The Death of the AWA

In 1991, Verne Gagne made the heartbreaking decision to shut the doors of his American Wrestling Association. The company, founded in 1957, had become one of the last remaining traditional promotions. Based out of Minnesota, the AWA provided countless memories, and likewise, controversy."If I read one more sour wrestling book from a lonesome old wrestler who didn't save his money and is peed off because everybody cheated him, everybody did this to him, and everything did this to him, I'm gonna throw up," Blackjack Mulligan said of Verne Gagne. Gagne is generally blamed for the closure of his wrestling promotion, but it might not be completely fair to point a finger at him for everything. Several factors brought the AWA to an end. The following paragraphs are devoted to explanation of the factors.
Reason number one: By the mid-eighties, the AWA was running on fumes in terms of talent. Veterans like Jerry Blackwell, Nick Bockwinkel, and Baron Von Raschke hung on to wrestling well past their prime and continued to deteriorate. Therefore, a slew of new talent was introduced to the AWA. The answers to the disappearance of talent were wrestlers such as Mitch Snow, Kevin Kelly, Steve Olsonowski, and Nick Kiniski. However, all aforementioned youngsters struggled to stay relevant and were deprived of star quality. Future stars such as Marty Jannetty, Shawn Michaels, Curt Hennig, and Scott Hall were brought in and were strongly successful, but due to guaranteed money by the then-WWF, all promising young stars ventured elsewhere. Eventually, the AWA ran out of worthy stars and their roster dwindled significantly.
Reason number two: Towards the end of the eighties, the World Wrestling Federation began taking leaps and bounds like no other company. They had broken out of their territorial phase and become a conglomerate. On the other hand, the AWA remained conscious of old school patterns. On their television programs, flashy graphics and meaningful matches were replaced with stale production methods and hard-to-watch squashes. Their outlook seemed to vintage to popularize which conceived a lack of interest by several crucial markets. A lack of progression hindered the AWA from growth.
Reason number three: The Gagne name lived on in the squared circle when Verne's son Greg debuted in his father's promotion. Greg first established himself in a popular, championship-winning tag team with Jim Brunzell. Once the team dissolved upon Brunzell's departure, Greg's push as a singles wrestler began, and for the remainder of the company's existence, the second generation Gagne remained one of the AWA's major stars even though he had dismal charisma and an extremely small stature. Greg Gagne's position in the company earned his father the reputation of nepotism. After Greg became a star, Larry Zbyszko, Verne's son-in-law, entered the AWA. Larry often criticized for being boring and predictable, gained the AWA World Title twice furthering Verne's label of nepotism.
Reason number four: In attempt to raise pro wrestling to a completely new level, the WWF started creating phenomenons in the wrestling world. With the introduction of big-time Pay-per-views like Wrestlemania, the Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble, the AWA started to feel the pressure. Therefore they responded with the creation of SuperClash and the Team Challenge Series. SuperClash was conceived as the meeting of several companies for a joint card that would out-perform the WWF. Jim Ross called the idea a "joke" and agreed with his employer Mid-South Wrestling when they declined entry into the event. In four installments of the event, very few gems can be found. One quality match is a AWA/WCCW title unification bout between Jerry Lawler and Kerry Von Erich at SuperClash III. The event stemmed controversy, though, as several competitors, including the AWA Champion Jerry Lawler, claimed to have never received compensation. The Team Challenge Series was configured by splitting the entire active roster into three teams. Each individual wrestler would gain points for their respective teams by winning matches. The idea wasn't received well, and the nearly yearlong event is pointed out as a major error by the AWA.
Reason number five: Months before the closing of the AWA, the state of Minnesota contacted Verne Gagne with sad news. The government desired to turn Gagne's property located next to Lake Minnetoka into a public park. In hopes of saving his lakeside residence, Verne acquired the services of several expensive attorneys. Ultimately, he lost the court case, and the Lake Minnetoka Regional Park was constructed. The loss of the case deprived Gagne, who had already filed for bankruptcy, from a large amount of money. This left the American Wrestling Association starving for cash that wasn't available. Not long after, the company met its end.
So, in closing, numerous things brought the kayfabe-era promotion to an end. Other unknown factors could have determined the company's fate, but known factors give imminent proof on why the AWA ceased to exist. Everything melded together to bring the walls of Verne's promotion crashing down. The American Wrestling Association was a victim of time.