Verne Gagne

[7.0] "Gagne is difficult to rate, because in his prime during the 50s and 60s, while he wasn't at the level of some of his more legendary contemporaries like Lou Thesz or Bruno Sammartino, he was at the very least a good technical worker who rarely had bad matches. However, as Gagne got older, his performance declined sharply and exponentially, even watching a match from the early 70s is night and day from his peak, and that's not even mentioning his work from the 80s. Of course, this wouldn't really be a crime as a lot of all time great wrestlers stayed past their welcome. Gagne's main issue was that as the booker, he would make himself world champion at the ripe of age of 54. And while there were older workers in the AWA like Nick Bockwinkel and Billy Robinson, those two were some of the best workers of their era and had aged remarkably gracefully. And while Gagne was far from clunky in his prime, he wasn't at their level. Even as a booker, I think Verne's legacy is pretty mixed. His focus on having the world champion be a legit shooter has some credence to it, and I don't inherently disagree with looking for that in a potential top guy. The only issue was, again, really the only guys who got the top belt were him and bock, and even bockwinkel was getting older. People will blame Gagne for not putting the strap on Hogan, but I honestly don't think that changes the company's health for the long term, and it's just as likely the WWF takes off with Savage or Kerry Von Erich. Overall, I think it's very obvious that Gagne is an influential and notable figure in the history book of wrestling. Yet, I'm still not sure if I can truly say he was good for the sport, or at least, anything more than "almost good." 6.5 rounded up."

[8.0] "Every story from every book I've read and documentary I've watched all say that Verne was a real old school salt of the Earth. Your word was a bond. That type of man doesn't exist anymore sadly. Verne was also a hell of a wrestler. Most of the matches I've seen are from the 70's and 80's when he was at the end of his career but he was believable. His inability to change with the times is what drove the AWA out of business."

[7.0] "Hard for me to evaluate, his career is obviously boosted by the fact that he was the booker and didn't trust people(other than Bockwinkel and his son) to carry the belt. This rubs me the wrong way, and my rating may be harsh, but it's simply hard to evaluate his legacy when he made himself the biggest star in his own company."

[10.0] "An obvious short-lister for the "Mount Rushmore of Pro Wrestling". His ring work was practically the definition of the sport for his prime years and Verne was able to transition into more of an entertainer as he slowed down. This would get him a 10/10 on its own, but he had a tremendous influence outside the ring. Gagne played an important role in training and developing some of the best talent in wrestling. He also built and ran one of the most important territories in North America, only falling prey to McMahon's deeper pockets and closer connections to mass media as the second TV boom began. Finally, his booking was exceptional and maintained big hot crowds for decades, rather than merely getting a few hot years. Obviously Gagne's reputation as a booker is tarnished by a an unfair - I might even say insane! - narrative that he had lost his touch simply because he stretched the Bockwinkle/Hogan feud past Super Sunday, which overshadowed his work in developing the Hulkamania formula that dominated the 80s. But at some point, this WWF/E partisan nonsense will fade away and only Gagne's greatness will remain."

[5.0] "I have never seen his wrestling career, but as chairman, he did okay, I only know about him running the AWA. although he kept relying on older guys to be top draws and never really pushed younger talent. I also hated the fact he booked himself to become the AWA champion more times than anyone else. though he did have some good talent as well."

[7.0] "I definitely can't fully rank his prime years. In his latest years (late 70s and on) he was definitely past his prime and his matches were really boring, even for that decade's standards. He was also a famous promoter, but with some personal issues regarding his own booking, as well as his son's."

[10.0] "Gifted wrestler. Always excited me to watch. he was a kingpin for AWA. Owned and created one of the greatest promotions of all time. Very skilled in the ring and trained many great wrestlers like Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat."

[5.0] "Very good technician. Decent on the mic. However his personal interests created a log jam at the top of the AWA, that caused key talent to leave. Clearly he should have dropped the title to Superstar Billy Graham or Billy Robinson. And again, Bockwinkle should have dropped it to Hogan. Then he kept Greg as a headliner, when in fact he was just not that caliber. He had no idea what to do with the Road Warriors. He really made a mess out of the AWA, when a clear path to success was in front of him."

[10.0] "This man was many things (Olympian, football player, pro wrestling champion, founder. of a great wrestling promotion), but a "sports entertainer" was definitely not one of them. This man put emphasis on ability and skill, instead of over the top gimmicks. The AWA was the closest thing to pro wrestling as 100% sport that there's ever been. The 21st century wrestling scene could use a man like Gagne in control."