What could a man who was 46 at the beginning of this countdown’s era bring to the table? Plenty.
41. NICK BOCKWINKEL
Real Name – Nick Bockwinkel
Aliases – Dick Warren; The Sensational White Phantom
Hometown – St. Paul, Minnesota
Debuted – 1955
Titles Held – AWA World Heavyweight (4x) ; NWA Florida Tag Team (with Ray Stevens) ; AWA World Heavyweight (Calgary version); AWA World Tag Team (4x, with Ray Stevens); AWA Southern Heavyweight; NWA Georgia Heavyweight (2x); NWA Georgia Television (3x); NWA World Tag Team (Texas version, with Ricky Romero); NWA International Television; NWA Hawaii Heavyweight (2x); NWA Hawaii Tag Team (with Bobby Shane); NWA United States Heavyweight (Hawaii version); NWA World Tag Team (San Francisco version, 2x with Ramon Torres); NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight; NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team (3x, 2 with Nick Kozak, 1 with Buddy Mareno); WWA International Tag Team Television (2x, 1 with Edouard Carpentier, 1 with Lord James Blears)
Other Accomplishments – First NWA United States Heavyweight champion (Hawaii version) ; Appeared on Hollywood Squares in 1968 ; Appeared on Hawaii 5-0 and the Monkees ; Won PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1973 (with Ray Stevens); Named #18 of 500 Best Singles Wrestlers from the PWI Years by Pro Wrestling Illustrated ; WCW Hall of Fame member (class of 1994); Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame member (class of 1996) ; Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame member (class of 2003) ; Member of WWE Hall of Fame (class of 2007) , Former WCW Commissioner; Current President of the Cauliflower Alley Club; Current AWA Superstars Commissioner
It might be surprising to see Nick Bockwinkel’s name on a list of the top wrestlers of the modern age (which was considered to be from roughly 1980 to the present). What could a man who was 46 in 1980 have to bring to the table? Plenty.
Even leading up to the 1980 timeframe, Bockwinkel had had many high points in his career. He had won the AWA World title in 1975 for the first time, which ended Verne Gagne’s seven year title reign. In 1979, he had wrestled Bob Backlund in the first ever WWWF-AWA title unification match (the match had ended in a double countout).
Although Bockwinkel lost the title to Gagne in July of 1980, he regained the title less than a year later when it was present to him upon Gagne’s retirement. Despite his advancing age, Bockwinkel still maintained a strong presence at the top of the cards. He would be the dominant champion until 1987, when he lost the title for the final time to Curt Hennig.
One of the reasons that Bockwinkel was one of Gagne’s favorites was because of the fact that he was extremely technically sound. Bockwinkel had been trained by his father and the legendary Lou Thesz, who made sure that his skills were more than adequate.
Bockwinkel was also unusual on the microphone. Bockwinkel had several traits which are now associated with Ric Flair years before Flair had picked them up. Bockwinkel was always immaculately dressed in a designer suit and tie. Rather than screaming promos, Bockwinkel spoke calmly and with words that conveyed his intelligence. By doing this, Bockwinkel showed that he was not just a raving fighter. He was a strategist. The fact that (until 1984, anyway) he was managed by the devious Bobby Heenan was just an added advantage.
As mentioned above, Bockwinkel lost the belt for the last time in 1987 to Curt Hennig in a match that Hennig only won after nailing Bockwinkel with a roll of dimes that Larry Zbyszko had passed him. Although Bockwinkel retired later that year, he did get revenge on Zbyszko by clocking him with another roll of coins for the victory.
After Bockwinkel retired, he still remained active in the business. His next stop was the WWF, where he worked as a road agent. Bockwinkel next showed up onscreen at the 1993 Slamboree, where he wrestled Dory Funk Jr. in one of the best legends on the card. In 1994 Bockwinkel became the WCW Commissioner, a job he held for about a year.
More recently, Bockwinkel served as the commissioner of the short-lived Japan Pro Wrestling Association. Today he appears as the onscreen commissioner for Dale Gagner’s new AWA as well as serving as president of the Cauliflower Alley Club.
Although a great deal of Bockwinkel’s success came in the 1970’s, he still had plenty of gas left in the tank going into the 1980’s. This is especially remarkable when you consider the fact that Bockwinkel was 52 years old when he lost the belt to Curt Hennig.
Bockwinkel’s career still resonates today. Although he never worked as a trainer and the company that he became identified with, the AWA, was not as widely known as the WWF, he played the role of the smooth, suave heel to perfection in a way that many of today’s wrestlers can only hope to aspire to. Nick Bockwinkel is truly a living legend and has more than earned his position on this list of the top 100 wrestlers of the modern era.
The entire Top 100 Wrestlers feature can be found here.
