasn’t going to disappear for 6 weeks at a time and Hogan refused.
Vern refused to change with the times. He kept pushing the " older skilled technician style wrestler" while the larger than life entertaining superheroes " were becoming popular
It was the worst decision ever made in pro wrestling. If Verne puts the strap on Hogan. His territory goes crazy and who does he worry about no one because Howdy Doody in the NorthEast would never be as popular as Hogan. Verne always failed to see the big picture. Now Verne is mostly known for that mistake.
Verne should have let Hogan wrestle in NJPW because Hogan wanted to wrestle in AWA and NJPW. Verne should have let Hogan wrestle as a big man because Hogan is a solid worker if u let him.
Verne Gagne could have let Hogan win the title and have him lose it a few months later. This way it satisfies the fans and keep Hogan in the AWA. In a rematch, have Hogan win the title, but this time he has a longer title reign. May not have been ideal, but would have satisfied for all concerned.
There were a bunch of things that happened between Hogan and Verne. Complete business mismanagement. The Hulk T-shirt thing was pretty much true. Same with the CBS thing. Hulk played bass. I don't know if he actually played guitar or not.
Hogan would have been better off working for eddie Graham and Florida in 1981 rather than for verne Gagne but I agree with other people's opinion even if verne put the awa belt on hogan he could not resist vince's offer it was meant to happen.
Don't forget that Verne himself sweetened the pot for Hogan by basically treating him like a chump and taking advantage of him to push his son on the people who came to see Hogan. Had Verne had any sense and given Hogan his due, things might have played out differently, even if it had just meant Hogan leaving amicable and not vengeful.
Ah Sterling Golden. I remember seeing him on CWF with Gordon Solie in the early 80's. Didn't think that much about him at the time because he was basically forgettable besides his size. He always cut good promos.
Because Verne was there, advancing into the future was delayed, and it cost them. The iron was hot for wrassling because an expanse of networks and need for content came together in the early 80's into the 90's. Vince was quick, and Verne got dead.
I think one of the problems with Verne that no one ever mentioned is he was probably was in the 1st stages of Dementia and Alzheimer's and his decision making ability was off kilter. Even if that disease is in the infant stage and only accounts for 10-15% of bad decisions it's enough to start a road to ruins
@@IrishKyokushin I think Verne owned it outright, so pretty much only Verne had any real power. Greg probably wasn't going to get his dad declared incompetent, and he would likely have been worse anyway.
One has to wonder what would have happened if Verne did make Hogan a champion, and had him under a contract, so Vince could not touch him for at least several years? Without Hogan, would Vince's plans to take over the other territories have fallen apart, or just been delayed?
I would of taken the 100k offer and injured Hogan and take the WWF title to AWA that would of made massive headlines and history would of been made and everyone would of spoke about till today. Rich and history maker who’s a winner?
Disagree with Jim. Yes hogan played a huge part in wwf’s surge… but McMahon was ppv pioneer, got celebs, upped the production values so much, got the other stars… got the tv deals… wwf would have won in the end no matter what.
Hogan lies a lot, but this might be a true story. I think it was on the Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD where Hogan says he was booked to win the world title, but Verne told him he's getting part of Hogan's Japan deal, and Hogan was like no you're not. Also, Verne didn't pay him for merchandise that was sold. So they changed the finish to another screw job after raising ticket prices and Bockwinkel kept the belt. Still Verne was too stubborn and too greedy to understand what he was doing. In that same DVD Verne says he didn't think Hogan was good enough for the title, and Greg says Hogan was almost there but not quite ready. I think both were lying. Greg is a known liar, there was even a video at one time where he tried to take credit for the NWO. Those guys can say what they want, but if they had to do it all over again, they would have given in to Hogan and his demands and made him world champion.
No, he was one of the all time greats, his age was the issue at that point. Doesn't look right for an old man to be beating younger studs, especially when most were bigger than him.
Unfortunately, Eric Bischoff made the same mistake as AWA did in WCW. Even worse, he gave some of the old guys (including the number one boy, Hogan!): CREATIVE CONTROL.
Hogan only had creative control over his matches. The merger of Turner Broadcasting is what killed WCW. You ignorantly are speaking based on fan rumor that actual fact.
@@1980Triumph Read my comment carefully, will yah? You're the one who is ignorant of my comment here. What did I say here? "Unfortunately, Eric Bischoff made the same mistake as AWA did in WCW." This is based on my observation: just like AWA, the old guys were given much control of the matches in WCW by having CREATIVE CONTROL. Of course, Hogan was given creative control. Read carefully next time, kiddo, before you react.
@@josecarlosramolete6109 I read your comment and mine still stands. You make references that aren't accurate and go nowhere. You were attempting to blame the fall of WCW on Eric and also Hogan but those factors had no bearing on the fall of WCW, there are no parallels but Hogan haters will use any lame shared story and you all, always come out looking insane
@@1980Triumph the fall of WCW was indeed on Eric Bischoff. your argument is so silly. and that doesn't mean you are right. your comment is so lame! my comment stands. yours doesn't.
@@josecarlosramolete6109 - thank you, you're proof that Eric and Hogan haters are insane, Eric wasn't even in charge, you don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. You should be embarrassed but instead you're doubling down...wow and LOL
Bret would have blamed Verne for ruining his career. Hulk on the other hand went on to become the biggest star ever. Shows Bret's delusional outlook on his career.
i booked Jim on a bunch of shows i ran in the 90’s. always professional, articulate and showed up early. total class act!
No you didn’t
Stop lying.
Where at ?
@@SwanRonsonDonnyJepp Rice Lake, wi
Vfw hall in shefield ala
Yep, AWA kept pushing the older guys like 49 year old Nick Bockwinkel and even 57 year old Verne himself, while Verne had a prime 29 year old Hulk Hogan on the roster along with several other young terrific talents on the mid-card. The terrific young talents went elsewhere and became superstars while AWA faded away. 13 years later, the same story was repeated by WCW!
And today wwe is making the same mistake while awe is giving a showcase for young stars like hangman,MJF AND DARBY
@@johnbeardshall2898 You are right john, history repeats itself again.
Verne lost land and could not go on, could have with the land, he and much of the gang went to work with WCW.
You obviously don't know very much on the time period. Verne didn't wrestle more than a few times a month, if that.
Hulk Hogan,Stan Hansen,the Roads Warriors,Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin,Curt Henning,Scott Hall and several others left the territory and he never got sufficient replacements,that was the reason the AWA went out of business,which is sad cause had Verne played his cards right the AWA would have been profitable and successful for years to come.
Not making Hogan champion was the biggest mistake Verne made. It led to the downfall of AWA.
He gave to Bockwimkel instead and later gave it to Rick Martel. If Verne would have given the title to Hogan Maybe The AWA might have lasted longer then it did.
Not giving Hogan money led to the downfall.
Another Big mistake by Verne I agree
That was major mistake Number 1. Number 2 was not putting the Belt on Sgt. Slaughter during the time he was the face of G.I. JOE [one of the biggest toys brands for boys in the 80s] which no doubt led to him returning to the WWF to do his famous American traitor gimmick that gave him a short run with the WWF title. Then in 91 putting the belt on Zybysko instead of the young Tom Zenk.
@@IrishKyokushin Verne didn't know his talent pool very well. That's why The AWA isn't around anymore. Made very bad decisions
Verne's greatest enemy was Verne. He was an old school territory guy who didn't want or welcome change. He held the title too long (or would wear it at too old an age). As much as I love Bockwinkel, Nick was too old to have held the belt as late as he did (He was 41 in 1975 when he was Champion and was 52 when he regained the title in 1986). Vinnie Mac's desire for WWF/E nationwide dominance was the death knell for AWA (and what was left of the territories). Sadly without the competition, (and "Sports Entertainment") we are left with the dud WWE (and an old out of touch Vince, like Verne) a miss/hit AWE gymnast fest, a hollowed out ROH bad Impact! and Billy Corgan's NWA hobby shows. Wish WWE would sell the massive wrestling library to an outside party that would release all the Old school territory footage, that would be best for all wrestling fans.
Yeah it's sad how far wrestling has fallen. Long gone are the days when a WCW wrestler could show up on raw and vice versa. WCW folding and no real rival and competition for WWE was the beginning of the end. I also think social media and the end of kayfabe really hurt wrestling and plus there's no bigger than life superstars anymore. In the 80's wrestling was so awesome as a kid and then the early to mid 90's was still great and compared to today was underrated then the attitude era and Monday night wars were just the pinnacle of professional wrestling,WCW folded and the ruthless aggression era was great but then with no real competition and no hated rival WWE and thus wrestling would slowly fade into a boring shell of it's former self.
I miss the territory days Houston promoter Paul Boesch was affiliated with the Nwa, Awa and Wwwf and showcased all of their current champions at the time
And who was he supposed to put it on some unproven Guy like Hogan
What WWE had was Andre 7"5 freak that was athletic enough to have full matches.
I never understood how people thought Hogan couldn't "Work". He DID Wrestle YEARS before "Hulkamania". Just look at his work in Japan Pre & Post Hulkamania. He just knew in the US the gimmick is what sold. In Japan he needed to both be the "character" & WRESTLE. He wasn't Bret Hart or Curt Hennig...but then again who is? Hogan was a better worker than most give him credit for.
Agree 1000%, well said.
They've never seen his matches against Muta
AXEUUU BOMBBBAAAAA!!!
If you watch Hogan's very first WWE house match against Ric Flair (available here on RUclips), Hogan basically did Flair's whole move set against him! I think Hulk was trying to prove that he could work, after years of people saying Flair was the superior in ring performer between the two.
I’ll give you that point,Hulk was a better in ring worker than he is given credit for,not great but good enough
AWA was great but you would have a semi-main event with Wahoo McDaniel or the Crusher or Superstar Billy Graham or Mad Dog Vachon then in the main event Verne would put himself always in it and he would put the entire arena to sleep with a 7 minute arm bar or toe hold.. Gagne just didn't get that part..
WHAT YEAR WAS THAT??
Agreed. Verne effed up by not giving Hogan a run with the belt. At this point, it's awfully hard to debate...
Verne tripped.
The NWA died over being too stiff neck .
No debate at all. Hogan should have won the AWA title in 1982
Even if Verne had put the belt on Hogan he wouldn't have known how to push him. Verne was stuck in the past as to how wrestling should be presented. Vince was a younger guy who had new ideas on how to present wrestling.
@@winnipegdocs211 Like Hogan would have known how to Run with that Ball and Score a Touchdown Without Fumbling it. Fact is he may not have been Ready to be the Man at that time .
Hulk said on many occasions including the spectacular legacy of the AWA DVD that when Verne offered him the title the night he was supposed to get it he wanted half of everything he made and Hulk turned it down
Sure, because Verne got a cut of Hogan's Japan matches, and the AWA champion's Japan matches. If Hogan was the champion, that's one cut instead of two. So Verne upped it to half of Hogan's income. Hogan said no. Without that idea, that's why Verne didn't want to make Hogan champion.
Back in 1985 after Vince took most of the younger talent from the AWA my friends started to call the promotion the "Alzheimer's Wrestling Association". Dick The Bruiser, Crusher, Maddog Vachon and Nick Bockwinkel were headlining cards...it was hilarious.
OH AND THEY ONLY HAD THOSE FOUR WRESTLERS?? HILARIOUS INDEED!!
It's crazy how Minnesota is interweaved into pro wrestling history so many times and ways.
A lot of top wrestlers came from Minnesota, I ain't surprised
As a Minnesotan I was very surprised as a young kid to learn how many legends came from Minnesota. Ric Flair, the Road Warriors, Curt Hennig, Brock Lesnar, etc. It's a pretty impressive list.
Not only were many great wrestlers from Minnesota, a good number of the top names were trained by Verne Gagne, too.
Besides Verne messing up royally by failing to put the belt on Hulk, there also was a rumor that I've heard 👂 from a couple of sources that Verne wanted to put the belt on Hulk as long as he dated and married one of Verne's daughters. He realized Hulk would be great but wanted assurances that Hulk would stick around. That sounds like a ' dealbreaker '. Also, Verne wanted half of Hogan's money he made while he was in Japan too. Verne really couldn't see the ' big picture '.
That is Bullshit ...Nick Botchwinkel refused to put Hogan over worse move in the History of the Business
@@CP-kb1du The promoter ( Verne Gagne ) was the one who decided who the champion was. Nick Bockwinkel allegedly wanted Hogan to be made the champ but Verne refused. And he went out of business as a result of that decision.
You left out Verne kept all the t-shirt money
And what was the big Picture to put the Belt around someone who wasn't there Yet . Against someone like Nick who already Proved himself .
@Robert Rodriguez I like Nick. Not only great in the ring but a genius on the mic. The problem was Nick was 50 around this time and someone younger was needed to become champion.
By the early 1980s, a pro wrestler's size and flashy look sold a lot more tickets than his technical wrestling ability did. Verne Gagne was stuck in a rut, promoting his brand of wrestling that had not dramatically changed since the early days of kayfabe in the 1920s. When Bob Backlund lost to the Iron Sheik in late 1983, that was the end of the Classic Era of pro wrestling and the beginning of the Golden Era.
Watch Hogan's Japan matches sometime--he could do technical moves when he needed to...
I agree, Backlund losing to sheik was the farewell to the classic era, Verne was a dinosaur and ignored basic business sense by being so stubborn with Hogan. He was also an arrogant thief, going on vacations and stiffing wrestlers for pay he owed, hell with him was what many thought when they left for the WWF and NWA.
Yup. Hogan and Snuka were the two biggest baby faces in the world in 1983. Two guys with great physiques who had a uniqueness you just couldn’t replicate.
Verne is the businessman who had every advantage and still failed. The AWA roster was stacked throughout the 80's but Verne made Hogan and later Henning wait forever for their big spot until he lost them to Vince. No one in wrestling had so much and did so little.
Hogan, Hennig, Scott Hall, Rick Martel and the midnight rockers
Only Hall stayed till the end
@@shooter7734 Did he? I thought Hall wrestled in Florida before he jumped to the WWF as Razor Ramone.
@@christofl6523
Nope, he was in WCW
@@shooter7734 ALL CHAMPIONS BESIDES HOGAN WHILE THERE!!
@@kingbullyrock8739 HE WAS IN FLORIDA TOO!!
Best part about Jumpin Jim telling stories is you know they are 100% true and the B.S and embellishment level doesn't exist .. And no one in history had a better standing drop kick than him PERIOD!
Just made a comment along the same lines but yeah a refreshing amount of straight shooting without much if any spin, nor avoidance of stuff
@@vultureguy33 cool man
He had an awesome drop kick yes but Rocky Johnson's was much better.
He told some BS at the beginning of this video, he said that hulk Hogan knew how to work
Jacques Rougeau too
I love the inside info Jim Brunzell just gave about Hulk Hogan & Verne short sightness for not making Hulk the Champ.
Jim meant to say Johnny Valiant he was using Johnny's real last name of Sullivan
I remember 11 yrs old in back seat of car on 494 south of Mpls when Brunzel and Hogan passed us. We kids flexed our muscles...Hogan (in passenger seat) flexed back! 😳😯 💪😎👍
I have loved these interviews with Jim....he seems very nice, and I love hearing his perspective on things because he witnessed quite a bit.....still looks good too. Nice work as always with your interviews.
It's so great to hear Jim say that Hogan "could work"! So many people love to bash Hogan for not being "a good wrestler", when in fact he was terrific at everything he did. Jim is awesome for getting it, great interview! 👍🏻✌🏻
His work in Japan was good
Agreed, the thing about Hogan he could work when he wanted to - he was just - I don't want to say lazy, Hogan had a very "safe" way to work for longevity - and Vince wanted him to because as Jim said he was the golden goose.
Hogan wasn't bad - he wasn't great - but he wasn't as bad as many say. I'll even give Hogan that.
Excellent point sir!
@@vortega472 Yep! I think the best way to describe Hulk's work is "he didn't do much, but he did everything he had to do very well". He wasn't there to have 20 minutes spotfest full of headlocks, he was there to beat up the bad guys and entertain, and he did that better than everyone else. Hulk held the WWF championship for 4 consecutive years non-stop, for him to work as safely (aka in a predictable manner) as possible made a lot of sense, fans were still happy when they went home and that's all that matter. His 4 years on top (84 to 88) were fantastic.
Early Hogan was not Jack Brisco, but he was good. It’s just the way Vince booked him to do less that a lot of people think he sucked.
San Francisco had become an AWA territory before Hulk jumped over the WWF, and I had time to get hooked on Bockwinkel, Heenan, Andre, the Hulkster, and Mean Gene Okerlund. And then one day, they started disappearing. And then one Saturday morning, there was no more AWA programming on KTVU (Channel 2 in the Bay Area), but rather WWF Superstars. Production-wise, a far superior product. And they had Hogan, Andre, Heenan and Okerlund! At first I thought it was a repackaged AWA, but quickly realized it was an entirely different promotion. At the time, I didn't even know there were any other promotions.
Yeah you really missed out on the territories
@@gregorylevi1826 I saw the Roy Shire promotion on occasion, but I really wasn't into watching wrestling until junior high. In the late 80s and early 90s some of the local UHF channels started showing USWA and Global. WCW had been on channel 36 since the mid-80s, but by then I was reading Pro-Wrestling Illustrated, so I was more informed.
Always loved watching Jumpin' Jim! And what a class act! Keep these going James! And thanks to both of you!✌
Mr. Jim Brunzell is always a great interview and tells it like it was or is.
I recommend Juming Jim Bruzells book. One hell of a read. I enjoyed the book very much. Best wrestling bio I've read , and I own several.
Detecting an unusually low level of BS here. Kudos to Brunzell on being a straight shooter, and the guy seems to be holding up well too. God bless him.
Jerry Lawler says he's still owed money from AWA. What a legacy, 🙄.
From SuperClash III I believe
He never got paid by Verne so he kept the AWA belt he won
Anything someone didn't witness themselves and they heard it from Greg is likely a revisionist version to not make his old man look like the bad business man he was. TV deals, they were gonna do Andre vs Hogan, they were gonna give Hogan the belt, I call BS on most of what Greg says related to Hogan leaving and all the stuff they were gonna do but didn't get the chance
Greg was a pussy.
I bet Verne was pissed when he saw what Hogan became with Vince
P.S - Jumpin Jim is a legend.!! His LJN wrestling figure along with Brian Blair was my 1st wrestling figures I ever had along with my hulk hogan LJN Figure
Jim is such a great guy. Would love to hear more about the CBS deal. Any chance of getting Greg in?
Didn't Vern also take a percentage of Hogan's Japan earnings? It seems he did everything to push Hulk to NYC. It would have happened eventually, but that was really a miscue not giving Hogan a run with the title.
He wanted to take a cut. According to Hogan, Verne told him he was going to put the belt on him, but part of it was he would be taking a cut from Japan.
People don't focus enough on how greedy he was, always stiffing wrestlers and acting like they had nowhere else to go. He found out the hard way, ok then, bye Verne.
Jim’s right, Verne screwed Verne.
If you want to know a lot about the history of professional wrestling i would definitely recommend watching the spectacular legacy of the AWA on the WWE network
Have the DVD it is amazing. Really tells you the story of what really happened in the AWA and led to its demise
Everyone coming down in Verne but there was no way the Mcmahons were ever going to not get him
Jim was my favorite wrestler along with Tito Santana
Jim is a great shoot interview. The part that got my laughing is Greg Gagne telling Jim that CBS sports wanted Hulk vs Nick Bockwinkle....Greg is a huge liar!
I'm related to verne. My mom has a bunch of old pictures of him with my family!
Verne Gagne was a better wrestler than he was a businessman.
Good ol Jim Brunsell . High flyers
Hogan has faced jealousy his entire career. To hear everyone tell it, Hogan was the worst wrestler ever. He couldn't perform any move and he never drew any money. Meanwhile, you watch Hogan's matches in Japan and the guy knew a ton of moves and holds. Hogan and Greg Valentine had a great technical match. He may not have been the best from a technical standpoint, but he wasn't awful by a long shot. People took one look at Hogan and they just KNEW he was going to be huge. That is hard for people who spent their whole lives struggling to just be mid-carders. It hurt on a level that can't be explained. To see someone that just had IT and some of it was genetics. Hogan put in a lot of work, but some of his gifts were just given to him at birth. You can't earn them. I was never a Hogan fan because he was just pushed down my throat as a kid. I liked the villains more. But I understand what he meant to the wrestling business.
Verne Gange started the AWA as a vanity project because the NWA would not give him the world title.
Jumpin Jim Brunzell - “ HEH❕HEH❕”
Jumpin' Jim Brunzell---a hero of my childhood!
The WWE was a "cartoon" is tiresome. Cornette is largly responsible for spreading this nonsense . His loud obnoxious colours, personality, eye glasses, portly stature while carrying a tennis racket was the very definition of a cartoon character. Vince and Hogan made History- and Verne and the rest of the old timers never got over it.
Wrestling needs cartoon characters as much as heels and baby faces, there needs to be a mixture of "sports" and " entertainment ".
It was not a cartoon when he got hulk, but Vince made it so about a year into Hulk's run. WWF early 80's was a big mans territory, slow and deliberate, and too many old veterans. The balance was off. Vince began poaching the AWA and some NWA wrestlers as well and restocked the shelves with young talent, and then his cartoon show took off for good after Wrestlemania. It was not a cartoon show when Backlund was Champion, but that era was gone for good. Freemasonry destroyed wrestling.
There was a story that Hogan told where Verne tried to coax him with making Hogan the AWA champion and handed one of Verne's daughters in marriage if Hogan gave Verne a certain percentage of the revenue in the Hulkamania T-Shirts that Hogan was making off of the trunk of his car. Yeah... Verne was a real piece of work.
Marriage wise Hulk probably would have been better off marrying one of Verne's daughters.
Verne was too stupid to see with Hogan he had a Superstar Billy Graham, just as Vince Sr. couldn't see how valuable Graham was either. Vince Jr. saw it
Hogan didn't define an era of professional wrestling. Hogan defined professional wrestling.
I almost broke my neck trying to do a drop kick like Jim
I don't think Jumpin Jim has a bad thing to say about anyone. He comes across as a great guy. He is also a fellow Minnesotan.
The T-shirts the AWA owed a bunch of royalties to Hogan like $40,000 it’s kind of strange that they sold so many of those not a single one has ever popped up on eBay I’ve searched and I’ve never found one
i know this clip is almost 3 years old but its great to finally find one of someone calling out greg on his bulllshit, his old tag team partner no less
Verne wasn't the greatest promoter but he IS the greatest trainer of all time...just look at all the guys that made an impact from MN
The Killer Bees were a good tag team back in the day. It would have great to see Stan Hansen vs Hulk Hogan
It happened in Japan
Hogan leaving the AWA is what led that company out of business. Vince knew there was only one guy that was gonna take his company to the next level. He couldn't have done it without Terry.
Well done Verne. Ruined your own company but keeping the belt on these fossils.
If one watches the Super Sunday Event between Bockwinkle v. Hogan and after that Dusty Finish is announced, that 18,000 seat house in Minnesota is livid, so Brunzell is correct, screw the fans over too much, hint at something too much, watch what happens.
Stubborn old man Verne wasn't gonna change his ways even if it cost him everything, which ironically, IT DID!!
I remember Jumping Jim Brunzel giving Randy Macho Man Savage a tough job match. Randy barely won it.
I have Matlands book, autographed by Jumpin Jim himself 😊
the hogan vs bockwinkle matches were a farce. i have hogan's anthology dvd at home & hogan gets disqualified for a suplex over the top rope & that happened after the pinfall! was that an awa house rule or a trumped up charge (so to speak) created by gagne? no one in wwf or wcw ever got dq'd for that as far as i know.
Even if Verne made him champ, Hogan would have still went to WWF, to much money involved for him to stay in AWA, Verne would have not been able to afford him.
I'd take anything that Greg Gagne says with a grain of salt.
Bet he couldn't tell Daddy what to do, either. I can see him going for the idea, but not getting the old man to sign off on it. It does sound like a case of the 'shouldas', though. "Just wait, Hulk, Verne is warming up to the idea.."
If Hogan had stayed in the AWA, things would have completely changed that would still be relevant today. I have heard if Hogan did decline, Vince did have some other wrestlers in mind to be the face of the company. I have always heard Tommy "wildfire" Rich was a candidate, but this may be pure speculation.
@Greg Bailey I hear you, Hogan really was the right man at the right time. It was interesting because I started to get back into wrestling in 1985, and living in the Midwest, I was watching the AWA. Even though, Vince had raided the locker room by then, there was still some good talent, and that particular year, the success of the WWF I think actually helped both the AWA and the NWA because it was the first time possibly since the 1950s that wrestling had some mainstream appeal once again.
Vince also thought of kerry von erich too
@@harshtruth5003 I believe it.
I have never heard "Wildfire" Tommy Rich being a candidate if Vince didn't get Hogan. Now I heard Sgt. Slaughter was a consideration along with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, & Kerry Von Erich. Although I think Vince could have achieved big success with Austin Idol if he didn't get Hogan.
@@gregorylevi1826 Austin Idol I DEFINITELY could see, he had the look.
Actually Hogan wasnt reason i started watching wrestling,as a kid 1st wrestling i remember watching was WrestleMania 2 watched it to see Andre.Andre made WWE he was known everywhere from traveling the territories like Flair.He was the q people tuned in to see,Mcmahon&Hogan rode his coattails.
How many bookers had Hulk Hogan in hand and didn't know what to do with him?
Wrestlers who criticize Hulk as a worker don't understand their business. Most of them closed up their territories 30 years ago.
In Verne's mind he was indeed bestowing the greatest honor on Hulk Hogan. The AWA belt holder was never the true king. The company in-house monster baby face was always the true AWA pinnacle of success. Verne saw Hulk as something bigger than a champion. He would become the new generation replacement for the Crusher, defending the association against all eheel threats. Crusher was always the biggest draw, but he was aging. Hulk just didn't understand Verne's vision of hierarchy.
No doubt, nobody, rock,Austin, taker, nobody could of done what hulk did. Not one
Indeed.
Hogan made pro wrestling. Like it or not. It's the fact.
Agreed Flair might have been the better worker and story teller in the ring. But Flair never drew like Hogan or made his fame in pop culture on tv,TV, etc period. Hulk ruled ,he made me eat my vitamins qnd say my prayers growing up lol.
FALSE- Roddy Piper took wrestling to the next level.
@@EFGeneral1 He was a big part of it, but my friend I went to see Piper main event Orndorff at the Boston Garden and there was maybe 6,000 people there. When Hogan was in the main event there (no matter who he wrestled) there was no less then 14,000 people there. Those were the numbers.
Saw him slam Andrae at Shea stadium. The unofficial 1st wrestlemania. Bruno and Zybisco in the cage. Backlund and Morales took the tag titles from the wild Samoans.
@@ryanpatrick131 You have to remember that that was not Hogan's first time in WWE (then WWF) Hogan was a heel during his first foray. It was after he left and appeared in Rocky 3 that people (outside of wrestling) took notice. When he returned to the WWF in 1984, he was given the WWF title and became a baby face. In order for the WWF to get to that next level (Wrestlemainia) and promote Hogan as this larger than life hero, the WWF needed THAT villain ( heel ). ROWDY RODDY PIPER.
Lets say Verne did let Hogan be the AWA champion, under a multi year contract, to keep him from jumping to the WWF. What would Verne do to keep him interesting during those years? He would need to come up with some tough opponents to avoid boredom from the fans. Having a multi year "back and forth" with Nick Bockwinkel would only go so far.
I’ve heard the real reason was Hogan wouldn’t give up Japan. Vern told him he would get the belt but his champion wasn’t going to disappear for 6 weeks at a time and Hogan refused.
Dave Schultz trained by Welch ! Let’s be real Welch was sadistic with training up there with Billy Robinson and Verne Gagne.
Verne didn't put the title on Hogan because he was mad at Hogan for doing Rocky 3..
Great athlete. Great high jumper
I hadda lotta respect fur his potner !
Vern refused to change with the times. He kept pushing the " older skilled technician style wrestler" while the larger than life entertaining superheroes " were becoming popular
It was the worst decision ever made in pro wrestling. If Verne puts the strap on Hogan. His territory goes crazy and who does he worry about no one because Howdy Doody in the NorthEast would never be as popular as Hogan. Verne always failed to see the big picture. Now Verne is mostly known for that mistake.
Verne should have let Hogan wrestle in NJPW because Hogan wanted to wrestle in AWA and NJPW. Verne should have let Hogan wrestle as a big man because Hogan is a solid worker if u let him.
Even Bockwinkle begged Verne to put the belt on Hogan
That true?
David Schultz left the AWA because they always wanted him to go to San Francisco
He can't find no woman there!
Really? I think it's because Schultz left his heart in San Francisco!!!
He wanted a wo-man, but couldn't find a wo-man. He found a lot of men that looked like women, though! 😂
"What's wrong with YOU GENE!!"
@@st.ja1m379 "I'm telliin ya like it is Baby !" 👍😉
Had he made Hogan champion he might have kept awa around longer and the AWA should have had a full partnership and working relationship with NJPW.
Brunzell was correct about Hogan in the AWA.
Verne Gagne could have let Hogan win the title and have him lose it a few months later. This way it satisfies the fans and keep Hogan in the AWA. In a rematch, have Hogan win the title, but this time he has a longer title reign. May not have been ideal, but would have satisfied for all concerned.
There were a bunch of things that happened between Hogan and Verne. Complete business mismanagement. The Hulk T-shirt thing was pretty much true. Same with the CBS thing. Hulk played bass. I don't know if he actually played guitar or not.
Don't forget Verne told Hogan he wanted some of his other merchandise money too.
Lol verne was a crook
Hogan would have been better off working for eddie Graham and Florida in 1981 rather than for verne Gagne but I agree with other people's opinion even if verne put the awa belt on hogan he could not resist vince's offer it was meant to happen.
Don't forget that Verne himself sweetened the pot for Hogan by basically treating him like a chump and taking advantage of him to push his son on the people who came to see Hogan. Had Verne had any sense and given Hogan his due, things might have played out differently, even if it had just meant Hogan leaving amicable and not vengeful.
Ah Sterling Golden. I remember seeing him on CWF with Gordon Solie in the early 80's. Didn't think that much about him at the time because he was basically forgettable besides his size. He always cut good promos.
WWE's gonna mess around and make the same mistake with Cody.
Johnny Sullivan? I think Jim confused Johnny Valiant with Kevin Sullivan.
So basically if Verne Gagne’s ego didn’t get the best of him the WWE wouldn’t become what it is today
Nah cause Vince i feel still had way more money and could promise even more fame and notoriety...hed have left eventually
Hogan would have gone to New York for the money eventually. This just made it happen sooner
Because Verne was there, advancing into the future was delayed, and it cost them. The iron was hot for wrassling because an expanse of networks and need for content came together in the early 80's into the 90's. Vince was quick, and Verne got dead.
Exactly. His ego & plus always trying to count Hulk Hogan's money too.
Hogan was green as baby poop back then by the time he hit wwf he was ready .
I think one of the problems with Verne that no one ever mentioned is he was probably was in the 1st stages of Dementia and Alzheimer's and his decision making ability was off kilter. Even if that disease is in the infant stage and only accounts for 10-15% of bad decisions it's enough to start a road to ruins
Then the people who ran AWA with him should have taken the final say from him.
@@IrishKyokushin I think Verne owned it outright, so pretty much only Verne had any real power. Greg probably wasn't going to get his dad declared incompetent, and he would likely have been worse anyway.
Isn't it ironic Verne was a dementia patient @ the end. His bodyslam or hiptoss he never remembered
One has to wonder what would have happened if Verne did make Hogan a champion, and had him under a contract, so Vince could not touch him for at least several years? Without Hogan, would Vince's plans to take over the other territories have fallen apart, or just been delayed?
It might been delayed for a couple of years, cause dusty wasn't willing to take the chance, Kerry & dog weren't reliable so it had to be hogan.
Killer bees should have been tag champs
In late 1989 Brian Blair left the WWF, he was unhappy that the team had been promised the WWF Tag Team Championship three times but never won them.
Awa. Was a great organization. Wish it would have stayed afloat……… vince put all the other companys out of buisness
I would of taken the 100k offer and injured Hogan and take the WWF title to AWA that would of made massive headlines and history would of been made and everyone would of spoke about till today. Rich and history maker who’s a winner?
Disagree with Jim. Yes hogan played a huge part in wwf’s surge… but McMahon was ppv pioneer, got celebs, upped the production values so much, got the other stars… got the tv deals… wwf would have won in the end no matter what.
Hogan lies a lot, but this might be a true story. I think it was on the Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD where Hogan says he was booked to win the world title, but Verne told him he's getting part of Hogan's Japan deal, and Hogan was like no you're not. Also, Verne didn't pay him for merchandise that was sold. So they changed the finish to another screw job after raising ticket prices and Bockwinkel kept the belt. Still Verne was too stubborn and too greedy to understand what he was doing. In that same DVD Verne says he didn't think Hogan was good enough for the title, and Greg says Hogan was almost there but not quite ready. I think both were lying. Greg is a known liar, there was even a video at one time where he tried to take credit for the NWO. Those guys can say what they want, but if they had to do it all over again, they would have given in to Hogan and his demands and made him world champion.
Vern Gagne was very stupid for not giving Hogan the Heavyweight belt. The AWA paid dearly for that mistake!!!
Gagne was the worse promoter ever having Nick Botchwinkel as Champ was a Joke !
No, he was one of the all time greats, his age was the issue at that point. Doesn't look right for an old man to be beating younger studs, especially when most were bigger than him.
Tanked the AWA @@rickstalentedtongue910
Verne ended up killing someone when his dementia got bad
Sadly Hogan and McMahon crushed Verne Gagne and the WWF empire began. Jumpin Jim Brunzell was great!
Unfortunately, Eric Bischoff made the same mistake as AWA did in WCW.
Even worse, he gave some of the old guys (including the number one boy, Hogan!): CREATIVE CONTROL.
Hogan only had creative control over his matches. The merger of Turner Broadcasting is what killed WCW. You ignorantly are speaking based on fan rumor that actual fact.
@@1980Triumph
Read my comment carefully, will yah?
You're the one who is ignorant of my comment here.
What did I say here?
"Unfortunately, Eric Bischoff made the same mistake as AWA did in WCW."
This is based on my observation: just like AWA, the old guys were given much control of the matches in WCW by having CREATIVE CONTROL. Of course, Hogan was given creative control.
Read carefully next time, kiddo, before you react.
@@josecarlosramolete6109 I read your comment and mine still stands. You make references that aren't accurate and go nowhere. You were attempting to blame the fall of WCW on Eric and also Hogan but those factors had no bearing on the fall of WCW, there are no parallels but Hogan haters will use any lame shared story and you all, always come out looking insane
@@1980Triumph
the fall of WCW was indeed on Eric Bischoff.
your argument is so silly. and that doesn't mean you are right.
your comment is so lame!
my comment stands. yours doesn't.
@@josecarlosramolete6109 - thank you, you're proof that Eric and Hogan haters are insane, Eric wasn't even in charge, you don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. You should be embarrassed but instead you're doubling down...wow and LOL
If only, if only, if only.
Have to instruct the guests on how to present themselves on screen. Lots of the old timers need serious help
Bret would have blamed Verne for ruining his career. Hulk on the other hand went on to become the biggest star ever. Shows Bret's delusional outlook on his career.