- Nick Bockwinkel
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Nick Bockwinkel 
Ring name(s) Nick Bockwinkel
The Sensational White Phantom
Dick WarrenBilled height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] Billed weight 241 lb (109 kg) Born December 6, 1934
St. Paul, Minnesota[1]Resides Las Vegas, Nevada Billed from Beverly Hills, California Trained by Warren Bockwinkel[1]
Lou Thesz[1]Debut 1955 Retired 1987 Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel[2] (born December 6, 1934) is a retired American professional wrestler. He mainly competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the United States. He is a former multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion and co-holder of the AWA World Tag Team Championship.
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.
Contents
Professional wrestling career
Early 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,[1] a regional star in the 1940s, and Lou Thesz,[1] he spent the early years of his career teaming with his father. At the age of 16, he had his debut match against Thesz. He won his first major singles title in 1963, defeating Tony Borne for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship.
American Wrestling Association
In 1970, Bockwinkel joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he formed a team with wrestler Ray Stevens and manager Bobby Heenan.[1] Together, they won the AWA World Tag Team Championship three times, the first in 1972.[1]
Bockwinkel won the first of many AWA World Heavyweight Championships at the age of 40, ending Verne Gagne's seven year reign.[1] As AWA Champion, Bockwinkel had feuds with Billy Robinson, Dick the Bruiser, The Crusher, Mad Dog Vachon, Jerry Lawler, Otto Wanz, Mr. Saito, Verne Gagne and Hulk Hogan. Bockwinkel was involved in the first ever AWA versus World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Title Unification match, wrestling WWWF Champion, Bob Backlund, to a double count-out, on March 25, 1979.[1]
During the early years of the 1980s Nick Bockwinkel and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship would be mired in controversy. On July 19, 1980 Nick Bockwinkel was defeated by former and seven time AWA Champion Verne Gagne in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after regaining the AWA World title, Verne Gagne announced his retirement from professional wrestling and the AWA Heavyweight Championship was awarded to the #1 contender Nick Bockwinkel on May 19, 1981. This move infuriated wrestling fans throughout the American Wrestling Association and solidified Nick Bockwinkel as the most despised wrestler in the AWA. But the controversy surrounding Nick Bockwinkel, AWA president Stanley Blackburn and the AWA title would continue to grow.
Perhaps the biggest controversy (in a series of questionable decisions in favor of Bockwinkel) was known as the "screwjob" that involved Hulk Hogan. In June 1982, Hulk Hogan defeated Nick Bockwinkel by pinfall in St. Paul, Mn to capture the AWA World Title, but once again the favor of AWA president Stanley Blackburn rested in Bockwinkel's corner. Immediately after the conclusion of the match, AWA president Stanley Blackburn reversed the decision and returned the title to Bockwinkel who would lose the title again in a stunning upset to Otto Wanz on August 29, 1982. Two months later Nick Bockwinkel would regain the AWA Heavyweight Championship.
On February 22, 1984, Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Bockwinkel to capture the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Bockwinkel wrestled NWA World Champion Ric Flair for the NWA title at the last AWA show in Winnipeg, Manitoba on January 16, 1986 at the Winnipeg Arena before the AWA territory lost Winnipeg to the WWF. Bockwinkel was not the AWA champion at this time. Bockwinkel last held the title in 1987, at the age of 52, before dropping the championship to another second generation wrestler, Curt Hennig, at SuperClash. The match ended in controversial fashion due to interference by Larry Zbyszko, who had handed a roll of coins to Hennig to use on Bockwinkel. 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 him out with a roll of coins.
Bockwinkel came out of retirement for one night in May of 1992, wrestling old rival Billy Robinson on a UWFI show in Japan. The match has gotten some notoriety in recent times for an incident in which Robinson became legitimately upset with Bockwinkel for throwing a knee at him, and Bockwinkel audibly replying "It's a knee, Robinson."
Post-retirement
After departing AWA, Bockwinkel worked as a road agent for the World Wrestling Federation, also serving as a color commentator for occasional televised events. He returned to the ring in 1993 at Slamboree: A Legends' 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. In 1994, Bockwinkel became the on-screen commissioner of WCW.[1]
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.[1]
Other media
In 1968, Bockwinkel appeared as a contestant on a prime-time version of the NBC game show Hollywood Squares.[1] He played Harry in the episode Savage Sunday in the show Hawaii Five-O.[1] Bockwinkel also played a wrestler in an episode of the 1960s television series The Monkees.[1]
Personal life
He now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. On November 8, 2009, Bockwinkel underwent triple bypass heart surgery.
He recently made an appearance on WWE Monday Night Raw, on March 29, 2010, as part of Legends Lumberjack match. He was a Lumberjack for the match between Christian and Ted Dibiase.
In 2007, he was elected President of the Cauliflower Alley Club, a non-profit organization.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Cobra clutch
- Dropkick
- Drop toe-hold[3]
- Figure four leglock
- Indian deathlock[3]
- Seated senton to an opponent's leg[3]
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ray Stevens
- Continental Wrestling Association
- AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Big Time Wrestling
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (1 time) - with Ricky Romero
- NWA Los Angeles
- NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship (2 times)
- NWA San Francisco
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (2 times) - with Ramon Torres
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 time) - with Nick Kozak (2) and Buddy Mareno (1)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Stanley Weston Award (2007)
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1973) - with Ray Stevens
- PWI ranked him #18 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)
- WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Édouard Carpentier (1) and Lord James Blears (1)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Nick Bockwinkel". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/inductees/nickbockwinkel/. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
- ^ http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/n/nick-Bockwinkel.html
- ^ a b c d "Col DeBeers Vs Nick Bockwinkel". American Wrestling Assiciation. AWA. 1986-05-13.
References
- Meltzer, Dave & John F. Molinaro (2002). Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of all Time. Winding Stair Press. ISBN 1-55366-305-5.
External links
- WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Nick Bockwinkel
- OWW Profile
- Story archive at SLAM! Wrestling
- Nick Bockwinkel at the Internet Movie Database
WWE Hall of Fame 1990s Class of 1993Class of 1994Class of 1995Class of 1996Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka · Johnny Rodz · Killer Kowalski · "Captain" Lou Albano · "Baron" Mikel Scicluna · Pat Patterson · The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy Valiant and Johnny Valiant) · Vince McMahon, Sr.2000s Class of 2004Class of 2005Class of 2006Class of 2007"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig · "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes · Jerry "The King" Lawler · Jim Ross · Mr. Fuji · Nick Bockwinkel · The Sheik · The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika)Class of 2008The Brisco Brothers (Gerald Brisco and Jack Brisco) · Eddie Graham · Gordon Solie · Mae Young · "High Chief" Peter Maivia · "Nature Boy" Ric Flair · "Soulman" Rocky JohnsonClass of 20092010s Class of 2010Class of 2011Class of 2012Categories:- 1934 births
- American professional wrestlers
- Living people
- Professional wrestling announcers
- Professional wrestling executives
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Professional wrestling trainers
- Sportspeople from Los Angeles, California
- The Heenan Family members
- WWE Hall of Fame
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