Nick Bockwinkel
Nick Bockwinkel really was a classy professional wrestler, both in terms of his in-ring style and his manner of speaking on the microphone – unlike a lot of his contemporaries, who preferred the old ‘screaming nonsensically’ method, Bockwinkel’s promos were exceptionally articulate and he rarely raised his voice, setting him apart from the pack. Between the ropes, the former four-time AWA Heavyweight Champion was a master of psychology and employed a water-tight technical style to help him stay on top. Well, that and backstage politics, as Bockwinkel was always in the title picture by default (which infuriated a young Hulk Hogan and influenced his decision to go to to the WWE). While, yes, politics played their part in Bockwinkel’s main event presence, he undoubtedly carried his end and put on some really good matches. Sensing his time was coming to an end, he did the right thing and dropped the belt to the up-and-coming Curt Hennig in 1986, doing everything he could to put him over as his equal and a future star. Following retirement, Bockwinkel did the on-screen commissionaire thing for WCW and acted as a road agent in WWE. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by his former manager Bobby Heenan. Soon after his Hall of Fame induction, Chris Jericho began a very successful heel run as a suit-wearing and big word-espousing calculated braggart, which was directly inspired by Bockwinkel’s persona. Bockwinkel died from undisclosed causes on November 14th, 2015. He had been struggling with dementia and heart issues in recent years. For any younger/new fans, I would implore you to seek out some of his best work – you won’t regret it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9OE9fVuVUQ
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