Match 1 – Nick Bockwinkel vs. Hulk Hogan (4/18/82) – http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3joqm … 1982_sport
Nick passed away recently, so I figured I should take a better look at some of his career, and my 5 matches with series is the perfect place for it 
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AWA title is on the line here, and Bockwinkel has held the title for SEVEN YEARS at this point? The commentator doesn’t quite make it clear if he’s held it all that time, just that he beat Verne Gagne for the belt 7 years ago.
Bockwinkel is getting nowhere early on with the Hulkster, who uses his immense power and size to push the champ around and slam him into the mat HARD.
Bockwinkel clubs Hogan in the chest, and Hogan just fucking BLASTS him in the face with a massive right hand and Bockwinkel nearly clears the ring with his bump lol.
Weird spot with Hogan applying a sleeper hold… but when Bock gets his feet on the ropes to break the hold… the referee kicks his foot away. TWICE. And then the third time he makes Hogan break the hold. What?
Man, Hogan is doing awesome. I think he’s definitely underrated in the ring, as he could do some awesome shit when he wanted to, it’s just that for most of his run in WWF and then WCW, he didn’t NEED to do much because he was just so over.
As Hogan continues to use his strength, Bock has to resort to cheating to escape bear hugs and headlocks, be it using the hair or raking the eyes.
Bockwinkel looks like he’s been wrestling for an hour already lol, he’s absolutely exhausted, but being the veteran champ he manages to find a way to get some offence in and put a stop to Hogan dominating him.
Hogan turns the tables and smashes Bock’s head into the turnbuckle ten times and Bock basically does a Flair bump, but on his back rather than on his stomach 
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LEG DROP~!
THE BRAIN smacks Hogan in the head with something while the referee is getting into a pinning position, and this gives Bock another chance to beat down the young challenger, even busting him open!!!
HULK UP~!
Bobby distracts the referee and throws an object into the ring. Hogan picks it up, and decks Bock in the head and picks up the 3 count!!! We have a NEW AWA World Heavyweight Champion!!!
Or DO we? No. We don’t. The tape is reviewed after the match and the decision is reversed.
A good start to this Bockwinkel project, though tbh it was HOGAN that impressed me the most in this match!
Match 2 – Nick Bockwinkel vs. Wahoo McDaniel (8/28/83) – http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3jorc … 1983_sport
Woohoo, it’s a Wahoo match!
Huh, not often you see a… fat referee lol. Usually referees need to be in good shape too so they can keep up in a lot of ways with the wrestlers. Not this guy!
Bock gets the shit beaten out of him from the start lol. Loved Wahoo standing on one foot of Bock’s while on the match, then stretching the fuck out of the other leg while it was in the air. Looks nice and painful .
The legendary CHOPS of Wahoo come out to play, sending Bockwinkel to the outside, so Bock needs an equaliser… and the only thing that can equal such powerful chops is a CHAIR TO THE FACE!!! 
Doesn’t take long for Wahoo to come back on the offence and maul Bock again. He also might be the only guy ever to have a convincing near fall from a couple of chops lol.
And Bock definitely has to be up there as one of the best bumpers and sellers out there.
So, how does everyone think JCP would have gone on if Bockwinkel was given Flair’s position and Flair stayed in the one place such as the AWA for most of his career?
This is a pretty sweet brawl overall btw . Not the best brawl I’ve witnessed in my 5 matches with series so far (Funk/Hansen says hellooooo), but it’s still really good and lets Bock just go all out with his bumping to make Wahoo seem like the baddest man on the planet, which no doubt some people would have fully agreed with back in the day lol.
Another shot to the head with a chair!!! And Bockwinkel is able to pick up the win! He barely made it out of this match alive, never mind with the title! Good stuff!
Match 3 – Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (9/20/84) – http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3joqv … 1984_sport
Martel is the champion, and the title is on the line… but Bockwinkel is wrestling this match in protest because Heenan has been suspended . YOU ARE GETTING A WORLD TITLE SHOT. Get over it, dude .
Bockwinkel is wrestling this match under protest, and isn’t happy that Mr Saito, his replacement for Heenan, was sent to the back before the match started, and seemingly doesn’t seem to like this young punk being champion. And he shows this by starting the match off more of a brawl than you would likely expect from a Bockwinkel match, and hey, he’s really good at it!
Martel gains the advantage and goes to the mat and takes out Nick’s leg, and of course Nick is great at selling the pain and backing away and shit like a cowardly heel.
Watching Nick escape from a leg hold is masterful. He uses his other leg to kick the shit out of Martel’s ribs, then starts headbutting him in the ribs similar to to how JYD would heatbutt his opponents . And both men do an excellent job of selling the effects of their injured body parts .
Both men are hurt and this match becomes a fucking BATTLE . They both keep going for the injured body parts of the other and it’s just fantastic stuff, it truly is .
Any time either of them gain the advantage, the other goes after the injured part and is able to escape. Both men have their weaknesses here and both men are more than willing to use them to their advantage when needed.
As time goes on, both men are exhausted and struggle to stay in the match. The ribs and the leg keep coming back into play as well and that’s just… awesome.
The referee is taken out! Martel locks in the Boston Crab!!! Bockwinkel has GOT to submit to this, surely?!?!? NO! Mr Saito runs down and breaks it up, Bockwinkel slams Martel down hard, and Nick Bockwinkel is your NEW AWA World Heavyweight Champion!!!
Another tremendous match. Both men were fantastic. Love it!
Match 4 – Nick Bockwinkel vs. Stan Hansen (4/20/86) – http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3jor3 … 1986_sport
Hansen beats the shit out of someone on his way to the ring .
Bockwinkel is the babyface here, not sure if it’s because he turned at some point, or if the fans just despise Hansen so much lol.
BRAWL~!
Ha, was Larry Nelson, a commentator, who was attacked by Hansen. He flat out says he hopes Bockwinkel KILLS Stan .
Hansen of course tries to murder Bockwinkel with his brawling skills. Nick tries to battle him head to head and basically does fuck all, and has to go back to WRESTLING Hansen in order to stay in this match without dying.
However, if Nick can get a punch to the face in, he damn sure takes the opportunity and decks Stan in the face even if it doesn’t do much to the AWA champion. It let’s Hansen know that he will keep fighting and will do anything to beat him.
PILEDRIVER~! Even though the referee is down and out, Hansen STILL kicks out in a timely manner lol.
DQ ends this match when Hansen throws Bockwinkel over the ropes to the floor, which is illegal in the AWA. Disappointing end to a super fun match.
Match 5 – Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (5/2/87) – http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3joqg … 1987_sport
How often was Bockwinkel AWA champ lol? He had that 8 year run, and then he just seemed to constantly have the belt with the odd guy here and there winning it for a little while .
Larry Z (aka too lazy to look up how to spell his last bloody name properly) demands a shot at the winner of this match and is granted it by some AWA official. I guess he deserves it?
Classic story here of the old veteran against the young gun. Veteran wants to show the younger guy that he’s still the man and better than him, and the young gun wants to show the old bastard that despite his lack of experience, he has what it takes to be the winner.
Holy fucking shit at the spot to turn the match around in Bockwinkel’s favour. It was a basic “run into post” spot but DAMN, Hennig ran into the post and just kept on going all the way to the floor and into the guard rail.
“Larry is a spud head” sign in the crowd. Huh, so even the AWA in the 80’s was getting funny signs .
Nick works over Hennig’s arm following the shoulder to post spot earlier and duh it’s good. Not the best limb work you’ll see, but certainly better than guys today lol.
Fuck me again at another spot in this match. Hennig looks to be building some momentum, sends Nick into the ropes, bends over for a back body drop only to get a kick to the face. That was the spot, btw. And it looked like the most brutal thing EVER. Bock looked like he legit kicked Curt in the face, and Curt sold it like a gun shot without going into stupid overselling territory. Nick diving across for a cover really made it seem like it could have finished the match too. And I fucking bought it.
Hennig eventually gets to work over the leg of Bock, and from there they go into a pretty long, but awesome, finishing stretch mainly with Curt trying to put away the champion.
Wasn’t a fan of how Curt used a Piledriver for… well absolutely nothing. He hit it, then immediately picked Bockwinkel up to… hit him with a drop kick? Thankfully Nick absolutely fucking BLASTS Curt with a clothesline not too long afterwards .
Like a lot of these big title matches, both men look like they have been through a fucking WAR as the match comes to a close. In the end, it just takes on big right hand from Curt to knock out an already exhausted Nick Bockwinkel, and we have ourselves a NEW AWA World Heavyweight Champion!!! Oh wait no. The title is basically being vacated because… I don’t know. Can’t hear what the fuck anyone is saying lol.
Been sooooo damn long since I saw this match, and it’s still incredible. Curt looks like a million *insert currency here* and a future star, while Nick looks like he’s still in his prime. Great stuff!
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