He wasn't scripted at all, it was all adlib. He really was the smartest and the most loved heel in the history of wrestling. RIP Nick, look down and smile, we're still talking about you.
The guy hosting was Houston promoter, Paul Boesch, a WWII infantry captain in northern Europe, who wrote a book about his experiences that I bought. He loved, controversially to some, to do his own ringside announcing. You can find on here some amazing quality videos of his promotions from early '80s and before. He hauled in some amazing talent there to that arena and I'd never even heard of the guy a year ago.
Top 10 greatest arrogant heels in pro wrestling history. 1. Nick Bockwinkel 2. Ric Flair 3. Buddy Rogers 4. Gorgeous George 5. Ric Rude 6. Tully Blandchard 7. The Rock 8. Shawn Micheals 9. Superstar Billy Graham 10. Ric Martel Do you agree?
I grew up in the Midwest in the AWA. It was a joy for decades watching him and Bobby Heenan on TV. He was our world champion and a damn good one. He retired on top and never lost a step. RIP Bobby and Nick.
Nick was always under consideration for the NWA belt but he always declined. He didn't like the travel demands of the NWA title, especially since he would have to be away from his family for extended periods. The AWA mainly promoted in the Midwest, Denver and San Francisco and its busy period was during the winter. Also, with the affiliations with Memphis and Southwest he could book himself there to keep busy.
This was the norm for Houston Wrestling. Great matches, many of them for the world titles, and it was on a regular basis. Those who lived in Houston were among the luckiest wrestling fans in America.
Nick Bockwinkel was Ric Flair without the sex and booze - He was an incredibly gifted heel champ who could both wrestle and talk. Had he entered NWA, he was deffinately Four Horsemen material. My favorite AWA Champ
Nick Bockwinkel I believe, would've been a perfect fit for the "Genius" gimmick in the WWF if maybe, he were a tad bit younger and it didn't eventually go to Lanny Poffo.
@@rolltide9547 Nick was actually a family man. He never went to the NWA because he didn't like the travel schedule. The AWA kept him close to his family. Nick was extremely talented and a great AWA champion but he had a real life outside of wrestling.
And THIS, this promo is proof positive to me that Nick Bockwinkel was the greatest of wrestling’s World Champions. Better than Race. Better than Flair. Better than them all. My opinion, of course - but I’ll stick to it for the remainder.
What is great here is that Nick did not project that he was better than other wrestlers. But that they were all less than him. He was such a pompous heel. And no matter how much I hated him at the time.... Boy do I wish he was here now.
Bockwinkel vs Flair should have been a feud that Jim Crockett should have made happen in 1986/87 instead of Ron Garvin. But Bockwinkel was very loyal to Verne and the AWA. In the 1980s 2 names always come up Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan but don't forget Nick Bockwinkel was right up there with them.
Nick Bockwinkel would have cut his promo just like this, I imagine, while Ric Flair would've probably started out calm, and then started raising his voice, and end up with him sçreaming like a Banshee!!!
In an epic feud between these two greats, I can see Bockwinkel looking at Flair with contempt and digust, particularly for his lifestyle. Also, I can see him going the way of where are your family values.They were both so different and very similar also. Both were blonde, snappy dressers, handsome, arrogant, world champions, great in the ring and on the microphone. The difference would be their personilaties. Flair was a rich playboy, with mad swagger and coolness. Bockwinkel was an elitist intellectual, reeking with smugness and condescension. So by default Flair would have been the baby face and Bockwinkel the heel. 😂
I remember seeing Nick Bockwinkel on his 1967 tour of Australia. Nick was great & declared that one day he would like to be as great as Ray Stevens (who was the IWA World Champion at the time) Who could know that he would team with Ray to form one of the best tag teams of all-time.
Verne, Nick, Curt, and Lawler. Who else can you name who held the AWA belt? That's why the NWA, not AWA, World Title was the preeminent belt of its day. If it wasn't for ESPN and Memphis Wrestling, I would've never heard of Bockwinkle, would was a consummate wrestler and the one Ric Flair copied for his outside the square style.
The days of great Wrestling. So much talent. NWA AWA Georgia Championship Wrestling Mid Atlantic Mid South Memphis Florida World Class! Notice I didn’t mention WWF. That’s where they rank last!!
Na, WWF in the mid to late 80's was incredibly entertaining and should be somewhere at the top of the list. Particularly if you compare rosters, as you mentioned the word talent. I know it's popular to bash the WWF on these NWA videos, like it's a badge of Honor to do so, but fact is - every promotion had its share of terrific matches and wrestlers in the 80's. WWF, NWA/JCP, AWA, smaller territories like World Class or Florida, Mid-South....
It always bothered me when guys like Cena and Austin changed the design of World Title belts. It just took away the "Honor and Prestige" of the "Sport" of Pro Wrestling. I'm glad it's gone back to how it was but imo, the WWE's belts look kinda weak with the "W" design.
Houston was originally affiliated with the NWA and booked through the Dallas Office (World Class). But Boesch had a dispute with Fritz Von Erich and eventually started booking his own shows. On paper, he was part of the NWA, but he operated as an independent. He made deals with all kinds of different promotions and individual wrestlers to put shows. Houston as a town drew well enough that he could afford to pay really good money.
:"sorry you think you've got to go , crusher" ... :"aw , you look tired , crusher" . : "why don't you rest up on this nice soft floor (for a few minutes), before you go , crusher"
This poor excuse of a Wrestler " Athlete is the text book example of being on top due to favours the soul reason the AWA folded because he refused to give up his spot and make money to Hogan .... his appearance is more of a used car salesman or frequent patron at the local Bar ...
Listen to Hogan's Jericho podcast. Verne was selling his mercy while he was away and disnt give him a cut. And wanted to guve him the belt and then take a cut of his Japan dates. Blame Verne, not Bock.
Bockwinkel had no say in the matter. It was Verne Gagne's decision who held the title. Hogan left the AWA because Vince McMahon offered him a whole lot more money. Bockwinkel was a great wrestler at the end of his career. But Bockwinkel could still go physically. Bockwinkel looked like a normal wrestler back in the day before everyone in wrestling became an oiled up bodybuilder taking steroids.
![Ric Flair & Bob Backlund Interview [1982-07-03]](/img/n.gif)
He wasn't scripted at all, it was all adlib. He really was the smartest and the most loved heel in the history of wrestling. RIP Nick, look down and smile, we're still talking about you.
The guy hosting was Houston promoter, Paul Boesch, a WWII infantry captain in northern Europe, who wrote a book about his experiences that I bought.
He loved, controversially to some, to do his own ringside announcing. You can find on here some amazing quality videos of his promotions from early '80s and before. He hauled in some amazing talent there to that arena and I'd never even heard of the guy a year ago.
GOD DAM....HE WAS ONE HELL OF A SPEAKER!!! I watched him during my childhood and forgot how great he was.
Bockwinkle was a master. Nobody could do the araggont heel any better. Love it!!!
Arrogant...but intelligent and very articulate. The best intelligent heel wrestler ever!
Top 10 greatest arrogant heels in pro wrestling history.
1. Nick Bockwinkel
2. Ric Flair
3. Buddy Rogers
4. Gorgeous George
5. Ric Rude
6. Tully Blandchard
7. The Rock
8. Shawn Micheals
9. Superstar Billy Graham
10. Ric Martel
Do you agree?
I AGREE WITH YOU 100 % . THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT POST.
Ole
He was the "class" that Ric Flair WISHED he could be!
I grew up in the Midwest in the AWA. It was a joy for decades watching him and Bobby Heenan on TV. He was our world champion and a damn good one. He retired on top and never lost a step. RIP Bobby and Nick.
Articulate greatness. Nick always gave great promos.
Ask Nick Bockwinkel what time it is,He'll tell you how to build a watch.
Beautiful.
The Frasier Crane of professional wrestling, ladies and gentlemen.
Nick was always under consideration for the NWA belt but he always declined. He didn't like the travel demands of the NWA title, especially since he would have to be away from his family for extended periods. The AWA mainly promoted in the Midwest, Denver and San Francisco and its busy period was during the winter. Also, with the affiliations with Memphis and Southwest he could book himself there to keep busy.
This was the norm for Houston Wrestling. Great matches, many of them for the world titles, and it was on a regular basis. Those who lived in Houston were among the luckiest wrestling fans in America.
Paul Loved Bringing AWA &/or WWWF/WWF Champions into Houston ... Often Despite Hearing About It from the NWA &/or the Local Booking Office in Dallas
Nick was a great Worldchampions. This Promo is awesome :)
One of the top ten greatest wrestlers of all-time IMO.
He is my 4th favorite wrestling personality personally.
Nick Bockwinkle was the greatest heel of all time.
He was so great at being great
The ultimate professional, and the very best ever in my opinion. 👌
Dude was pushing 50 here! & could still go! R.I.P.
What a gentleman, Mr.Bockwinkel was as calm as a nerve pill during an interview.
Fun fact Chris Jericho heel gimmick from 2008 was inspired by Nick
Wow, I’d never heard that. Thanks for the info.
Nick Bockwinkel was Ric Flair without the sex and booze - He was an incredibly gifted heel champ who could both wrestle and talk. Had he entered NWA, he was deffinately Four Horsemen material. My favorite AWA Champ
Nick Bockwinkel I believe, would've been a perfect fit for the "Genius" gimmick in the WWF if maybe, he were a tad bit younger and it didn't eventually go to Lanny Poffo.
Sex and booze was part of being a horseman. Do you think he could have kept the same schedule Flair did and perform and a high level 365 24/7.
@@rolltide9547 Nick was actually a family man. He never went to the NWA because he didn't like the travel schedule. The AWA kept him close to his family. Nick was extremely talented and a great AWA champion but he had a real life outside of wrestling.
Nick Bockwinkle was everything Rick Flair pretended to be
@@rolltide9547 Absolutely.
Man nobody could give a promo like Nick Bockwinkel
Ric was better. Bockwinkel was good no doubt but Ric was a little better.
THIS IS TRULY THE VERY BEST PROMO I EVER HEARD FROM THE LEGENDARY NICK BOCKWINKEL . THANKS FOR POSTING THIS GREAT FOOTAGE UP.
Is there a more underrated talker in the world of wrestling than Nick Bockwinkel?
Such eloquence!!!
Bockwinkle can sure cut a promo!!
I forgot how good Nick was on the mic.
And THIS, this promo is proof positive to me that Nick Bockwinkel was the greatest of wrestling’s World Champions. Better than Race. Better than Flair. Better than them all.
My opinion, of course - but I’ll stick to it for the remainder.
What is great here is that Nick did not project that he was better than other wrestlers. But that they were all less than him.
He was such a pompous heel.
And no matter how much I hated him at the time....
Boy do I wish he was here now.
Him and Flair were polar opposites weren't they?
before they changed it, THAT was the best belt of any and Every federation! A.W.A. was golden, the best in those days.
What a kind of A champion R.I.P NICK
That was my show growing up! Houston Wrestling on Channel 39!
Paul Bosch was the man !
That's what a title belt should look like.
And exactly what a Pro Wrestler should not look like .
+Santos Jerez WRONG
Santos Jerez WWE brainwashed you guys to think a wrestler should look like a bodybuilder.
None Better !! Then Nick On the Mic or in the Ring He was One of the Greatest .
Heenan said it best "You ask Nick a question and he'd tell you how to build a watch".
Booker T has the ring Paul Boesch is wearing. I wish I had it!! That thing's beautiful!!😍💎
Bockwinkel vs Flair should have been a feud that Jim Crockett should have made happen in 1986/87 instead of Ron Garvin. But Bockwinkel was very loyal to Verne and the AWA. In the 1980s 2 names always come up Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan but don't forget Nick Bockwinkel was right up there with them.
Bockwinkle / Flair was the ultimate when I was a kid i the late 70's early 80's
Same here. Looking back at wrestling history, I now see Rogers, Bockwinkel & Flair as the ones epitomizing the words “World Champion.”
And the only people who ever got to see it were the fans in Winnipeg Canada. Flair and Bockwinkle did the one match in 1986 and that was it.
Nick looks like he had fun with this one. He and Paul seem formidable opponents on the microphone lol
Damn him & Flair should've had a time just to cut promos on each other.
Nick Bockwinkel would have cut his promo just like this, I imagine, while Ric Flair would've probably started out calm, and then started raising his voice, and end up with him sçreaming like a Banshee!!!
In an epic feud between these two greats, I can see Bockwinkel looking at Flair with contempt and digust, particularly for his lifestyle. Also, I can see him going the way of where are your family values.They were both so different and very similar also. Both were blonde, snappy dressers, handsome, arrogant, world champions, great in the ring and on the microphone. The difference would be their personilaties. Flair was a rich playboy, with mad swagger and coolness. Bockwinkel was an elitist intellectual, reeking with smugness and condescension. So by default Flair would have been the baby face and Bockwinkel the heel. 😂
I remember seeing Nick Bockwinkel on his 1967 tour of Australia. Nick was great & declared that one day he would like to be as great as Ray Stevens (who was the IWA World Champion at the time) Who could know that he would team with Ray to form one of the best tag teams of all-time.
Lol Bockwinkle seems legit shocked when Boesch mentions humility.. lol
Class act
Very articulate
Bloody hell! Listening to bockwinkle talk, his diction and speech reminds me so much of the boxer Chris Eubank. Both legends of their sports.
Funny you say that. I think he was his inspiration.
Consumate class act!!!!=)
Wow...that's a promo
He was the greatest just ask him
….and he backed up every word.
Jericho modeled his promo skills by Nick Bockwinkel.
I like the look of the AWA world heavy weight belt better than the old, or new NWA belt
I don’t know why but I see some Bockwinkel when I watch Rick Rude promos.
Boesch and Bockwinkel… 👍
The most consumate athlete in the world
Verne, Nick, Curt, and Lawler. Who else can you name who held the AWA belt? That's why the NWA, not AWA, World Title was the preeminent belt of its day. If it wasn't for ESPN and Memphis Wrestling, I would've never heard of Bockwinkle, would was a consummate wrestler and the one Ric Flair copied for his outside the square style.
Martel was AWA champion for 19 months, including when they got on ESPN and did Superclash, so I'd put him on that list. Top 5 AWA champions.
As a feud, Rhodes vs. Bockwinkel would have worked as well as Rhodes vs. Flair.
Miss the good old territories
My God @ Bosch's shirt.
Damn 👀 is that a Superbowl ring 💍 Paul boesch is wearing 😂
Ran hogan off ... too become a paper champion .... Bock rules
Wrestling's 50th year??? 0:03
The days of great Wrestling. So much talent. NWA AWA Georgia Championship Wrestling Mid Atlantic Mid South Memphis Florida World Class! Notice I didn’t mention WWF. That’s where they rank last!!
Tyrone Spivey+ golden era wwf and attitude era wwf were great pg era wwe is pure trash period
Na, WWF in the mid to late 80's was incredibly entertaining and should be somewhere at the top of the list. Particularly if you compare rosters, as you mentioned the word talent. I know it's popular to bash the WWF on these NWA videos, like it's a badge of Honor to do so, but fact is - every promotion had its share of terrific matches and wrestlers in the 80's. WWF, NWA/JCP, AWA, smaller territories like World Class or Florida, Mid-South....
Anyone know if this match is on UA-cam?
Yes it is. Here's the link.
ua-cam.com/video/HR-CjoDnOTY/v-deo.html
Put the microphone closer.
We need more Bockwinkel and less Omega in today's Wrestling
AWA was the most prestigious Championship belt coveted by the wrestlers.. Probably because it was on ESPN...
It always bothered me when guys like Cena and Austin changed the design of World Title belts. It just took away the "Honor and Prestige" of the "Sport" of Pro Wrestling. I'm glad it's gone back to how it was but imo, the WWE's belts look kinda weak with the "W" design.
Was Paul Boesch's territory Independent or an affiliate of NWA?
Mostly NWA but he'd get guys from everywhere anyway because they respected and liked him
Houston was originally affiliated with the NWA and booked through the Dallas Office (World Class). But Boesch had a dispute with Fritz Von Erich and eventually started booking his own shows. On paper, he was part of the NWA, but he operated as an independent. He made deals with all kinds of different promotions and individual wrestlers to put shows. Houston as a town drew well enough that he could afford to pay really good money.
The Dream should have had an AWA run with the title
Take Notes ,All Professional Wrestler or Entertainer 🙂
It is not arrogance if what you are saying is true.
Where's the match ?
Check out the size of the nose on Paul Boesch at 1:19
Bockwinkel was the legitimate "debonair, arrogant, high class, snooty" wrestler Ric Flair only pretended to be
Nick was better than Dusty.
"Youston"
so funny
:"sorry you think you've got to go , crusher" ... :"aw , you look tired , crusher" . : "why don't you rest up on this nice soft floor (for a few minutes), before you go , crusher"
Duhhhh. Just passin by...
Lol.. My favorite bugs bunny cartoon. Lol
I hope somebody can deepfake this video with Gene Hackman's face on Nicky's LOL
Was this $#!+ on public access? It looks worse than Wayne's World.
Triple H want be like this guy , only heel lead his territory.
Eric Kennedy HHH is a wrestling history buff. I’m sure he took notes on Nick and Harley Race.
Oh brother, kinda dorky. He reminds me of actor Loyde Bridges of Seahunt show. Looks alike.
The commentator has one of the ugliest shirts I ever saw....
Its all fake.
This poor excuse of a Wrestler " Athlete is the text book example of being on top due to favours the soul reason the AWA folded because he refused to give up his spot and make money to Hogan .... his appearance is more of a used car salesman or frequent patron at the local Bar ...
Listen to Hogan's Jericho podcast. Verne was selling his mercy while he was away and disnt give him a cut. And wanted to guve him the belt and then take a cut of his Japan dates. Blame Verne, not Bock.
Bockwinkel had no say in the matter. It was Verne Gagne's decision who held the title. Hogan left the AWA because Vince McMahon offered him a whole lot more money. Bockwinkel was a great wrestler at the end of his career. But Bockwinkel could still go physically. Bockwinkel looked like a normal wrestler back in the day before everyone in wrestling became an oiled up bodybuilder taking steroids.
@@Jim-Tuner Hogan, being one of those 'roided up bodybuilders.
So much better than Race--better on the mic, better in the ring, better look, better presentation.
RIP Paul RIP Nick.. I went to this show.