If not for one major miscalculation, the American Wrestling Association might still be the name everyone associates with professional wrestling/sports entertainment today.
Of all the territories most affected by Vince McMahon’s talent raids in building his wrestling empire, the AWA suffered the most. And it was largely due to owner Verne Gagne’s reluctance to put the AWA title on Hulk Hogan and his withholding proceeds from Hogan merchandise from The Hulkster. That led Hogan to return to the WWF and to suggest that McMahon bring in talent like Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura, Mean Gene Okerlund, Tito Santana and more. That was essentially the wrestling equivalent of the Portland Trailblazers drafting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan and, predictably, the rest was history.
But the AWA didn’t curl up and die immediately. It went on through the rest of the ’80s and briefly into the ’90s before finally dying out. Unlike WCW, which gets constantly trashed by the WWE, the AWA is held in somewhat higher regard. And it’s due to the vast amount of talent that competed there.
Mattel definitely wouldn’t be able to get too deep in filling out an AWA roster, but here are five stars that definitely should make the cut. Since I already had longtime champion Nick Bockwinkle made earlier, he won’t be showing up on this list.
Baron Von Raschke
One of the more charismatic characters in the AWA, the Baron — an actual US Army vet — played a feared German caricature who earned many victories with his dreaded claw hold. Like a lot of stars from that era, Baron had a lengthy run in the NWA as well and teamed with Ivan and Nikita Koloff as one/third of the six-man champions. Give him a robe and the Von Erich claw hand and we’ve got a winner.
Colonel DeBeers
While Baron was ultimately cheered by the fans, the good colonel maintained his hatred of the fans and vice versa. DeBeers would not only be useful in adding to the AWA ranks, but he would also be useful in giving fans another enemy of America for Sgt. Slaughter to battle. He’ll need a camoflage jacket and his riding crop.
Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo was definitely one of the most popular AWA stars as he was a fierce competitor and always in the mix for world heavyweight title matches. Wahoo is one of those guys who really should have had a figure by this point, beyond the Legends of Wrestling line. He’d need the full headdress, and, to really add some excitement to the figure, Mattel could also include a soft plastic strap so we could re-enact some of Wahoo’s infamous Indian Strap Matches.
Greg Gagne
While he never reached the world champion status of his father, Greg was one of the better second generation stars of his era and a mainstay of the promotion. To mix it up somewhat from a High Flyer version, give solo Greg a Rambo-esque headband and torn camouflage shirt.
Verne Gagne
The dominant 10-time champion of the AWA and co-founder of the promotion, Gagne was one of the all-time greats. He’s one of the Golden Age-era guys that’s essential for a complete wrestling figure collection. Not to mention the pivotal role he had in training superstars like Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Brunzell, Jimmy Valiant, Ken Patera, Curt Hennig, and Ricky Steamboat, this is a legend that really should get the figure treatment. He would come with his AWA title and signature towel.
These are my picks. Which AWA superstars would you want to see Mattel tackle in a perfect world?