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97-597: André the Giant and Haku were both members of Bobby Heenan's stable of wrestlers known as the Heenan Family , and had teamed occasionally at house shows during the summer and fall of 1989, but were formally joined as a team in the latter half of 1989 to form the Colossal Connection. This was partly done because of André's ailing health, hoping to prolong his career, but also to provide The Heenan Family with

194-527: A green screen with footage of fans at sports bars who were supposedly watching the matches live inserted on the screen using Chroma-Key. The pilot can be viewed in the "WWE Hidden Gems" section of the "Vault" menu on WWE Network . In 1996, Dale Gagner, a former AWA employee but no relation to Verne despite the similar surname, removed the "r" from his name and formed an organization in Minnesota known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling . In April 2007, WWE filed

291-592: A lawsuit against Gagner, citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned all AWA properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure. In a move to sidestep WWE, former AWA wrestler Jonnie Stewart trademarked the name "American Wrestling Alliance" but the United States Patent and Trademark Office later indicated that the request was abandoned in February 2008. In October 2008, the lawsuit against Gagner

388-603: A 50/50 split instead. Gagne refused, and kept the belt from him. However, Hogan did admit in his autobiography My Life Outside the Ring that he still intended to stay with AWA and that Gagne had planned to book him in steel cage matches with Bockwinkel in an effort to expand the AWA to the New York market, but he decided to leave when Vincent K. McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) offered him

485-567: A couple of years later, and production was transferred to Minneapolis station KMSP-TV . During the AWA's existence, it produced or had a hand in production of several TV programs: In 1985, Gagne began airing weekly programming on ESPN , hoping to help the promotion compete with the national exposure already enjoyed by the WWF on USA Network and the NWA member Jim Crockett Promotions on TBS . However, weekly AWA shows were not treated with any priority by

582-601: A lifetime suspension from the WWF if they could prove a masked man competing as the "Giant Machine" was André. In addition to André, WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan was another frequent target of the Heenan Family (though in real life the pair were friends and, when he was leaving the AWA, Heenan had actually called Hogan about getting work in the WWF and then suggested him to WWF owner Vince McMahon ). Early on, Heenan turned to Studd, Bundy and Hogan's on-again, off-again friend "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff to win

679-473: A match, Harley would make his defeated opponent "bow and kneel" before him and Heenan would usually assist the defeated opponent to "bow and kneel" by grabbing their hair and forcing them to bow before King Harley Race. As part of a storyline explaining André's leave of absence from the WWF (due to health problems and a tour of Japan), the Heenan Family campaigned to have André suspended for failing to show for matches against Studd and Bundy, and later to require

776-424: A new title belt of similar design. In February 1989, Larry Zbyszko , a one-time employee and Verne's son-in-law, returned to the AWA and won the vacated World Title in an 18-man Battle Royal, eliminating Tom Zenk to end the match. It was also during this time that Joe Blanchard replaced Blackburn as AWA President. Zbyszko's first title reign would last for a little over one year. During this time, he would defend

873-577: A relationship with Memphis-based promoter Jerry Jarrett and the CWA and even allowed Mid-Southern territory legend Jerry "The King" Lawler to win the AWA World Title from Hennig in May 1988. This was after the AWA flirted for months with the idea of giving Greg the belt, even awarding the belt to Gagne at a couple of house shows, only to return it to Hennig on a technicality. It was widely speculated that

970-598: A replacement tag team to fill the void of Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson ( The Brain Busters ) who were leaving the WWF to return to the NWA . The Colossal Connection appeared at The 1989 Survivor Series as part of the four-man team known as ”The Heenan Family" (along with Arn Anderson and Bobby Heenan). The team faced the ”Warriors” a team composed of the Ultimate Warrior , Jim Neidhart and The Rockers . André

1067-400: A result, he lost the financial resource he was using to keep the AWA up and running and had no choice but to shut down the promotion. In an interview during the late 1990s with Minneapolis television station KARE , Gagne spoke of the devoted fan base in Minnesota and joked about how he may promote again some day, but nothing ever materialized. In 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment purchased

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1164-595: A role in the hit film Rocky III , Hogan rapidly caught on as a babyface with AWA fans, and became the AWA's top draw. But even as his popularity grew to unprecedented levels, Gagne refused to make him the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, as Hogan was a powerhouse wrestler. He recognized Hogan's showmanship and charisma and was well aware of his potential drawing power, but still believed a wrestling company should be built around one of its best technical wrestlers (e.g., himself and Bockwinkel). On

1261-406: A roll of dimes. After further review by on-air AWA President Blackburn, and following weeks of speculation by AWA fans, the decision was upheld and Hennig was the new champion. Gagne pushed Hennig and The Midnight Rockers throughout 1987 and into 1988, but the WWF came calling and all three of his top stars would soon be gone. During 1987, in an attempt to remain relevant and survive, Gagne renewed

1358-561: A series of AWA-related pay-per-views were produced. Titled AWA Classic Wrestling , they featured compilations of old AWA footage, hosted by Greg Gagne and Todd Okerlund (son of Gene Okerlund), with occasional appearances by Verne Gagne. The pay-per-views ceased following the acquisition of the AWA tape library by World Wrestling Entertainment . The AWA World Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in Saint Paul, Minnesota , on January 15, 1962, for

1455-487: A single manager. Heenan notoriously disliked the term, stating that "a stable is a place where you keep a bunch of fly-infested horses", and instead referred to his collective wrestlers as his "family". The name moved with him, and changed members frequently. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , a professional wrestling manager , joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) full time in 1974 managing

1552-466: A six-week notice upon leaving the company for booking and syndication -based reasons, most of the talent reportedly told Gagne that McMahon offered them more money to not work out their notices and previously-scheduled appearance dates, which has been disputed by McMahon. Of the talent to leave AWA for the WWF in this time, only Heenan worked out his notice in good faith to the Gagne family. The sting of

1649-497: A successful tag team , though they never seriously challenged for the WWF Tag Team Championship , instead concentrating on Heenan Family feuds with André and Hogan. At WrestleMania 2 , Heenan would manage King Kong Bundy at the main event. In May 1986, Heenan managed longtime friend Harley Race , bleaching his hair blond and billing himself as "Handsome" Harley Race. During a time when the WWF did not recognize

1746-572: A tour of Japan and left with the championship belt. Hansen argued that he was booked as AWA Champion in Japan and was therefore fulfilling his commitment. Gagne disagreed and awarded the AWA Championship to Bockwinkel, using one of the tag team title belts on a temporary basis. Gagne threatened legal action if Hansen continued to keep the belt and it was returned to the AWA as a result (although according to Bockwinkel on The Spectacular Legacy of

1843-470: A tournament at a Superstars taping on April 23 in Austin, Texas to fill the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Going into the match, Perfect had told that he would have a "new" manager, with the surprise that it was Bobby Heenan, who came to ringside midway through the bout and distracted Santana enough to allow Perfect to get the win. The same month, Heenan would manage a charge against the world title for

1940-539: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD, Bischoff revealed that one of the main reasons the AWA shut down was that Gagne was leveraging money against a valuable property he owned along Lake Minnetonka . Local officials wanted to turn the property into a park. Gagne fought the decision for several years, but eventually lost the eminent domain case, leading to the creation of Lake Minnetonka Regional Park . As

2037-568: The AWA World Tag Team Championship ). Gagne was an amateur wrestling champion who had earned a spot on the U.S. team at the 1948 Summer Olympics ; he ran the AWA with a conservative sensibility, firmly believing that sound technical wrestling should be the basis of a pro-wrestling company. Starting in the 1970s, Gagne trained his newcomer wrestlers from his farm in Chanhassen, Minnesota . Under Gagne and Karbo,

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2134-532: The Big Boss Man in a non-title match at a house show just before WrestleMania VI; Hogan and Bossman won, marking the only time (other than their WrestleMania VI match) that André and Haku lost a match as an official tag team. (The Hogan-Bossman vs. Colossal Connection match also marked one of the last matches pitting Hogan vs. André the Giant). The WrestleMania VI match where they lost the titles to Demolition

2231-569: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD , Gagne denied bias against Hogan and defended his actions by reasoning that he believed that Hogan's pursuit of the title was the draw for the audience and that "we really didn't need him to be champion". On two occasions, Gagne went so far as to tease AWA title wins for Hogan, only to return the title to Bockwinkel via technicalities. The first was on April 18, 1982. Hogan defeated Bockwinkel with

2328-506: The WWF World Heavyweight Championship . As McMahon and his Connecticut -based WWF attempted to end pro wrestling's regional era in the mid-1980s (by establishing the WWF as a national promotion), Gagne made several decisions that caused his AWA to lose momentum in the emerging wrestling promotion war, including overemphasizing his son Greg Gagne in AWA storylines (which led to charges of nepotism within

2425-658: The "real" world champion . Bockwinkel, accompanied by then manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , traveled to Mississippi several times to defend his title. After Gagne's retirement in 1981, he focused the promotion on Nick Bockwinkel , a loyal employee of several years who was a mat-wrestling technician like Gagne had been. Bockwinkel faced numerous challengers for the title during the early 1980s including eventual champions Rick Martel and Otto Wanz , champion Mad Dog Vachon , and perennial contenders Wahoo McDaniel , and Brad Rheingans , but perhaps his most famous opponent would be Hulk Hogan . Starting in 1982 and accelerated by

2522-689: The 1950s as a result of his appearances on the DuMont Network . He aspired to become NWA World Champion , but political sentiment within the NWA prevented it. In 1959, Dennis sold his majority stake in the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club to Karbo and Gagne. They then became co-owners of the promotion. In 1960, after unsuccessfully lobbying the NWA for a title match between Gagne and the NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor , Gagne and Karbo led certain territories out of

2619-460: The 1990s. The AWA would become inactive in the fall of 1990 (the last television taping occurred on August 11). As a result, Zbyszko signed with WCW. As his last official act, Gagne stripped the already-departed Zbyszko of the AWA World Title in December 1990. In 1991, Gagne and his inactive promotion officially filed for bankruptcy. Gagne did promote two cards in Minnesota in May 1991, featuring

2716-504: The AWA , Hansen had run over the belt with his truck before returning it ). The AWA also had a brief relationship with the European promotion Catch Wrestling Association , through which its promoter, wrestler Otto Wanz , was given a brief AWA World Title reign in 1982. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, AWA television production was headquartered at Minneapolis independent station WTCN-TV , then owned by Metromedia . The ring announcer

2813-464: The AWA and CWA, and Lawler would challenge WCCW Heavyweight champion Kerry Von Erich to a title unification match at SuperClash III in December. Super Clash III was the AWA's first venture into the Pay-Per-View market and wrestling's first collaborative PPV between several promotions. However, after months of hype, the end results were somewhat contentious and relatively unsuccessful. Following

2910-638: The AWA became one of the most successful and expansive single territories in North America, promoting shows in such major cities as Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee , Chicago , Omaha , Winnipeg , Denver , Salt Lake City , Las Vegas , San Francisco , Phoenix and throughout the Midwest region. Relationships were also developed with existing promotions in Houston , Memphis and San Antonio . Gagne's westward expansion into traditional NWA territories

3007-567: The AWA began to lose audiences, as the WWF was gaining wrestling superiority due to the success of WrestleMania I . Later in the year, as this struggle against the WWF progressed, Karbo also sold all his stock to Gagne as well. In September 1985, Pro Wrestling USA would respond to McMahon's rising success by promoting the first SuperClash . Despite this success, the Pro Wrestling USA collaboration did not last, as Gagne accused David Crockett of trying to sign away AWA talent over to

Colossal Connection - Misplaced Pages Continue

3104-560: The AWA forged an alliance with several NWA promoters, including Jim Crockett Promotions , Mid-South Wrestling , Pacific Northwest Wrestling , World Class Championship Wrestling , and the Continental Wrestling Association . This new promotion was known as Pro Wrestling USA and came about in an attempt to establish a national presence to compete against the WWF. The AWA was also able to sign top wrestlers like Sgt. Slaughter and Bob Backlund . By 1985, however,

3201-518: The AWA had working agreements with Japanese promotions International Wrestling Enterprise (1969 to 1980), then All Japan Pro Wrestling (1980 to 1988, although the relationship was strained in 1986 by the AWA Title debacle surrounding Stan Hansen ), and, near the end, New Japan Pro-Wrestling . On June 29, 1986, in Denver, Colorado , Hansen refused to lose the AWA World Title to Bockwinkel prior to

3298-478: The AWA to return to the World Wrestling Federation shortly after WrestleMania VI , and Colonel DeBeers took over as the team captain for the Snipers (the team name was changed to "DeBeers' Diamondcutters" and Slaughter was said on air to have "gone AWOL " to explain his departure). Babyfaces and heels alike were assigned to teams, forcing bitter rivals to work together, and due to main talent losses many of

3395-466: The AWA, Mr. Saito became part of the Heenan Family. Heenan made his debut appearance in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in September 1984, seconding Big John Studd to the ring. While Jesse Ventura was originally supposed to be the first member of the WWF version of the Heenan Family, he was forced to retire due to health problems. Studd officially became the first member of the WWF version of

3492-565: The Family by acquiring the contract of The Barbarian from Mr. Fuji . At WrestleMania VI in Toronto, Ontario , Canada , Demolition regained the titles from The Colossal Connection and after the match, Heenan angrily berated Andre, leading André to turn on him and depart. Later that month, his spot in the Family would be filled by Mr Perfect , and the Heenan Family got its fourth title when Mr. Perfect defeated former champion Tito Santana and won

3589-592: The Giant due to André's ongoing health problems that ultimately caused his death less than three years later. Even so, André did engage in action during that bout - both in having interfered in the match without being tagged, and after the bout whilst confronting Heenan and Haku. While Demolition was the most frequent Colossal Connection opponent during their Tag Team championship run, André and Haku also defended against The Rockers ( Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty ) and The Hart Foundation ( Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart ). The Colossal Connection also faced Hulk Hogan and

3686-511: The Heenan Family came to a temporary conclusion as Heenan announced on May 28 at a Superstars taping that he was selling the contract of Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect to "Coach" John Tolos and retiring to become a "broadcast journalist"; in reality, he retired as a manager due to lingering effects of a broken neck suffered in 1983 and being an announcer offered a less strenuous travel schedule as well as no longer taking bumps. However, he would go to associate with Ric Flair when he came to

3783-510: The Heenan Family with just Hennig, Haku, and Barbarian as members. Perfect regained the title on November 19, 1990, thanks to interference from Ted DiBiase. This title win aired on the December 15, 1990 episode of Superstars . Mr. Perfect faced Big Boss Man at WrestleMania VII in Los Angeles , where a disqualification loss after Bossman was attacked by Heenan Family members Haku and The Barbarian meant that he retained his title; during

3880-423: The Heenan Family, and it wasn't long before Patera joined the fold. Heenan managed Buddy Rose From December 1984 to January 1985 and appeared with him on Piper's Pit . Adrian Adonis and Missing Link joined the Heenan Family in May 1985. The Heenan Family's first target was André the Giant , with whom Studd had been embroiled in a bitter feud over who was the true "giant" of wrestling. The Heenan Family scored

3977-681: The July 26, 1993 episode of Monday Night Raw, an excited Heenan left the announce booth to welcome his "good friend" Jim Cornette to the WWF. Cornette has later praised Heenan for putting him over, claiming Heenan's endorsement gave him instant heat with the WWF audience. Other wrestlers who were part of the Heenan Family, at one time or another, were Ken Patera , Paul Orndorff, Adrian Adonis , The Missing Link , "The King" Harley Race , The Islanders (Haku and Tama ), Hercules , The Barbarian , The Red Rooster , and The Brooklyn Brawler . Several of them—most notably Hercules and Race—challenged Hogan for

Colossal Connection - Misplaced Pages Continue

4074-732: The March 11, 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XX and then defeating Heenan in a 30-second squash at WrestleMania V . After going more than a year without winning any of the WWF championship (World Heavyweight, Intercontinental or Tag Team), the Heenan Family got its first title when Rick Rude (with help from Heenan) upset The Ultimate Warrior to win the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania V. Shortly thereafter, he led The Brain Busters (former Horsemen members Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) to

4171-827: The NWA backstage at numerous Pro Wrestling USA shows. The AWA released an AWA Remco Action Figure line with the toy company Remco and a series of 30 minute videos entitled "Wrestling Classics", primarily featuring wrestlers such as Sgt. Slaughter, the Road Warriors, Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal , and World Champion Martel. Despite falling behind the WWF and NWA as a major promotion throughout 1986 and 1987, Gagne still managed to find and/or develop legitimate young talent like Scott Hall (later known as Razor Ramon ), The Midnight Rockers ( Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty ), "Bull Power" Leon White (later known as Big Van Vader ), The Nasty Boys ( Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags ), and Madusa Miceli during that timeframe. With

4268-440: The NWA forming the AWA. The AWA unilaterally recognized NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor as AWA World Champion and gave him 90 days to defend the AWA title against Gagne. The NWA ignored the challenge. O'Connor was stripped of the AWA title and it was awarded to Gagne on August 16, 1960. While O'Connor was considered the first AWA Champion, he didn't wrestle in the AWA until later in the 1960s (when he teamed with Wilbur Snyder to win

4365-629: The WWF Tag Team Championship with a win over Demolition ( Ax and Smash ) on Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV , giving the Heenan Family two champions at one time. The Brain Busters would later lose the titles to Demolition in a rematch, and in November 1989 departed the company. A month later, Heenan formed a new team, The Colossal Connection (André and Haku), who defeated Demolition. On February 13, Heenan would add to

4462-658: The WWF World Heavyweight Championship, while others played key roles in various mid-card and main-event storylines. Per The WWE Encyclopedia : When André the Giant won the championship, it was called the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. By July 1989, it was renamed to WWF Championship. American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It

4559-464: The WWF expansion was not shouldered by the AWA alone. The Mid-Atlantic , Georgia , and Florida territories of the NWA also lost top stars such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper , Greg "The Hammer" Valentine , Jack Brisco , Jerry Brisco , Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat , "Cowboy" Bob Orton , Barry Windham , and Mike Rotunda to the WWF during that same time. Despite this talent raid, the AWA went on to have another successful year in 1984, mainly because of

4656-555: The WWF soon after, and was wildly excited when Flair became WWF Heavyweight Champion at the 1992 Royal Rumble , and was seen celebrating with Flair after the match. Heenan's commentary during the Royal Rumble match was highly biased in favor of Flair even by his own standards as a heel announcer. Heenan also introduced Lex Luger in January 1993 and was known as his advisor, though he did not appear as his manager at ringside. On

4753-515: The arena as the new AWA World champion. Six days later on AWA television, AWA President Stanley Blackburn stripped Hogan of the title and returned it to Bockwinkel. The second such occasion was on a "Super Sunday" card in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1983. Hogan again pinned Bockwinkel, was awarded the belt and announced as the new champion. This time, Blackburn came to the ring moments after the match and tried to have Hogan retroactively disqualified for throwing

4850-540: The arrival of The Road Warriors and an angle uniting longtime heel Jerry Blackwell with Greg and feuding with former manager Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey . Although aging, most of the AWA's longtime core talent still remained. Stars like Bockwinkel, Ray "The Crippler" Stevens , The Crusher , Dick the Bruiser , Baron von Raschke , Mad Dog Vachon , and Larry Hennig were all still active at this time despite all being in their 40s or 50s. In response to McMahon's expansion,

4947-555: The assets of the AWA from the Gagnes. All footage of the AWA is owned by WWE. WWE released The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA on November 21, 2006. The DVD includes a documentary on the amateur and professional career of Verne Gagne, the rise and fall of the AWA over its 30-year history, along with numerous interviews and features with Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Jim Brunzell , Michael Hayes , Baron von Raschke , Greg Gagne, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan , Gene Okerlund and Nick Bockwinkel. Abroad,

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5044-472: The bout, seemingly surprising both teams, the referee, and the commentators. The confusion allowed The Islanders to attack the Can-Ams from behind, giving The Islanders a countout win. Tama's gave a flying headbutt to Zenk on the arena floor as Heenan gloated over his new tag team. A summer feud between the two tag teams was brewing, but was scrapped when Zenk departed the WWF. The feud was transferred over to

5141-405: The cable network, sometimes being delayed, preempted by live programming, or suffering from occasional changes in time slot, making it difficult for fans to tune in on a regular basis. On February 26, 2008, ESPN Classic began reairing AWA Championship Wrestling episodes, circa 1986-1990. The AWA ran only one pay-per-view card, SuperClash III, during its 30-year run. However, From 1999 to 2002,

5238-399: The champion over the top rope a few minutes before the pinfall occurred. However, this match had been booked as a no disqualification match, which prevented this, so Blackburn simply stripped Hogan of the title and once again handed it back to Bockwinkel. The crowd (which had exploded in cheers when Hogan appeared to have won) almost rioted when learning that Hogan was once again cheated out of

5335-501: The company) and failing to make Hogan the top star of his company when he had the chance. Frustrated by Gagne's business decisions, Hogan accepted an offer from rival promoter McMahon to wrestle for the WWF, in December 1983. One month later, Hogan became the WWF World Heavyweight Champion . He and the WWF soon became a mainstream media phenomenon and virtually synonymous with professional wrestling in much of

5432-471: The crown at the upcoming Royal Rumble . King Haku was successful in retaining his crown against Race in the latter's comeback attempt. Heenan appeared at ringside cheering on both men, but afterwards Race departed. Also that month on the January 7, 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XIX , The Red Rooster lost a match to Tito Santana due to being distracted by an argument with Heenan. Following

5529-440: The defeat at WrestleMania, André would go into seclusion; Heenan would meanwhile set about expanding the Heenan Family and leading Harley Race in matches against Hogan. In May 1987, The Islanders ( Haku and Tama ) were scheduled for a match on Superstars of Wrestling . Their opponents were the popular Can-Am Connection ( Rick Martel and Tom Zenk ), in what was billed as a scientific match. Heenan appeared at ringside during

5626-599: The end of the team. Andre went on to tag-team with Giant Baba on April 13 at a combined WWF/All Japan/New Japan show in Tokyo, Japan ; the Andre-Giant Baba team defeated Demolition in a non-title match when Andre pinned Smash . Later that year Andre retired from wrestling and was released by the company in late 1991. Haku would form The Faces of Fear with the Barbarian. Heenan Family The Heenan Family

5723-463: The event, the collaborative effort was over and Lawler was stripped of the title in January 1989. Lawler kept the AWA Title belt and continued promoting himself in Tennessee, Texas, and on the independent circuit as the unified World Heavyweight Champion. Lawler did this in an attempt to leverage PPV revenue from Gagne that was allegedly owed to him, but Gagne never paid him and eventually commissioned

5820-523: The existence of other promotions and the accomplishments a wrestler made there, WWF officials came up with a solution to recognize his wrestling pedigree by having him win the King of the Ring tournament. After this, he referred to himself as "King" Harley Race, coming to the ring in a royal crown and cape, to the ceremonial accompaniment of the tenth movement (known as "The Great Gates of Kiev") of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky . After winning

5917-474: The fall, newcomer "Scary" Terry Taylor acquired Heenan as his manager and was rebranded "The Red Rooster", a gimmick which saw him don red tights and ring coat and, later as a babyface, style his hair like a rooster 's comb and strut like a rooster. Early in his Red Rooster stint, the heel Taylor was portrayed as a novice wrestler who could not navigate his way through matches without constant instructions from Heenan. The Rooster made his pay-per-view debut in

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6014-542: The first major victory in the feud when Heenan helped instigate a 2-on-1 attack on André, an incident that resulted in Studd and Patera cutting André's famous locks of hair. André regained the upper hand. In response, Heenan then traded Adrian Adonis and Missing Link to manager Jimmy Hart in September 1985 for King Kong Bundy . Bundy, along with Studd, continued to make life difficult for André, who turned to Hulk Hogan and Tony Atlas for assistance. Studd and Bundy also formed

6111-400: The first time in over two years, when he led Haku in a match against new world champion The Ultimate Warrior. Although Haku was unsuccessful, Heenan managed Rick Rude in a series of challenges against Warrior throughout the summer, but Rude was unsuccessful. At SummerSlam , Mr. Perfect lost the Intercontinental Championship to Kerry Von Erich . Rick Rude departed the WWF in September, leaving

6208-491: The following month, but André would attack Hogan and set up a rematch for 1988. One year after signing André the Giant, Heenan sold Andre's contract to Ted DiBiase . This would essentially end his two-year primary quest to end Hulk Hogan's reign, and he would instead turn his efforts to The Islanders. They became embroiled in a feud with The British Bulldogs ( Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid ), whose mascot Matilda

6305-416: The group was at its largest, with André, Bundy, Orndorff, Rude, Race, Hercules, Haku and Tama all managed by Heenan. In August 1987, the Family took a hit when Orndorff dumped Heenan and joined Oliver Humperdink . A month later, he joined other managers in an effort to sign Bam Bam Bigelow , in an angle that was called "The Battle for Bam Bam". Bigelow in the end wound up a babyface when he denounced all

6402-517: The heel managers and announced that his manager was going to be Oliver Humperdink. In November, André would officially return and won the inaugural Survivor Series elimination tag team match . On December 7, Heenan would again lead Bundy in an effort to dethrone Hulk Hogan at a Saturday Night's Main Event XIV taping in Landover, Maryland . Bundy was once again defeated and would leave the WWF

6499-478: The help of a foreign object that Bockwinkel's manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan had interjected into the match. After the three count, the belt was awarded to Hogan and he was announced as the new champion. Heenan informed the referee of the object and the referee questioned Hogan about this, but the blood on Hogan's face was evidence that the object had also been used on him. The ref stood by his decision and Hogan left

6596-425: The idea of the younger Gagne as heavyweight champion did not play well with AWA fans, who seemed more interested in the involvement of Verne and Larry Hennig in the feud than they did with Greg actually winning the title, so Verne decided to go with Lawler instead. Michaels and Jannetty would drop the titles to Badd Company around that same time. Facing financial trouble of their own, WCCW then allied themselves with

6693-600: The loss, Heenan slapped Taylor, who was tired of Heenan's demeaning style of coaching, and turned against his manager and attacked him. He became a babyface as a result, though he retained the Red Rooster gimmick. Heenan feigned wanting to make amends with Taylor on Prime Time Wrestling , but it was a set-up for Taylor to be ambushed by Heenan's new protege, long-time enhancement talent Steve Lombardi , who Heenan reinvented as The Brooklyn Brawler. The two feuded, leading to The Red Rooster defeating The Brooklyn Brawler on

6790-414: The main event of Survivor Series , where he was the first wrestler eliminated from the match. On December 6, Heenan tried to further expand the Family by bringing John Studd back to the group. However, in a segment on The Brother Love show Studd announced that he wanted nothing to do with the organization. At the end of the year, Harley Race did come back, setting up a friendly match with King Haku for

6887-423: The match, Perfect had been hit in the head with the Intercontinental Championship title belt by former Heenan member André the Giant, though he managed to kick-out of a pin attempt. Despite this, the following month Heenan became one of several managers to attempt to sign Andre the Giant to their respective stables. Andre refused and forced Heenan to march in a tub of grapes on Prime Time Wrestling . A month later,

6984-499: The match, Race would suffer an abdominal injury that would sideline him for most of the year. On June 21 at a Superstars taping, Heenan replaced him with Haku. The Family was further reduced on September 13 when he sold the contract of Hercules to Ted DiBiase on Superstars . The two slots in the Family were then filled on October 5 in Fort Wayne, Indiana when Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard joined as The Brain Busters . In

7081-531: The match. Although John Studd had departed at the end of 1986, Heenan scored a major coup for his stable in January 1987, when André turned heel and challenged Hogan for the title at WrestleMania III . In what was billed as "the biggest title match in wrestling history", Hogan was successful in his match against André in front of a reported 93,173 fans at the Silverdome in Pontiac , Michigan . Following

7178-421: The national consciousness, vaulting past the AWA and NWA as the premier promotion in wrestling. Hogan wasn't alone in leaving the AWA. Some of the AWA's other top talent, including announcer "Mean Gene" Okerlund , manager Heenan, and wrestlers Adrian Adonis , Ken Patera , Tito Santana , Jim Brunzell , David Schultz , Wendi Richter and Jesse Ventura also jumped to the WWF. As the AWA required talent to place

7275-639: The newly formed tag team Strike Force (professional wrestling) after Tito Santana replaced Tom Zenk in the now defunct Can-Am Connection. The feud picked up steam in October of that year after Strike Force upset the Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Team Championship giving Bobby and his family a championship program. On July 15, "Ravishing" Rick Rude was added to the Heenan Family at a Superstars taping in Glens Falls, New York . At this point,

7372-426: The participants were jobbers , such as Jake Milliman , Tom Stone , etc. The winners of Team Challenge matches would earn points for their team; at some unspecified point the highest scoring team would share one million dollars , within the story line. Some of the earlier TCS matches took place in a TV studio without an audience; the announcers claimed it was part of an effort to stop wrestlers from interfering, but it

7469-401: The retirement of Bockwinkel, Gagne tapped Curt Hennig (later known as Mr. Perfect ) as his next champion and future of the company. Hennig, a talented and popular second generation wrestler, defeated Bockwinkel at Super Clash 2 . The overall card was relatively weak, but the title match was a critical success, although the title change was not without controversy, involving Larry Zbyszko and

7566-447: The return of Greg Gagne and Wahoo McDaniel and other stars such as Baron von Raschke , Buck Zumhofe , and The Destruction Crew ( Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom ), but he was unable to revive the promotion. Despite this, the AWA continued re-running matches in their weekly ESPN time slot, and on their syndicated All-Star Wrestling show. The company also managed to release a commercial tape ( Hulk Hogan's Highlights ) during 1991. On

7663-485: The stable, while Heenan received new members in Masked Superstar , Killer Karl Kox , Professor Toru Tanaka , and Ernie Ladd . He also led this version to numerous title reigns before he left GCW. After leaving GCW, Heenan returned to AWA, where he reformed Heenan Family with Nick Bockwinkel . He added Super Destroyer Mark II shortly after arriving. Ken Patera joined in 1982. Toward the end of his time in

7760-629: The tag team to make a trio for one episode of Superstars , taped April 21, 1988 and aired on May 7, 1988. However, the trio would not last long, as Tama's last match with the WWF took place on April 24, 1988 in Toronto 's Maple Leaf Gardens , and Haku and Afi would wrestle only a small number of matches through May as The Islanders before Afi departed. On March 7, 1988 in Nashville, Tennessee , Heenan would lead Harley Race against former champion Hulk Hogan on Saturday Night's Main Event XV . During

7857-749: The team of Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens . Bobby Duncum, Sr. joined within the next year forming the first version of the Heenan family. He went on to later manage The Blackjacks ( Lanza and Mulligan ). Heenan led his members to many title reigns, including the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and the AWA World Tag Team Championship before leaving AWA in 1979 to join Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). In GCW, Heenan formed his second version of Heenan Family, where Blackjack Lanza remained in

7954-599: The title against Zenk, Greg, Wahoo McDaniel , Ken Patera , Nikita Koloff , Brad Rheingans , The Trooper Del Wilkes , and Masa Saito . Zbyszko would eventually lose the title to Saito in February 1990 in front of 65,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome at the NJPW/AJPW Supershow. Zbyszko would regain the title in April 1990 at SuperClash IV . During 1989 and 1990, the AWA also pushed Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom as

8051-717: The title from Hogan, but they were all unsuccessful. In October 1986, Heenan purchased the contract of Hercules from his previous manager Slick . On the November 26, 1986 Saturday Night's Main Event VIII , Heenan would lead Hercules in a title match against Hogan. Although he was able to put Hogan in the " Hercules Backbreaker" torture rack , he lost by pinfall. On December 14 at the following Saturday Night's Main Event IX taping in Hartford, CT, he would manage Paul Orndorff in steel cage rematch against Hogan, who again won

8148-699: The title, and Bockwinkel later had to do damage control with the rabid crowd, telling the audience to calm down afterwards as well. Hogan attacked Bockwinkel and his manager Heenan. On the DVD The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA , it was revealed that Gagne planned to have Hogan win the belt that night, but only if he would give Gagne the bulk of the revenues that Hogan was earning from merchandise and his periodic main-event performances in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Outraged at being strongarmed, Hogan refused, but nonetheless offered

8245-421: The top tag team. In early 1989, Eric Bischoff , who was performing office work for the AWA at the time, mostly in sales and syndication, was placed in front of the camera to replace Larry Nelson as interviewer and occasional commentator. The AWA was Bischoff's first exposure to the world of pro wrestling. He would later become a dominant force in the industry, leading World Championship Wrestling to prominence in

8342-479: The two time WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition , winning the titles on December 13, 1989 (shown on TV December 30), launching them into a feud with Demolition. Demolition regained the titles at WrestleMania VI . At WrestleMania, Haku and Heenan both turned on André. During most of their matches, Haku did almost all of the wrestling, with André coming into the ring only for the finish. During the match at Wrestlemania, Haku wrestled Demolition by himself, never tagging in

8439-622: The vacant AWA World Tag Team Championship . The AWA World Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in Rochester, Minnesota , on October 1, 1989, for the vacant AWA World Tag Team Championship . The AWA held a "Team Challenge Series" from October 1, 1989, through August 11, 1990. All of the available wrestlers were divided into three teams: "Larry's Legends", headed by Larry Zbyszko , "Sarge's Snipers", originally headed by Sgt. Slaughter , and "Baron's Blitzers", headed by Baron von Raschke . Slaughter left

8536-406: The win by eliminating DeBeers at the end, winning the series and the supposed one-million-dollar check for Larry's Legends. An unsold pilot for a weekly syndicated "Team Challenge Series" television show was taped in 1989 with hosts Ralph Strangis and Greg Gagne at "Satellite Base" calling matches recorded in an empty TV studio with no ring announcer. All wrestler entrances were done in front of

8633-448: Was "dog-napped" by The Islanders on an episode of Superstars ; in the weeks following the "dog-napping" incident, The Islanders and Heenan brought a leash to the ring and — to taunt their foes — would pantomime feeding and caressing a dog. The two teams met on opposite sides of a six-man tag team match (along with Koko B. Ware teaming with The British Bulldogs and Heenan with The Islanders) at WrestleMania IV . "High Chief" Afi joined

8730-504: Was Andre's last televised match in the WWF, although he did tag-team with Haku at least one other time, fulfilling their final contractual obligation, that coming on April 10, 1990, when the Colossal Connection wrestled Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championship at a house show in Honolulu, Hawaii . During that match, Andre was knocked out of the ring, and Demolition won by countout; after the match, Andre and Haku fought each other, marking

8827-487: Was a stable of wrestlers managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan beginning in the 1970s. Heenan managed wrestlers under the Heenan Family name in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the National Wrestling Alliance 's (NWA) Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The term " stable " refers to a group of wrestlers in an ongoing alliance, often under

8924-489: Was a founding member of the NWA in 1948 and had promoted wrestling in Minneapolis since 1933 through his Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club. In 1952, he sold a one-third interest in the promotion to his son Dennis and Wally Karbo . Stecher died on October 9, 1954, and control of the promotion passed to Karbo and Dennis. Verne Gagne, an amateur wrestling champion, had become a well-known and popular wrestler nationally in

9021-696: Was actually due to poor ticket sales for arena shows. The remainder of the matches took place at the Rochester Civic Center , where the AWA taped live matches for its television program from 1989-1990. The final match in the TCS was a Royal Rumble -style battle royal featuring Brad Rheingans , The Destruction Crew , Colonel DeBeers, the Texas Hangmen, the Trooper Del Wilkes , and several others. Jake Milliman again came away with

9118-592: Was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo . The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club, originally founded in 1933, which served as the Minnesota -based territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1948 onward, before breaking away from the NWA and becoming an independent territory in 1960. Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Anton Stecher , brother and manager of former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Stecher ,

9215-527: Was longtime Minneapolis - Saint Paul sports broadcaster Marty O'Neill, who also conducted the post-match interviews. O'Neill announced the matches for the local WTCN audience. But fans watching the syndicated version of the show heard commentary provided by Rodger Kent. In the mid-1970s, during a prolonged illness, O'Neill was occasionally replaced as ring announcer by program producer Al DeRusha and interviews were conducted by both Kent and Gene Okerlund . By 1979, Okerlund had permanently replaced O'Neill, who died

9312-593: Was made possible due to relationships and business partnerships he had forged for decades—more the result of other promoters struggling to survive rather than by purchase or hostile takeover by Gagne. The AWA would also benefit from, among other things, the profits which was made from matches that occurred in 1973 and 1974 between Superstar Billy Graham and Wahoo McDaniel. The promotion was briefly affiliated with International Championship Wrestling (ICW), which had broken away from NWA Tri-State in 1977, and recognized then AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel as

9409-533: Was quickly counted out in the opening moments of the match while Haku lasted a bit longer, but ultimately lost. Heenan was forced to wrestle at the Survivor Series as Blanchard was released by the WWF on the day of the event after testing positive for cocaine . Heenan was the last surviving member of the team, but was easily defeated by the Warrior. After Survivor Series, the Colossal Connection challenged

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