Losing the AWA title back to Verne Gagne did not derail Crusher. Lisowski promptly teamed with Dick the Bruiser who was now billed as Crusher's cousin on August 20th, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota beating Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff to win the AWA tag team titles. In addition to defending the AWA tag team titles with Dick the Bruiser against the Kalmikoffs, Crusher also ventured to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to battle Bruno Sammartino twice in the fall of 1963. On November 16th, 1963 in St Paul, Minnesota, Crusher Lisowski defeated Verne Gagne to become AWA world champion for the second time. Lisowski now was a dual title holder. He was the AWA singles champion and held the AWA tag team titles with Dick the Bruiser. Gagne proved to be extremely resilient by bouncing back to defeat Crusher on December 14th, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to regain the AWA world heavyweight title. Verne continued to be a thorn in Crusher's side by teaming with Moose Evans to defeat Crusher and Dick the Bruiser for the AWA tag team titles on February 9th, 1964 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Crusher Lisowski and Dick the Bruiser regained the AWA tag team titles from Gagne and Evans two weeks later at the Auditorium in St Paul, Minnesota.

For the next several months, Crusher and Bruiser defended the AWA tag team titles against many outstanding duos including Dr Bill Miller and Pat O'Connor, Wilbur Snyder and Moose Evans, Verne Gagne and Wilbur Snyder and Moose Evans and Sailor Art Thomas. Lisowski also continued wrestling in singles matches facing the likes of Wilbur Snyder, Verne Gagne, Reggie Parks, Art Thomas, Butch Levy, Mitsu Arakawa, Moose Evans, Doug Gilbert and Rene Goulet. After losing a match to Verne Gagne on September 5th, 1964 at Midway Stadium in St Paul, Minnesota, Crusher did not wrestle for the rest of the year. It isn't clear if Lisowski was injured at that time. Records of him competing during that time period just do not exist.

1965 saw a huge change not only in the AWA talent roster but in how the Crusher and Dick the Bruiser were booked. Once the feud between Crusher Lisowski and Verne Gagne had run its course, Maurice Mad Dog Vachon was brought to the AWA as the lead heel and top challenger to AWA champion Verne Gagne. Robbinsdale Minnesota native and Gagne protege Larry Hennig turned heel and began teaming with Handsome Harley Race. With the abundance of top heels in the AWA, the decision was made for Crusher and Bruiser to start wrestling people like Vachon, Hennig and Race that the fans despised. Crusher and Bruiser did not alter their brawling styles one iota. They were simply matched against wrestlers who were even more hated than they were. Suddenly the once hated Crusher and Bruiser were now being cheered everywhere they appeared in the AWA. In order for Vachon, Hennig and Race to get over quickly with the fans as top of the line competitors, the champions in the AWA had to lose their titles to them. Mad Dog Vachon became the AWA champion defeating Verne Gagne on October 20th, 1964 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Vachon and Gagne had traded the AWA title back and forth earlier during 1964 in Omaha, Nebraska. However these titles changes were only recognized in Omaha. The rest of the AWA cities never acknowledged the Omaha title switches.)

Handsome Harley Race and Pretty Boy Larry Hennig defeated Crusher Lisowski and Dick the Bruiser on January 30th, 1965 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to win the AWA tag team titles. The stage had been set for the next few years in the AWA. Crusher would team with a variety of AWA fan favorites to battle Hennig and Race. When not competing in tag team matches, Crusher Lisowski would face AWA heels in singles bouts or challenge Vachon for the AWA heavyweight title.

Pretty Boy Larry Hennig and Handsome Harley Race were flamboyant brawlers. Crusher mockingly referred to Hennig and Race as the Dolly Sisters and developed such a hatred for Larry and Harley that he would battle them in singles or tag team matches. Among the partners Crusher Lisowski had against Hennig and Race were the Mighty Igor Vodik, Reggie Parks, Dick the Bruiser and even Verne Gagne. Because Bruiser was busy running his own promotion in Indianapolis, Indiana, Verne Gagne became Crusher's regular tag team partner. Several months earlier Verne and Crusher teaming together would have been unthinkable but their mutual dislike for Larry Hennig and Harley Race brought them together. On July 24th, 1965 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Crusher and Verne Gagne upended Larry Hennig and Harley Race to win the AWA tag team titles. Crusher and Verne didn't stay tag team champions for very long as Hennig and Race won the titles back on August 7th, 1965, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Maurice Mad Dog Vachon, a former amateur wrestling star who competed for Canada in the 1948 Olympic Games, may have been the most feared wrestler ever in the AWA. Vachon gave bone chilling interviews that would indeed frighten people watching on television. The maniacal look Mad Dog would get in his eyes during his matches and interviews was terrifying. Vachon lived up to his nickname Mad Dog by obliterating his opponents and often making them bleed profusely. Even though he only stood 5 foot 8 inches tall, Vachon was so believable inside the squared circle his lack of height was not a detriment. When Vachon began feuding with Crusher over the AWA heavyweight title, all hell broke loose inside the ring. Mad Dog And Crusher literally beat each other senseless every time they met in the ring. Vachon and Lisowski engaged in the most bloody and violent feud that midwestern fans had ever seen. On August 21st, 1965 at Midway Stadium in St Paul, Minnesota, Crusher gained the upper hand in his feud with the Mad Dog by defeating Vachon to capture the AWA heavyweight championship for the third time. Lisowski enjoyed a two and a half month reign as AWA champion defending the belt against Harley Race, Larry Hennig and Chris Markoff before losing the AWA championship back to Mad Dog Vachon on November 11th, 1965 in Denver, Colorado.

NEXT MONTH:

Crusher and Bruiser's impact as a tag team on the AWA.