One of my favorite things to search on youtube is "Nick Bockwinkel promo." I can listen to him talk all day and I'll be damned if his delivery (though not his diction) didn't help me give a speech today. So, in honor of Mr. Bockwinkel, I figured it's time to review a match. Unfortunately, not much video of a young Nick exists. Doesn't matter, there's still an okay amount out there from the 80s in AWA. So today, it's Stan Hansen vs. Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA Heavyweight Championship. Let's get to it.
AWA World Heavyweight Title - Stan Hansen (c) vs. Nick Bockwinkel
Hansen stomps someone in the audience a for getting in his way before the match even begins. The announcer informs us it was Larry Nelson, another broadcaster, but for a moment I thought the man just kicked the hell out of some poor guy in the crowd. Stan Hansen is scary.
Hansen lunges for a bullwhip as the bell rings. Bockwinkel jumps on him to stop that nonsense. The two start to brawl inside and outside of the ring. Bockwinkel doesn't get to shine much early. Hansen is in control with a headlock for a minute until Bockwinkel can get out. Bockwinkel tries to rough up Hansen but Hansen puts an end to that with some of his smashing blows.
Bockwinkel's still flashing some speed on the mat. Impressive, given he was in his early fifties. He gets out of a headlock and had Hansen in a double wristlock. Both men rise to their feet with the wristlock still in place. Hansen grabs the rope, forcing a break. Bockwinkel socks Hansen with some shots to the ribs. Hansen's fists hit a lot harder and he send Bockwinkel reeling. Hansen throws Bockwinkel to the ropes, who hits a sunset flip that's only good for two. Both are up again. Hansen charges; Bockwinkel arm drags him and puts on an armlock.
Bockwinkel wants to keep the big Texan grounded and to slow the pace down. The two have a vicious strike exchange. It's not what you'd see in modern puro. It's something that feels a lot more brutal and intense. More real, to be honest. Hansen slaps the hell out of Bockwinkel's chest to break the arm hold. Bockwinkel throws stiff right fists at Hansen to back him up. Hansen snapmares Bockwinkel, but Bockwinkel drags Hansen down into another wristlock. Hansen gets headscissors on Bockwinkel but has to break that when the ref gives him a five count. No clue why that happened. Hansen sits Bockwinkel up so he can put Bockwinkel in a chinlock. That isn't good enough for Hansen, who clubs away at Bockwinkel's chest.
Bockwinkel gets Hansen in a sleeperhold and the crowd pops big. Hansen's flailing his arms at first but quickly starts to fade. Hansen leans forward enough to get the rope, then keeps leaning until he dumps Bockwinkel outside. Hansen slams Bockwinkel's head against the stairs. He tries to take Bockwinkel to a post but Bockwinkel jabs Hansen until he has to back off. Hansen scoops Bockwinkel up for a body slam but drops him chest-first on the top rope.
The two try to suplex each other. Bockwinkel finally does it. Only a two count on the ensuing pin. BIIIIIIG back body drop by Bockwinkel. A body slam is next. Hansen gets a shoulder up on each pin. Bockwinkel lifts Hansen up for another bodyslam and Hansen's boots clock the ref right in the temple. Bockwinkel covers Hansen but that's not even good enough for a visual pinfall.
Bockwinkel checks on the ref until Hansen ambushes him from behind with a double ax handle. Hansen throws Bockwinkel to the ropes, Bockwinkel responds with a cross body. Another pin attempt with no ref. A dropkick shoves Hansen into the ropes. Bockwinkel manages to haul Hansen up for a piledriver, spiking him down a second later. Another pin attempt. Hansen kicks out at around two. No count again, though the ref is finally getting up.
Bockwinkel comes at Hansen, who simply dumps him over the top rope with a back body drop of his own. The ref immediately waives it off, calling for a DQ. So that rule was in effect. Hansen retains thanks to the DQ. Bockwinkel tries to get back in the ring and Hansen ambushes him. The two are still going at it, trading rights until Bockwinkel starts putting a combo of them together. He drops Hansen, who has to roll out of the ring and retreat away. Bockwinkel's in the middle of the ring with a chair. Hansen comes back just to grab the championship and hoist it in the air.
Match Rating: **3/4. Could have been a lot better, but for the sudden, unexpected ending. Seeing a match with the over-the-top-rope DQ rule in effect is pretty jarring nowadays, especially when you aren't expecting it. That really lowers the match for me, but Hansen and Bockwinkel did a fine job in there. I actually liked Bockwinkel more as a baby face than I expected to, since all of the stuff I've seen is really heel work. Hansen's selling is a favorite of mine too. He gets hit and walks away with this big grimace on his face. It doesn't look like guys are killing him, nor should he act that way with how he is, but he still needs a minute to get his bearings straight. It's a short match, maybe 12-15 minutes. Give it a watch, even if the non-finish is disappointing.
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