WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne dies at 89

WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne

Today, the wrestling world lost a legendary figure as Verne Gagne, an iconic promoter and Hall of Famer passed away at the age of 89. Gagne was most renowned for his time with the American Wrestling Association for which he worked as a promoter and operated the company from Minnesota for several decades. The company was shut down in 1991.

A ten-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Gagne was later inducted into both the WWE and WCW Hall of Fame in addition to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was also an accomplished amateur wrestler.

Gagne was responsible for training the likes of Ric Flair, Bob Backlund, Curt Hennig, Ricky Steamboat, The Nasty Boys, Iron Sheik, and countless others. His son Greg was also a longtime competitor for the AWA.

Gagne also starred and produced the 1974 film The Wrestler. It would feature dozens of wrestlers as themselves, except Gagne and Billy Robinson, who portrayed Mike Bullard and Billy Taylor, respectively.

Gagne was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had been forced to live at a health care facility. After a 2009 incident, Gagne would be cared for by his daughter Beth and son in law, Will. We express our condolences to friends, family and fans of Verne Gagne.