Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis " Nick " Bockwinkel ( December 6 , 1934 – November 14 , 2015 ) was an American professional wrestler . He was best known for his appearances with the Minneapolis , Minnesota - based American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) from 1970 to 1987 , where he held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on four occasions and the AWA World Tag Team Championship on three . Bockwinkel was recognised for his exceptional technical wrestling ability and mastery of in - ring psychology . He was also known for his even - toned , articulate promos , which distinguished him from many of his contemporaries . He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 . Early life . Bockwinkel was born to Warren Bockwinkel – himself a professional wrestler – and Helen ( née Crnkovich ) Bockwinkel in St . Louis , Missouri on December 6 , 1934 . He attended the University of Oklahoma on a football scholarship , playing for the Oklahoma Sooners until sustaining a knee injury that ended his football career and cost him his scholarship . Professional wrestling career . Early career ( 1955 – 1970 ) . Bockwinkel was trained to wrestle by his father and Lou Thesz , debuting in 1955 . When he was first breaking into the business , Bockwinkel served as the driver for Yukon Eric , taking him to various cities throughout the Eastern and Northeastern United States . He later commented that the experience , " was so smart . [ . . . ] Lots of ways to learn about this business . " After training to become a professional wrestler with his father Warren , a regional star in the 1940s , and Lou Thesz , he spent the early years of his career as part of a tag team with his father . At the age of 16 , he had his debut match against Thesz . He won his first major singles title in 1963 , defeating Tony Borne for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship . He also held several singles and tag team titles in Hawaii and California . It was during his time at Georgia Championship Wrestling in Atlanta , Georgia that Bockwinkel developed into a main event star . He had previously been a heroic character , but began a transition to being a villain during a feud with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk , Jr . Funk , Jr . later referred to Bockwinkel as " One of the best wrestling challengers for the belt . [ . . . ] He was very technical , and put a lot of thought into his interviews , his talk , his work in the ring , his persona . " American Wrestling Association ( 1970 – 1987 ) . In 1970 , Bockwinkel joined the American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) , where he formed a team with wrestler Ray Stevens and manager Bobby Heenan . Together , they won the AWA World Tag Team Championship three times , the first in 1972 . They defended the belts against such opponents as The Crusher , Dick the Bruiser , Billy Robinson , and Verne Gagne . The team eventually broke up after Stevens attacked Heenan when the latter praised himself and failed to comment on Stevens during an interview . Bockwinkel also teamed with Pat Patterson on occasion . Bockwinkel became known for his articulate wrestling interviews . " I used to use the four , five or six syllable words as best I could , " he was quoted as saying in the book " The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame : The Heels " . " If I ran across one I didn ' t know , I had a little dictionary . I would have this little dictionary , with 70 or 80 words , that I would always be perusing . I had it with me all the time . Automatically , some of these words just starting coming to me in my interviews because I was familiar with them . " With Heenan still as his manager , Bockwinkel won the first of many AWA World Heavyweight Championship s on November 8 , 1975 at the age of 40 , ending Verne Gagne ' s seven - year reign . As AWA Champion , Bockwinkel had feuds with Billy Robinson , Dick the Bruiser , The Crusher , Tito Santana , Mad Dog Vachon , Jerry Lawler , Otto Wanz , Mr . Saito , Jim Brunzell , Greg Gagne , Verne Gagne and Hulk Hogan . Bockwinkel was involved in the first ever AWA versus World Wide Wrestling Federation ( WWWF ) World Title Unification match , wrestling WWWF Champion , Bob Backlund , to a double count - out , on March 25 , 1979 , in Toronto . Bockwinkel ' s first reign lasted for 1716 days and ended on July 19 , 1980 when he was defeated by Verne Gagne . Shortly after regaining the AWA World title , Gagne announced his retirement from professional wrestling , and the AWA Heavyweight Championship was awarded back to Bockwinkel on May 19 , 1981 . This move infuriated wrestling fans throughout the AWA , and it solidified Bockwinkel as one of the most despised wrestlers in the world . Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding Bockwinkel and his title reign involved a series of matches with Hulk Hogan , whom Gagne signed after Hogan left the World Wrestling Federation in 1981 . In June 1982 , Hogan defeated Bockwinkel by pinfall in St . Paul , Minnesota to capture the AWA World Title , but AWA President Stanley Blackburn reversed the decision and returned the title to Bockwinkel , who went on to lose it to Otto Wanz and regain it with Heenan ` s help in the span of two months . Hogan , in the meantime , grew tired of the politics surrounding Bockwinkel and the world title and departed the AWA to return to the WWF , where he became a star and helped the company become a worldwide brand . On February 22 , 1984 , Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Bockwinkel to capture the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in a match where Terry Funk was a guest referee . On an AWA card , Bockwinkel wrestled NWA World Champion Ric Flair for the NWA title on January 16 , 1986 at the Winnipeg Arena ; the bout ended in a double count out . Bockwinkel last held the AWA World Championship in 1987 , at the age of 52 . He became popular in a feud against then - AWA champion Stan Hansen . When Hansen failed to appear for a title defense , Bockwinkel won the title by forfeit . Hansen had quit the AWA from that point . Months later he dropped the championship to another second generation wrestler , Curt Hennig , at SuperClash . The match ended in controversial fashion due to interference by Larry Zbyszko , who had handed a roll of coins to Hennig to use on Bockwinkel . Bockwinkel retired in 1987 , ending a career that spanned four decades . In one of his final matches as an active competitor , he paid Zbyszko back for costing him the AWA World title by pinning him on an episode of " AWA Championship Wrestling " on ESPN after knocking him out with a roll of coins . Post - retirement ( 1987 – 2015 ) . After departing AWA , Bockwinkel worked as a road agent for the World Wrestling Federation , also serving as a color commentator for occasional televised events . He was released in 1989 due to budget cuts . He returned to the ring in 1993 at Slamboree : A Legends ' Reunion . The card was promoted by World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) but featured veteran wrestlers from all over the country . Bockwinkel wrestled former NWA World Champion Dory Funk , Jr . to a time limit draw as part of the undercard . In 1994 , Bockwinkel became the on - screen commissioner of WCW . He was reunited on the program with Bobby Heenan but their former partnership in AWA was never mentioned . In 2000 , he and Yoshiaki Fujiwara were the commissioners for a short - lived shoot style promotion , the Japan Pro Wrestling Association , but as the shoot - style market in Japan had been low since the collapse of UWF International , the wrestlers on it moved to other promotions . Bockwinkel was the President of the Cauliflower Alley Club until stepping down in May 2014 due to health reasons . On March 31 , 2007 , he was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame by his former manager Bobby Heenan . Bockwinkel made an appearance on WWE ' s " Raw " on March 29 , 2010 , as part of Legends lumberjack match between Christian and Ted Dibiase . Legacy . Bockwinkel was known for his technical wrestling ability and in - ring psychology . Bob Backlund wrote in his autobiography that " Nick had a great head for the game , a wonderful sense of ring psychology , and an uncanny ability to use his intelligence and cockiness to get under the people ' s skin . He was a terrific representative for the AWA and was the key player in the success of the AWA for a long time . " Backlund goes on to say , " He was a very intelligent , well - spoken , and cocky heel , and his in - ring skills were right up there with the very best in the business . " In the book " 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time : The Definitive Shoot " , author Larry Matysik lists Bockwinkel as number 18 , writing " He was an athlete , he could wrestle , and his psychology was second to none . " In addition , he was also known for his calm , charismatic , articulate promos , which distinguished him from many of his contemporaries . In 2008 , Chris Jericho based his new villainous wrestling persona on Bockwinkel . In his autobiography " The Best in the World " Jericho wrote , " The WWE had recently released an AWA retrospective DVD , and while watching it , I remembered how great a heel Bockwinkel was . He wore suits for all his interviews and used ten - dollar words that went over the average fans ' heads , pissing them off markedly . Here was this pompous blowhard using the fancy talk and wearing the fancy suits , claiming to be the best because he was the World Champion , which was the truth . " Other television appearances . In 1968 , Bockwinkel appeared as a contestant on a prime - time version of the NBC game show " Hollywood Squares " , winning a Pontiac Firebird , a deluxe kitchen set , and $ 1300 in cash . He played Harry in the episode " Savage Sunday " in the show " Hawaii Five - O " . Bockwinkel also played a wrestler in an episode of the 1960s television series " The Monkees " . Personal life . On June 22 , 1957 , Bockwinkel married Susan Tranchitella , with whom he had two daughters : Johnna ( born October 11 , 1958 ) and Nikki ( born 1961 ) . The couple divorced in 1967 . Bockwinkel remarried in 1972 to Darlene , with the marriage lasting until his death . The couple lived together in Las Vegas , Nevada . In November 2007 , Bockwinkel underwent triple bypass heart surgery . In 2007 , he was elected President of the Cauliflower Alley Club , a non - profit organization . In 2013 , Ric Flair told Stone Cold Steve Austin on his podcast that Bockwinkel had Alzheimer ' s disease . Bockwinkel ' s wife Darlene denied Flair ' s claim , but did acknowledge that he had health problems which she wanted to keep private . In August 2014 , Bockwinkel stepped down from his position as Cauliflower Alley Club president due to his declining health . He was replaced by former wrestler B . Brian Blair . At the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in 2015 he appeared frail and his wife said he was making his final public appearance due to dementia and heart issues . Death . Bockwinkel died from undisclosed causes on the evening of November 14 , 2015 . His remains were cremated in Las Vegas and a memorial mass was held at St . Joseph Croatian Catholic Church in his hometown of St . Louis , Missouri on November 21 , 2015 . He was survived by his wife , his two children from his first marriage , two grandchildren , and two great - grandchildren .