10 Sons Of Wrestling Legends Who Failed To Fill Their Father's Boots
3. Greg Gagne (Verne Gagne)
Before Greg Gagne was a twinkle in his father's eye, his old man had already accomplished more than most men could ever contemplate.
A notably accomplished amateur wrestler, Verne was a State champion; a four time Big Ten champion, a two time NCAA champion, was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1947 NFL draft - and was a member of the 1948 US Olympic Team.
Turning down football for the more lucrative wrestling business, Verne collected championships all over the country before founding the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1960.
By the time his offspring Greg would enter the AWA in 1972, Verne was already four years into his ninth reign as world champion.
A skilled but unremarkable performer, the younger Gagne was shielded from comparison to his father, spending the first decade of his career as one half of the High Flyers with Jim Brunzell.
Finally going solo in 1984, Gagne senior clearly never had the same belief in his son that he did himself, and instead of bestowing a world title run on his boy, created a secondary title for him, the International Television Championship, to avoid a family feud.
Greg, much like the AWA, went out of business with a whimper in 1991.