Mr. M would keep himself from being unmasked and then use some underhanded tactic like hitting his opponent with a foreign object or using the ring ropes for leverage to gain a pinfall in order to retain the AWA heavyweight championship. Mr. M did not reign forever as he lost the AWA belt back to Verne Gagne on August 21st, 1962.

Verne Gagne also competed frequently in the Omaha territory for promoter Joe Dusek. The Omaha territory was very similar to the Minneapolis territory in that they recognized their own world champion. Many of the same wrestlers who competed in Minneapolis worked in Omaha as well. 

Gagne continued to be one of the most dominant performers of his era when he defeated Don Leo Jonathan on September 16th, 1961 in Omaha, Nebraska to win the Omaha version of the world title. Verne held that title for a little over ten months before dropping the strap to Fritz Von Erich on July 31st, 1962 in Omaha, Nebraska. Gagne regained the belt from Von Erich four weeks later on August 25th, 1962.

1963 was an important year in the development of the AWA. The Minneapolis and Omaha territories were so much alike it made sense for the two territories to merge. Here are the developments that led to the merger between the two territories. Verne Gagne lost the Omaha version of the world title to Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski on February 15th, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska. Gagne then lost the AWA belt to the Crusher on July 9th, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Verne regained both belts from the Crusher on July 20th, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gagne lost the Omaha version of the world title the very next night July 21st, 1963 to Fritz Von Erich in Omaha, Nebraska. Verne then dropped the AWA title to Von Erich less than a week later on July 27th, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Verne Gagne then unified the AWA and Omaha world titles by defeating Fritz Von Erich on August 8th, 1963 in Amarillo, Texas. The double title change between Gagne and Von Erich was repeated in Omaha, Nebraska on September 7th, 1963. From this point forward, the Omaha territory recognized the AWA titleholder as the world heavyweight champion. 

Reggie Lisowski known to wrestling fans simply as the Crusher was Verne Gagne's nemesis in 1963. The Crusher was a brawler who could really incite crowds into a frenzy. When you combine the Crusher's brawling skills and natural charisma with Gagne's scientific repertoire and incredible popularity, you had a feud capable of selling out any arena in the United States. Crusher won the AWA heavyweight title for the second time by upending Verne on November 16th, 1963 in St Paul, Minnesota. Gagne wasn't down for long as he recaptured the AWA belt from the Crusher on December 16th, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Verne was satisfied by just regaining the AWA strap from the Crusher. Gagne formed a tag team with Moose Evans to defeat the Crusher and Dick the Bruiser for the AWA tag team titles on February 9th, 1964 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Crusher and Bruiser won back the AWA tag belts from Gagne and Evans on February 23rd, 1964 in St Paul, Minnesota.

After his feud with Crusher Lisowski subsided, Verne Gagne needed a new enemy. Enter Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon. Vachon was a standout amateur wrestler who was a member of the 1948 Canadian Olympic team. But once Vachon became a professional wrestler, his amateur wrestling achievements were largely forgotten. Maurice Vachon was transformed into the diabolical Mad Dog Vachon. Mad Dog was so convincing as a heel that he legitimately scared fans and often caused fans to rush the ring because his matches became so heated. Vachon made the perfect opponent for the All American hero, Verne Gagne. Mad Dog Vachon defeated Verne Gagne on May 2nd, 1964 in Omaha, Nebraska to win the AWA heavyweight title. Gagne regained the strap from Vachon two weeks later on May 16th, 1964 in Omaha, Nebraska. These two title changes were only acknowledged in Omaha, Nebraska. The AWA would often book a title change in Omaha so fans would get to see something special and to pop a big house for the rematch. Mad Dog beat Gagne for the AWA heavyweight title again on October 20th, 1964 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This title change was acknowledged throughout the AWA territory. 

Vachon's AWA title victory over Gagne in Minneapolis signaled yet another change in Verne's career. In the past whenever Verne would drop the AWA title, he would always regain the belt very quickly. This was not the case with Mad Dog Vachon. During 1965 and 1966, Gagne unsuccessfully challenged Mad Dog several times for the AWA belt. Vachon scored many clean victories over Verne which added credibility to Mad Dog's AWA title reign and reinforced the fact Vachon was the toughest wrestler in the AWA. In addition to facing Vachon for the AWA belt, Gagne teamed with several partners to feud with AWA tag team champions, Handsome Harley Race and Pretty Boy Larry Hennig. Verne also cut deals behind the scenes to add cities like Chicago, Milwaukee and Denver to the growing AWA territory. Finally on February 26th, 1967 in St Paul, Minnesota, Verne Gagne defeated Mad Dog Vachon to capture the AWA heavyweight championship for the eighth time. 

A look  at Verne Gagne's feuds with Dr X (Dick Beyer), Billy Robinson and Nick Bockwinkel.