Verne Gagne

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Timbo Slice]

If the Chicago stuff is any indication, Verne's stock is rising in my eyes. Really paints a good picture of him as a worker. He'll probably be on there when it's all said and done.

[khawk20]

There is footage available of Verne from the 50's through his last matches in 1986. The 60's stuff is minimal, but the CFA stuff has added to a pretty good selection of 50's stuff that was out there, and there is a decent amount of 70's material available as well. Almost all of his relevant 80's stuff is available. there is some Japan stuff out there including a 1976 match against Jumbo Tsuruta and a 1980 match against Giant Baba, amongst others.

 

I'm glad the CFA stuff has come out because some of the Verne stuff has caught people's attention (vs. Carpentier and Bastien, specifically), and will help people get interested enough to seek out more of his material.

 

One I would recommend heartily is a match from Chicago in the 50's vs. The Great Togo. I don't think it's up on the archives and I'm not sure if they have it to put up in the future, but if not people should seek it out.

[goodhelmet]

I didn't care for him much on the AWA set as authority figure ass kicker. At least Watts looked the part. However, I may revisit the old footage to see what Verne was like in his prime.

[Ricky Jackson]

Watched a bunch of Verne matches last night for an upcoming Titans show. Three matches from the 50s and two from the 70s. Verne in the early 50s was an awesome fired up babyface, climbing the ladder and chasing the NWA title (vs Hans Schmidt in 52, but also of course against Thesz in a match we reviewed last year). After becoming the United States TV champ around 1953 Verne's style seemed to change, as evidenced in matches against Don Leo Johnathan in 1955 and Edouard Carpentier in 1958. Here, Verne is no longer the young lion chasing a title, and his style is more mat-based and conservative. As a result, I found the Johnathan and Carpentier matches rather dull. On the other hand, grizzled Verne in 1974 against Billy Robinson was awesome and that is a great match (from the IWE in Japan). Every hold is a struggle and the match builds to a great crescendo.

Overall, I still prefer young, firey Verne and need to see what else is out there from the early 50s. Verne - Billy from 74 is a must watch though.

 

Here it is

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGfELeWXeVo&index=4&list=PLp4lsXgSXkFDQS8JnpYZV-M4mah0y0pAM

[khawk20]

 

I believe without watching it right now that this is the same Verne vs. Great Togo match that I saw at least a decade ago that I absolutely loved. Worth a look if it's the same one.

[alexoblivion]

That match with Togo was pretty good. Definitely worth watching.

[ohtani's jacket]

Gagne/Robinson was an excellent match. Gagne was very much a wrestler's wrestler, but far be it from me to complain about wrestling for wrestling's sake. I'd watch him again against the right opponent.

[conker8]

He is one of the two Golden Era workers I vote for :

First of all, he has the most amount of footage from CFA.

The guy is a natural. His career start in 1949 and he already has good matches one year later (on tape).

Not a top technician guy like a Pat O Connor or a Billy Goelz or even a Lou Thesz, he is in the tier below and he could held his own against these guys.

His main card is the pure babyface : his selling is quite good and his fire is tremendous. He could carry limited workers like Dick the Bruiser or Yukon Eric with his bumping. On offense, he can throw a good punch.

Some recommendations :

Verne Gagne & Bobby Bruns vs Rudy Kay & Al Williams 05/12/1950

Verne Gagne vs Billy Goelz 06/21/1950

Dick the Bruiser & the Lisowski Brothers vs Verne Gagne, Wilbur Snyder & Argentina Rocca 1956

His three matches against Hans Schmidt (Wrigley Field, Chicago and Buffalo)

His main problem is that we don't have footage from the 60's (I would love to see him against Mad Dog Vachon).

In the 70's you can see his match against Jimmy Valiant for an example and it's the same way he worked in the 50's against a Schmidt or a Dick the Bruiser albeit a bit slower.

[Ricky Jackson]

Verne is the highest Golden Age guy on my list. (I also voted for Thesz, Rogers and Gorgeous George)

[El McKell]

My favourite from the 50s Chicago footage. I love these matworky matches with a real sense of escalation as they go. He isn’t consistent and can let worse performers drag him down to their level (although he pulls a really good match out of Yukon Eric). I really do think he has a lot to offer and has one all time classic match with Thesz.

What I watched for this and my match ratings
Verne Gagne vs Billy Goelz (21/6/50) ***
Verne Gagne vs The Mighty Atlas (9/11/51) ***¼
Verne Gagne vs Red Bastien (1951) ***¾
Verne Gagne vs Lou Thesz (25/01/52) ****¾
Verne Gagne vs The Mighty Atlas (4/4/52) ***
Verne Gagne vs The Great Togo (16/5/52) *½
Verne Gagne vs Carl Meyer (31/10/52) **
Verne Gagne vs Roy McClarity (6/8/54) ***¼
Verne Gagne vs Yukon Eric (21/1/55) ***¾
Verne Gagne vs Don Leo Jonathan (15/4/55) ****
Verne Gagne vs Dick The Bruiser (28/10/55)  *
Verne Gagne vs Wilbur Snyder (4/5/56) ****¼
Verne Gagne vs Billy Robinson (20/11/74) ****