3. American Wrestling Association
Quite possibly the greatest company in wrestling history as it pertains to producing talent, Verne Gagne's AWA was a wrestling powerhouse for decades. Based out of Minnesota, the AWA was the launching pad for the likes of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Perfect, and many more legends throughout wrestling history. The AWA training camp, manned by Billy Robinson and Gagne, was notorious for it's rigorous conditioning drills, but produced several future stars, including 16-time world champion Ric Flair. During the AWA's heyday, It ran neck and neck with the likes of the WWF and the NWA, even landing a spot on ESPN. This provided wrestlers with yet another employment option in the event that the politics of the NWA, or the entertainment aspect of the WWF weren't to their liking. During the 1980's, the WWF pillaged the AWA's roster and even paid stars to no-show AWA events, which left the company out in the cold. After clinging to life for several years, the AWA folded in 1990, close to the time in which WCCW and Stampede also closed. The WWE acquired the AWA tape library in the 2000's, and utilized the footage in the "Spectacular Legacy of AWA" documentary. In a major show of respect in 2006, Gagne was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.