From the CBC archives: Verne Gagne and other pro wrestling greats in Winnipeg

Professional wrestling fans in Winnipeg will no doubt remember Verne Gagne, who came to the city 35 years ago along with Maurice Mad Dog Vachon and other stars of the American Wrestling Association.

Gagne, who was one of professional wrestling's most celebrated performers and promoters, died on Monday at his daughter's home in the Minneapolis area.

He was 89 years old and had Alzheimer's disease. 

"Verne was one of the pioneers," Gene Okerlund, a pro wrestling announcer who was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame with Gagne in 2006, told The Associated Press.

"He put [pro wrestling] on the map in the early days when no one had seen it before."

Gagne made his mark on Manitobans of all ages, as shown in this CBC-TV story from Jan. 4, 1980.

Reporter Ricki Katz followed Gagne and other AWA wrestlers, along with their loud and boisterous fans, through several matches inside the Winnipeg Arena.

Owned the AWA

Gagne won several regional championships after turning pro in 1950 before heading to the newly formed American Wrestling Association, based in Minneapolis, in 1960, the WWE said. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, Gagne became a promoter and eventually the sole owner of the AWA. He remained an active competitor until the early 1980s, holding the AWA World Heavyweight Championship title 10 times between 1960 and 1981. 

The AWA "cranked out" a lot of stars, Okerlund said, including Hulk Hogan, Mad Dog Vachon and Nick Bockwinkel. It also was the breeding ground for future WWE stars, including Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Pat Patterson, according to the WWE. 

"He was a task master without a question," Okerlund said. "He demanded a lot out of people and he got a lot out of people." 

Gagne is survived by his four children. His wife, Mary, died in 2002.