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Below is a list of former members of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), an American professional wrestling organization based in Minnesota.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2024) |
Below is a list of former members of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), an American professional wrestling organization based in Minnesota.
Deceased individuals are indicated with a dagger (†).
(For many years, the AWA ran joint shows with the World Wrestling Association at the International Amphitheater in Chicago)
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It 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.
Curtis Michael Hennig, better known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by many peers, critics, and fans, he performed under his real name for promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and NWA Total Nonstop Action. Hennig was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig and the father of wrestler Curtis Axel.
Raymond Louis Heenan was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, and wrestler. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name Bobby "the Brain" Heenan.
Harley Leland Race was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Alan Robert Rogowski, better known by the ring name Ole Anderson, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and promoter.
The Dangerous Alliance was a professional wrestling stable who was active in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1987 and in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s. The group derives its name from "Paul E. Dangerously", the ring name of its founder and manager Paul Heyman.
Lawrence Whistler, better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his work as a wrestler and color commentator for World Championship Wrestling. Among other accolades, he is a two-time world champion having twice held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Zbyszko was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 28, 2015, by Sammartino.
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling. When Mike Graham tried a return to promoting, the rights to the name had been acquired by an outside party, forcing him to use another name, Florida Championship Wrestling.
Nicholas Warren Francis Bockwinkel was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s.
Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Mad Dog Vachon. He was the older brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestler Luna Vachon.
Reginald Lisowski was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Crusher. In his obituary, The Washington Post described him as "a professional wrestler whose blue-collar bona fides made him beloved among working class fans for 40 years". One of the biggest-drawing performers in the history of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), he was known as "The Wrestler Who Made Milwaukee Famous", and found his greatest success in the American Midwest, often teaming with Dick the Bruiser.
Jerry Blackwell was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell. Blackwell competed in the 1979 World's Strongest Man contest, but withdrew early in the competition due to an injury. He was a main event star in the American Wrestling Association where he feuded with Mad Dog Vachon, Hulk Hogan, The Crusher, Bruiser Brody and Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey.
Larry Hennig was an American professional wrestler. He was the father of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, and the grandfather of Curtis Axel and Amy "Ms. Perfect" Hennig. He worked in the American Wrestling Association, National Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Hennig was known by the nickname, "The Axe", a nickname he had because of his signature, often finishing move of dropping a full weight elbow onto his prone opponents.
Kenneth John Benkowski, better known by his ring name, Kenny "Sodbuster" Jay, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association.
The Wrestler is a 1974 independent film directed by Jim Westman, produced by professional wrestler Verne Gagne and W.R. Frank, starring Ed Asner as Frank Bass, a wrestling promoter. Verne Gagne also stars in the film as Mike Bullard, the current wrestling champion of his "league". After a long reign as champion, Bullard is getting older and feeling pressure from all sides, including his wife and wrestling promoters, to pass the championship to Billy Taylor and retire. Bullard's resistance to their requests that he step aside is the central conflict in the film. The film presents professional wrestling as a truly competitive sport, always maintaining the illusion that matches are a result of athletic combat and not pre-determined outcomes decided before the matches.
The AWA Remco Action Figure Line was an action figure toyline based on the wrestlers of the now defunct American Wrestling Association Promotion, or AWA. They were made by the toy company Remco from 1985 to 1986. The toys were made of a solid plastic pose, with moveable waists, legs, arms, and heads. Most came with accessories, from outfits to championship belts. This was actually the first line of wrestling figures available for sale in the United States, preceding the very popular WWF Wrestling Superstars line from LJN which also debuted in 1985.
AWA Championship Wrestling is a professional wrestling television series that aired on cable sports network ESPN from 1985 to 1990. It was a continuation of the earlier ESPN program Pro Wrestling USA, the co-operative venture between the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and several National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliates. On February 26, 2008, ESPN Classic began reairing AWA Championship Wrestling episodes. Along with the ownership of the AWA intellectual property by the WWE, all episodes are available on the WWE Network.
Les Wolff was an American football player and professional wrestler, known by his ring name "Beautiful" Buddy Wolfe, who competed in North American regional promotions including the American Wrestling Association, National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wide Wrestling Federation during the 1970s and 80s.
SuperClash '85 – The Night of Champions was the first SuperClash professional wrestling supercard event promoted by the American Wrestling Association (AWA). It was billed as AWA's flagship supercard, their biggest event of the year. The event was held at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois on September 28, 1985, only a few months after WrestleMania, which was promoted by the rival World Wrestling Federation (WWF) promotion.