Nick Bockwinkel

Nick Bockwinkel (born December 6, 1934) is a former American professional wrestler, mainly competing in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the United States. He is a former multiple AWA World Heavyweight Champion.

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 Lou Thesz, he spent the early years of his career teaming with his father. He won his first major title in 1970, at the age of 36, defeating Assassin #1 for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship. Bockwinkel soon joined the AWA, where he formed one of the most successful tandems in wrestling history with Ray Stevens, and manager, Bobby Heenan. Together, they won the AWA World Tag Team Championship three times, the first in 1972.

By 1975, Bockwinkel had become one of the biggest stars in the AWA, and won the 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 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."

In 1992, a Chicago radio station took a listener poll of the top five greatest professional wrestling moments in the cities history, Nick Bockwinkel's title match against Jerry Lawler at the UIC Pavillion was voted number 3.

Post wrestling career
Bockwinkel worked as a road agent for the World Wrestling Federation after he departed the AWA in 1987. It was rumored that the WWF initially wanted Bockwinkel to wrestle and manage under the "Million Dollar Man" gimmick, but given that Bockwinkel was in his early 50's, decided to go with the much younger Ted DiBiase in the role.

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 lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. On November 8, Nick Bockwinkel underwent Triple Bypass Heart surgery.

In wrestling

 * Finishing and signature moves
 * Piledriver
 * Cobra clutch
 * Figure four leglock
 * Indian deathlock
 * Dropkick

Championships and accomplishments

 * American Wrestling Association
 * AWA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)1
 * AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) (1 time)
 * AWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Ray Stevens
 * Championship Wrestling from Florida
 * NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ray Stevens
 * Continental Wrestling Association
 * AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Georgia Championship Wrestling
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * NWA Georgia Television Championship (3 times)
 * NWA Big Time Wrestling
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (1 time) - with Ricky Romero
 * NWA Los Angeles
 * NWA International Television Championship (2 times)
 * NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
 * NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bobby Shane
 * NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time) (First)
 * NWA San Francisco
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (2 time) - 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)
 * World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)
 * WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Édouard Carpentier (1) and Lord James Blears (1)
 * World Wrestling Entertainment
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)
 * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * (Class of 2003)
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1973 - with Ray Stevens
 * PWI ranked him # 18 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

1He actually won the title a total of six times, but two of these reigns are disputed since they were recognized retroactively by the AWA Superstars of Wrestling (although AWA SOW has no say over the belt).

Other media

 * In 1968, Bockwinkel appeared as a contestant on a prime-time version of the NBC game show Hollywood Squares.
 * Bockwinkel played Harry in the episode "Savage Sunday" in the show Hawaii Five-O.
 * Bockwinkel also played a wrestler in an episode of the 1960s television series "The Monkees"