Nick Bockwinkel

rkorisko · Trimis: 12/08/2007 11:33 Titlul subiectului: Nick Bockwinkel

Nick Bockwinkel a fost introdus in Hall of Fame in anul 2007!
Wrestling career

Bockwinkel began his career in 1955, after a knee injury forced the University of Oklahoma to withdraw his football scholarship. After training to become a wrestler by his father Warren, a regional star in the 1940s, and the great Lou Thesz, Nick spent the early years of his career teaming with his father. However, it was many years before Nick achieved true success in wrestling. He captured his first major Title in 1970, at the age of 36, defeating Assassin #1 for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship. Bockwinkel soon found his way to the AWA, where he formed one of the most successful tandems in wrestling history with Ray Stevens, and manager, Bobby Heenan. Together, they captured the AWA World Tag Team Championship on three separate occasions, the first coming in 1972.

By 1975, Bockwinkel had become one of the biggest stars in the AWA, and captured his first of many AWA World Heavyweight Championships, at the age of 40, ending Verne Gagne's seven year reign. Unlike most wrestlers, who peak in their early thirties, Bockwinkel reached his peak, both professionally and in ability, well into his forties. As AWA Champion, Bockwinkel had notable feuds with the likes of Billy Robinson, Dick the Bruiser, The Crusher, Mad Dog Vachon, Jerry Lawler,European Wrestler Otto Wanz, Mr. Saito and most famously, Verne Gagne and Hulk Hogan. He last held the Title in 1987, at the age of 52, dropping the championship to another second generation wrestler, Curt Hennig, in controversial fashion due to interference by Larry Zbyszko, who had handed a roll of coins to Hennig to use on Bockwinkel.

Bockwinkel has the distinction of being involved in the first ever AWA vs World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Title Unification match, wrestling WWWF Champion, Bob Backlund, to a double count-out, on March 25, 1979.

Bockwinkel wrestled NWA champion Ric Flair for the NWA title at the last AWA show in Winnipeg, MB on January 16, 1986 at Winnipeg Arena before the AWA territory lost Winnipeg to the WWF. Bockwinkel was not the AWA champion at this time.

Bockwinkel retired in 1987, ending a career that spanned four decades. In one of his final matches as an active competitor, he paid Zbyszko back for costing him the AWA World title by pinning him on an episode of AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN after knocking out the self-proclaimed "New Living Legend" with a roll of coins.

Bockwinkel returned to the ring in 1993 at Slamboree: A Legend's Reunion. The card was promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) but featured veteran wrestlers from all over the country. Bockwinkel wrestled former NWA World Champion Dory Funk, Jr. to a time limit draw as part of the undercard.

Bockwinkel was considered by his peers and many industry experts to be an excellent wrestler, known for his exceptional technical ability and ring psychology. He was also known for his calm, charismatic, articulate promos, which distinguished him from many of his contemporaries. Larry Zbyszko once commented, "If you asked Bockwinkel for the time, he'd tell you how to build a watch." Eric Bishoff has stated that the greatest feud in the history of professional wrestling was the feud between Nick Bockwinkel and Curt Hennig.

[edit] Post wrestling career

Bockwinkel worked as a road agent for the World Wrestling Federation in the late 80s. In 1994, Bockwinkel became the on-screen commissioner of World Championship Wrestling. He lost his job in 1995 after an incident at The Great American Bash when he forgot the name of the event in the middle of a promo.

In 2000, he and Yoshiaki Fujiwara were the commissioners for a short-lived shoot style promotion, the Japan Pro Wrestling Association, but as the shoot-style market in Japan had been low since the collapse of UWF International, the wrestlers on it moved to other promotions. Bockwinkel is currently the President of the Cauliflower Alley club, as well as the on-screen General Manager for AWA Superstars.

On March 31, 2007, he was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. He now spends his retirement enjoying the warm weather of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Th3 Str33tb@ll3r · Trimis: 18/08/2007 17:46 Titlul subiectului:

da cateva date despre el ?