There's many things that come to mind when one thinks of the great state of Minnesota. It's of course the home to many lakes, hence the nickname "Land of 10,000 Lakes, and why the Los Angeles Lakers were given that name when they originated from Minnesota as the Minneapolis Lakers. The classic Coen Brothers film "Fargo" begins its story in Minneapolis, before eventually moving to, you guessed it, Fargo, North Dakota. And the state has become known as a great sports state, living and dying with its Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, rallying behind Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, and embracing any and everything related to hockey, from the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college to the Minnesota Wild in the NHL. They also enjoy pro wrestling quite a bit.
A quick look through the history of pro wrestling will show that it and Minnesota are quite entwined. In fact, during the territory days of wrestling from the 1950s all the way to WWE and Jim Crockett Promotions taking wrestling national in the 1980s, Minnesota was one of the homes of the sport, and arguably the home, thanks to Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association promotion. That will surely raise an eyebrow for newer fans, who may know of the AWA, but only know it for its last few years in the 80s, when it's failure to compete with WWE ultimately led to it being gobbled up. But from 1960, when Gagne first opened AWA's doors, all the way to the beginning stages of Vince McMahon's wrestling boom, a close look reveals the AWA was huge in Minnesota, rivaling WWWF, Championship Wrestling From Florida, WCCW in Texas, and Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in the Carolinas as the top territory in the country.
It was that success that led to Minnesota producing a ton of talent that has continued to enrich, sometimes enrage, and keep wrestling popular in the state today. As is well known, the AWA's success led to many wrestlers, particularly ones that attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, pursuing careers. There was Gagne himself, his son Greg, and then a who's who of names who graduated from the classes of 1976 and 1977, including Jim Crockett Promotions star Nikita Koloff, and future WWE Hall of Famers Curt Hennig and "Ravishing" Rick Rude. Then there's those that found their way to pro wrestling through the University of Minnesota. The likes of Brock Lesnar, AEW's Shelton Benjamin, and Gable Steveson all began wrestling for the Golden Gophers team, which later led to WWE deals, and varying levels of success.
Even outside of the ring, Minnesota proved to be influential with future wrestling executives. Though born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Pennsylvania, Eric Bischoff eventually found himself in Minnesota, leading to a job with AWA where he worked as a broadcaster, and even an executive, during the promotion's twilight years. It was from that Bischoff learned the ropes of the wrestling business, eventually working his way up to the top of WCW. And it was likely that love for Minnesota that contributed to Bischoff choosing Minnesota's Mall of America as the host for the first ever episode of "WCW Monday Nitro" in September 1995. Featuring the debut of Lex Luger, the Mall of America "Nitro" laid the groundwork for what WCW would be over the next few years, and singlehandedly kicked off the Monday Night Wars.
