Huh, I didn't know this was Verne Gagne vs Lou Thesz.

@@Kfowlkes09 👎👎

Flair...better than Harley Race? C'mon!

@@preachinoldschool5726 A lot of people said that Flair wrestled the same match. Race was better than Flair.

@Paul Wilson The flip in the corner and go to the top turnbuckle was so funny. LOL

Nick really passed a lot along to Flair, as well.

@@gopherstate777 eh, just a few small things....you have to remember, Nick had most of his training by his father Warren Bockwinkel and Lou Thesz also trained him a little bit. Bock started in the business a lot earlier than people think....1957 or 1958, somewhere around there. I don't think he went to Minneapolis until the mid 1960's. It's obvious that Verne trusted Nick completely to have Nick hold the belt for five years in the late 70's. Nick was beyond loyal to Verne all of those years. That loyalty was borne out of how Verne used Nick as his ultimate foil against him, ensuring Nick got paid top-draw money. The schedule also played a big part of Nick not wanting to go anywhere else....think about it, Bock made killer money, only had to work nine months out of the year and Verne still let him do shots for other promoters from time to time. You can definitely say that Verne tried to mess around with Hogan (playing games on "maybe" giving him a run with the belt, etc.) but Verne never did that with Bock, there was too much respect there.

Gagne NEVER taught Flair to act like a jerk!

@@billnelson8517 true

@@furnitureconsortium absolutely fantastic comment. hit every nail on the head. having warren as your pops is like having verne, stu hart, larry hennig, or johnny valentine as your trainer. i remember nick coming to montreal in 85-86 for matches against martel. great times. thanks again 4 your comment, take care.

NOT bad at all when you can do a little bit of everything.

@@suzannewillis817 ...and even better when they did BOTH in the same match....these two knew how to keep us on "edge" the whole match....

Sorry but the best ever on the mic was Ernie Ladd hands down!

@@billnelson8517 Mumbles Ernie my brother? Never heard that one before. Thunderbolt Patterson was better on the mic and inspired Dusty Rhode's funky speech patterns as well as a healthy dose of Superstar Billy Graham.

it's a semi shoot

Lucky you. I grew up watching Hogan, Sting, Austin, and Rock so I suppose I lucked out in a way as well.

Ian Burton I jacked to it too, growing up, lol, and I agree, 2 of the best, but I favor Bock, he just made me want to watch him beat on somebody, loved his jobber squashes

Wrestling Scholar Bernkastel: Hey those guys were great too. When you list the top 100 wrestlers of all time, all of those guys you named plus Flair and Bockwinkel are gonna be on that list. Everyone of them at some point was a World....Heavyweight.....Champion. Regardless of what they were really like, they are owed that much respect. The crowd reactions alone tell the story.

Agreed!

Do you remember if this was promoted as part of a Pro Wrestling USA card?

It shows how great of a heel Flair is when he's booed against another great heel wrestler like Bockwinkel.

Winnipeg was AWA country at this point, so Bockwinkle had that advantage. He may have already turned babyface at this point as well.

@@nomaamguyplusseinfeldandco2870 another great heel was Glamor Queen GORGEOUS GEORGE. 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

@@travismcdonald6576 Bockwinkel turned babyface in October of 85

The Nature Boy and Bockwinkle were pretty evenly matched----- This was a great match!!!!!

Where is the AWA now?

It’s funny that you say Nick was in his prime, Bockwinkel was either 50 or more at the time and he was still a top tier wrestler.

@@johndeagle4389 I'd rather have it than WWE right now.

Nick probably past his prime and yet still taking a much younger World Champion right up to and past his limit. BAM!

I quit watching Vince's circus about 10 years ago because that's what it's become, you dont see 45 min matches anymore that's a thing of the past unites it's a ppv, and even then its just huge roid freaks doing dives off 40ft ladders, or some crazy flipping crap, the days of technical wrestling and 2 guys simply beating the shit out of each other are long gone, wwe now is a joke.

Yeah thanks for KZfaq being invented

Wow that is almost exactly what I was about to post. My favorites were Arn and Ole, but 4 horsemen for life. Arn, Ole, Tully and Ric the OG

Can't believe how far I had to scroll before the first comment recognizing this lol

@@CarterJ9 Yea KZfaq hates me LOL

Brian Long all Nick needed was a fly-front opening on his trunks and they would of looked exactly like a pair tighty whities.....bet that would of sold tickets!

Did you just try to say that Bock had no charisma? LOL to that.

JC1990wm -- Your standards are wonky. Nick looked incredible here for a 51 year old man, especially one who: kept his schedule, paid his own healthcare out of pocket, took care of his family, and kept himself clear of trouble. Watch his old promos, and in them you'll hear the same charisma as Paul Orndorff, Jim Cornette or Rick Rude, among others. Watch his old matches, and you'll see how much he shared in common with: Lou Thesz, Dory Funk, Jack Brisco, Billy Robinson, Antonio Inoki and other "average" wrestlers of "limited skill." During his time, he was exactly what people wanted a champion wrestler/heel to be.

TheLeroyMoon I agree, and Nick was very "enjoyable" to watch wrestle, his early stuff is quite entrancing, his in ring cocky, almost sniveling bully like demeanor later on was, well, satisfying as hell to watch, and his jobber squash matches....cherishable....I can't, at my age of 48, even imagine pro wrestling without Nick Bockwinkel, its unimaginable

absolutely agree!!!!

I agree wholeheartedly! I really, really enjoyed watching this one. The chemistry these two legends had with each other was amazing.

The GREATEST World Champion of them all was Bruno Sammartino! Flair couldn't carry his jock strap.

@@billnelson8517 Since you brought it up, it's a damn shame that a Sammartino vs Bockwinkel fight was somehow never made. They were both around the same age and wrestled for over 30 yrs.

Number 2 and 3 respectively. After Harley Race.

@@Michael_Chandler_Keaton Race said that Flair is the greatest ever.

Yep old fashioned gent. Almost my dad's age. RIP champ - and rest!

Any idea where to get the match.

Kevin Lake he was to loyal to the AWA. The million dollar man gimmick was pitched to him first by Vince McMahon but Nick turned it down.

@@Ijustinsultedyou Ted was fantastic but my god imagine Nick with that angle .

Too old, but he would have made a fine Horseman.

Nick was 51 here. He was in remarkable shape.

Back in the days guys could go into their 50s they didn't need to abuse their body to entertain

Nick could wrestle any style. He was a all time great in the ring

Heel always called the match back then, it bockwinkle is being cheered

Great chain wrestling.

When and where did this match take place?

@@robertcoggeshall3071 Jan 16, 1986 in Winnipeg manitoba

@@madmantrader cool. I was at first Hogan and flair match at msg.

Eddie Graham and then Fritz Von Erich twice offered the NWA belt to Nick. He refused it..

Flair is the GOAT.

100% correct.

Dennis Williams me too!!!

Yes I think Nick a little past his prime but could still go with Flair or Hennig. Would like to have seen this in 81-82 maybe.

I mean if you look at wrestlers like Brett Hart,Hogan,Harley Race, Steve Austin, The Rock, Cena and so many others they all actually wrestled the same matches. I think Flair just gets roasted more for whatever reason. Still think his matches with Steamboat were the best I've seen.

Yup. In fact, "Killer" Ken Resnick mentions his name a few times.

Whoa. Good catch!

Wow awesome! He didn’t do a half bad job either

and two days later Big Scott Hall and Curt Hennig became Tag Champs when Mr. Electricity Steve Regal (not Lord Steven Regal) left the AWA.)

👍👍👍👍

But didn’t Flair’s heavy travel schedule mean that he made his way around the territories somewhat frequently?

awesome stats, good job

That hated list is not accurate. Even though Flair was a heel most of the time he was never the most hated

Nell Bowie Wrong. Flair was often #1 most hated in PWI ratings. There were even times when he was tops in Most Popular AND the Most Hated in the same issue based on fan mail to the magazine.