Jim Cornette on What If Nick Bockwinkel Joined The Four Horsemen
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Bockwinkle never gets the full credit he deserves, one of the greatest champions of all time.
he really doesn't. it may be because he stayed in the AWA, which was big but not as large as the NWA, and the mags seemed to at times profile NWA territories a bit more. shame really, because I loved Nick. as a wrestler and AWA World Champion.
JohnBlack2345 I loved the Apter mags but got so tired of their main focus being on the WWWF/WWF at the time. I was a huge NWA fan from the Crockett territory to Florida and St. Louis and it always seemed like the mags snubbed them with little coverage and almost 0 coverage of the AWA.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo. Sam Muchnick. Kiel Auditorium. and IA with you ten fold....this territory got woefully stiffed in the Apter mags. Florida did pretty will IMPO, but I just went on Google last month and just looked up all the old apter mag covers, just for nostalgia....my goodness. Apter had a hard on for WWWF throughout the 70s (my time period) and didn;t start covering the other territories bigger till the mid 80s.
JohnBlack2345 Wrestling At The Chase was a staple in my home for years, grew up in southern Illinois and was able to pick up KPLR on the antenna on Sunday mornings and Memphis on Saturday with the show out of Channel 7 in Evansville, then on Saturday nights around midnight watched a compilation show of Florida and Georgia but for the life if me cannot remember the channel or the name of the show. And of course I got every Apter mag I could get my hands on at the time, wish I still had them, my mom threw them out years ago.
oh my. what you take me back for? LOLOLOLOL WaTC was truly the show. my parents took us to Sam M.'s last card, and it was amazing. and I also collected those mags. I couldn't read them now because they make me too sad.....that was PRO WRESTLING. I don;t know what this crap is now.
The technical master Nick Bockwinkel was referred to as "the thinking man's Ric Flair".
I think you could argue that Nick Bockwinkel already was in the Four Horsemen - the Four Horsemen of the AWA, the original Heenan Family. Nick Bockwinkel, Ray "the Crippler" Stevens, Bobby Duncum and Blackjack Lanza, all managed by Bobby "the Brain" Heenan.
Between those four they held two of the major belts of the AWA (Bockwinkel was heavyweight champ, and Duncum & Lanza were AWA tag team champs), the first time a single manager's stable controlled those two major titles.
Heenan family (Bockwinkel,Stevens,Lanza , Duncum and Heenan ) vs horsemen would be an epic feud. Change my mind
Nick Bockwinkel and Curt Henning was one of the most under rated feuds ever in the AWA days.
Yeah, Curt really came into his own and imo, proved he could be "the guy" for a promotion.
Curt Henning is one of the best workers ever!
Martel as well
Bocowinkel could cut a promo like nobody's business, and was an excellent in ring performer. One of my favorites growing up!
Can you imagine Flair cutting his batshit crazy promo and then Bockwinkel following it up with his subdued speaking style? It would be spectacular.
Nick was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time period. The only thing that kept him from winning the NWA belt was the fact that he didn't like the travel schedule that the champion had to endure and he didn't want to be away from his family for an extended period. The AWA schedule was easy and the most traveling he did was when he went either to Memphis or San Antonio with the occasional shot in Japan.
Brian Washington AWA territory was larger. California to SW to Minnesota to Chicago. Flair only worked South East but more rigorously. Both had a difficult schedule. Flair travelled more but Bockwinkel travelled larger distances.
Sorry, but the AWA championship was considered more of a regional championship due to it mainly being contested in the midwest as well as the occasional forays into promotions like Memphis, San Antonio, Mid South and even Japan. On the other hand the NWA belt wasn't just defended in the southeast, but in Dallas, Portland, Australia, Japan and Southeast Asia. The NWA champion defended the belt all around the world against a variety of opponents. In fact, one year Flair was on the road for 350 days defending the belt. The AWA belt was mainly defended during the promotions busy months, which primarily were during the winter.
Brian Washington Where is South East Asia was the NWA belt defended out of interest? Flair from memory didn’t defend in Australia. Race, the Funks and Briscos did but never Flair. Going through my history of Pro Wrestling in Australia book now.
Flair did defend the belt in Austraiia. There is video of him defending it against Mark Lewin. Also, Flair and Race switched the belt just a few weeks after their Starrcade 83 match though it wasn't acknowledged for years. Flair dropped he belt to Harley in New Zealand on March 20, 1984 and Flair got the belt back three days later in Singapore.
Wrongggggggggggg. The wrongest. And that is nothing against the NWA. You just need to readjust your history regarding the AWA. NOT regional, NOT occasional forays into other promotions, it was a very strong and distinct international lineage. Including primary ties to Chicago, Vegas, San Francisco, Memphis, CANADA, JAPAN... and lesser ties to Britain and central Europe- yet even those two are stronger than what WWF or NWA was doing there at the time.
I know you (referring to both you individually and fandom as a whole) are biased towards the NWA and I totally understand why, but people need to realise that the AWA was just as proud and excellent as the NWA was for the vast majority of its existence.
Bockwinkle faced Ricky Steamboat on a card in Raleigh, NC in 1979, so yes, he did work the Carolinas.
We're there any special stipulations on that Bockwinkel-Steamboat match in Raleigh in 1979?
I ask because Nick was in his first AWA World Championship reign (11/8/75-7/19/80) at that time.
I saw Nick work against Raymond Rougeau at the Quebec Colisee in 1985 and I was truly impressed! Bockwinkel was a superb wrestling machine!
Bockwinkle would have been perfect in the JJ Dillon role at that point in his career. He was great at cutting promos, and could still go in the ring.
For me that would have been the way to go. PLUS Bock could brag about being the greatest AWA World Champion of all time. And it would have been AWESOME to see Bock go in the ring at times as well. IN his 50's, Bock was still elite in the damn ring. So instead of JJ in the ring during War Games, it would have been Bock! And Flair could play up on it say he always admired Bock. Even patterned a lot of what he did after Bock. And Bock helped mentor him when he started his career. These are ALL THINGS Flair has actually stated on interviews.
Heenan family (Bockwinkel,Stevens,Lanza , Duncum and Heenan ) vs horsemen would be an epic feud. Change my mind
Can't, but I will say this much, the 4 Horsemen would have been better for it. Every one of the Heenan Family could do any style of wrestling at a top level. While the Horsemen looked as though they were still learning at times. But it's a generation thing, that's why Stevens and Bockwinkel performed well into their 50's. While the Horsemen were crippled in their 40's; did things the hard way and paid for it.
In retrospect, Nick Bockwinkel was the greatest World champion of the 1980's . Trained by his father and also by legendary shooter Lou Thesz, he could shoot if he needed to. As a worker he was smart, athletic and sharp. No wasted motions over over reacting. He was phenomenal behind the microphone. He defended his title in territories all over the US, Canada and Asia. He was everything you could hope to have in a Champion !
Against Greg Gagne and The Trooper lol.
Michael Kaminski
You're an idiot, so shut up
Nick wrestled a lot of top guys throughout the world & head to head if he & Ric had of ever competed against each other the big winner would have been the fans
And the most amazing part about that is he was waaaaaay past his prime by the 80's
@@geocoop60 actually, Flair and Nick did have one match against each other in Winnipeg in 1982 or 1983...... it was a Champion vs. Champion deal so, it was obviously a double countout. But the match DID happen. Flair loved Nick to pieces and watched plenty of his tag team matches with Stevens and Heenan when he was learning the business in the early 70's.
Nick went everywhere for a time with the AWA belt.....wrestled Harley Race, Bob Backlund, etc. You saw a lot of Champ vs. Champ main events in the late 70's and early 80's. I would wager a guess that all of the promoters were more or less getting along really well during that period. As we all know, the Champ / Champ thing came to an end when Vince Jr. took the reigns in New York. Even when it was tried again in 1988 (Lawler / Kerry Von Erich) with World Class and the AWA, it didn't stick as World Class was on its' last legs and depending on who you want to believe, Verne Gagne either A. never paid the non-AWA talent for SuperClash or B. The individual promoters never paid their own guys like they were supposed to.
@@michaelkaminski8339 Hogan, Martel, Flair, Rhodes,Lawler,Billy Robinson,Mad Dog Vachon, Da Crusher, Andre the Giant, Super Destroyer, Curt Hennig, Stan Hansen...the list goes on and on
Could you imagine Bockwinkel and Arn as a tag team? Good God.
Bockwinkel was a class act...always spoke and dressed like a champion...always kept his cool...and didn't have to do crazy interviews to get his point across
Class, pure class
could have been the million dollar man
Jim shouldn't doubt himself. Nick wrestled in the Carolinas a couple of times, not many. It was 1979-ish. He defended against Steamboat, at least once, and Jim Brunzell, during Jim's run with one of the mid card titles.
Bockwinkel & Flair had a great match at the Winnipeg Arena in like '85-86ish, it's on TH-cam, check it out.
Nick would have fit in very good with the Horsemen
Bockwinkel was a master, both in the ring & on the microphone.
Verne would have put a hit out on Bockwinkel if the latter had brought the AWA belt to the Carolina's.
It'd be a low-rent hitman, but still.
Bockwinkle defended the AWA title on a Crockett card in Raleigh, NC against Steamboat in 79.
A hit man who accepts coupons, and advertises in the back of the Penny Saver.
Leon Tan ~ Ha ha ha! That is so true...
Lets remember when the road warriors where awa tag champs they would NOT lose the awa belts even after Verne said so,,, so they go to the nwa and as they made there first appearance there they run into the ring for there entrance to wrestle, they where wearing the awa tag belts...that was unprecedented at the time back then. Nobody ever did that.
Hey Leon, if anyone in the business could find a hit man who accepts food stamps, it's fucking Verne Gagne. His frugality is legendary. I can just imagine him giving the payoffs after shows & telling wrestlers "Don't spend it all one place".
He & J.brunszell had classic Steamboat/Flair matches in mid-atlantic late 70's
I saw bockwinkel vs wahoo at the old Greenville memorial auditorium.
If Gino Hernandez had lived, he would've been the perfect Horsemen, probably more Horsemen than the REAL Horsemen, because that's how he lived for real. Nice cars, Brione suits, fine things in life.
Gino would've been unbelievable as a Horseman. He was a tremendous performer.
Unfortunately, the inevitable feud between Gino and Flair would have happened.
I loved Ric Flair, but he couldn't have handled there being another "peacock" in the stable.
I think the same thing would've happened to Hernandez as happened to Jeff Jarrett.
@@larrysnelson9649 The problem with Gino he would have never been trusted to be NWA champion. He had problems making 3-5 dates in Texas. The schedule Flair kept Gino could not have worked.
Gino is by far the most overrated wrestler ever. He wasn't nearly as big of a star as people think. He had success in Dallas, and that's it. San Antonio doesn't count because business was so rotten. And while he had a little bit of success in Houston, it wasn't a territory.
An AWA or WCCW heel faction of Nick Bockwinkle, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine & Steve Kern would have been 🔥
Nick was too classy for the horsemen
Pretty much this.
Yes Mr Bockwinkle did work in Ga in the early 80s on occasion
Nick was the Best of all times!Rip💜👊
When I was a kid and that would be in 1984 I was eight years old I began watching wrestling I had no idea like how big of a deal not big of a deal with the stories behind all these people I never saw it coming Jim Cornette is amazing I mean I had no idea about any of this like it just blows me away everything he has to say it’s so interesting I love it.
Bockwinkel was smoother in the and out of the ring, obnoxious without being loud. Flair was the douche frat boy, Bockwinkel carried himself with dignity and class. In the ring as great as Flair was, he had a template for his matches and rarely changed from that template regardless of who he was in the ring with, Bockwinkel never had the same match twice.
Sarah Smith As Stu Hart accurately described him, Flair was a "Routine Man" doing the same match every night. I'll take Nick Bockwinkel over him every day and twice on Sundays.
@Damien Jones Yeah, worked so well that Ole wanted him out Mid Atlantic. In a business all about money, couldn't have worked too well if the booker says you're killing the territory. Which Ole did say.
@Damien Jones Ole may
very well be an old curmudgeon but when you and your employees are trying to feed familes, money and numbers matter. You want anyone who is going to put more booties in seats whether you like them or not. Wrestling has a long history of guys not liking each other but working together because this guy or that guy is a draw for a territory or promotion. You don't cut off your nose to spite your face when livelihoods are in the line. With that realization, the fact that Ole wanted Flair out says a helluva lot whether you like Anderson or not and I'm not a big fan of him or the Buddy Rogers knock off.
@Damien Jones And Flair was a routine man who wasn't as universally loved or adept (see his not so great run in the WWE with the big gold belt, especially) as most seem to think.
The Bockwinkel addition doesnt work for me in 89. Putting Bockwinkel in Oles spot from the start in 1985, i think you have the greatest faction gimmick in the history of history
I think of Bockwinkel like Flair's role in Evolution if he were ever a Horsemen.
You and I both know that Bockwinkel wouldn't bring himself to be second fiddle to Ric Flair. Overtime, he would either have to be the leader or he wasn't going to be a horsemen.
he retired in 87...
Oley had to be there he's family
U cant replace Ole from the OG lineup, to valuable.
Nick would've been the better "Ole" in the beginning, bringing the "class" to the 4 Horsemen,.
No he wouldn't, Ole was in the perfect spot in the Horsemen by being that mean bastard that commanded respect from the opposition.
According to Flair and Arn, Ole's spot was always meant for Barry. Just took him a minute to get there.
Nick defended the AWA title in Mid Atlantic against Steamboat.
London Kentucky loves ya
I watched Nick from 78 until we moved from Colorado in 1985, then I watched him again around 1990 and he did not look like he was mid 50's there... He always kept himself in incredible shape and always had the LOOK, the arrogance in his words; his style, his swagger/drip; He did not need Heenan, as Nick could talk with the best of them, but putting Heenan and Botwinkel together was something people have been trying to replicate ever since... Their connection and Bond was even better than Heyman/Punk
He would fit great in the 4 horseman ,from his brilliant technical ability , to his clothes and skills on the mic are on par or better then theirs ! And he done a doz of matchs in 1979 in the mawc, plus georgia champx2 & tv champ 3x , and fla tag champ and wrestled countless times in St Louis , all major spots for crockett led nwa by the time of the horseman
Would Nick Bockwinkel taken the spot that JJ Dillin had? Full time manager and part time wrestler but only in Wargames.
Wicked Nick Bockwinkle was the best. I grew up watching the A W A, my dad even wrestled for Brusier in Indianapolis.
He did wrestle in Mid South Wrestling and Championship Wrestling from Florida
Gino Hernandez probably would've been a better horseman as far as the lifestyle goes
Nick, prior to his AWA run, had a run In Georgia, where he held the Georgia title, losing to Buddy Colt (and boy wouldn't THAT have been a tag-team!). So his showing up a few times for Crockett at that time would not have been impossible.
And for those who aren't aware, Nick went EVERYWHERE after he got out of the army: Stampede, PNW, Hawaii, both LA and SF, Australia and Texas prior to his stint in Georgia, with drive-bys in Toronto, Montreal, Tennessee, Oklahoma and (I think) Japan and NYC while he was AWA Champ.
Or here's a better idea..Horsemen Civil War. The other members have to pick a side, Flair would've had Arn on his side while Bockwinkel would've had Tully on his side..and then it evolved into a Horsemen vs Horsemen feud as Bockwinkel and Flair recruited other members on their own version of the Horsemen...all culminated in a Wargames match where the winner not only leads the Horsemen, he gets to pick who would be in the new Horsemen.
SMAXZO Love that idea. Would have rooted for just Bockwinkel, but an implosion of the Horsemen always sounded great to me.
Horseman on Horseman crime? I would have been all for it. Put them in War Games and hopefully end the faction before the 90's when they truly embarrassed themselves.
This wrestling business stuff you know I washed it all my life as a kid but I have no idea like the stories behind it just everything like what a worker you had to be in all the stuff I don’t quite even get it quite yet about how serious it really is.
I only saw him in the AWA as the world champion. And I was definitely a fan. I loved his matches with Curt Hennig. I couldn't see him as a part of a faction, though.
That would've been one hell of a move
Flair, tully, ole, AA vs Bockwinkle, DiBiase, Henning, Gino.
85/86 era wouldve been a pretty cool matchup to watch
My god, Replace Ole with Bockwinkel and it would have been amazing, Nick was classy and witty..... would have been epic.
nah........they needed Ole there as a tag with Arn.....Tully had his place and Flair had his place.......man, you almost can't kick JJ out either...........Nick would have definitely fit....but where? maybe as a "financial advisor" or something.....kinda like what Ted DiBiase was for the NWO at the beginning pre-Bischoff. Nick could still go in the ring in 1985, but as everyone has pointed out, he was nearly 50 years of age and he didn't have much left in the tank at that point. Nick would have been better in a non-wrestling role and getting a microphone near his lips to bust off those classic promos
Nope, Ole is to valuable to the original lineup, he brought that toughness and bitterness that the opposition respected.
If you have never seen the AWA studio interviews with Bockwinkle and Heenan, do yourself a favor and check them out.
If people haven't seen them already, they don't follow things closely, anyway.
Bockwinkel was GOAT, he had the entire skillset and could do anything asked of him at the highest level.
People talk about stuff like this as if the Carolina Territory was the pinnacle of what was going on then outside of WWF. Because in hindsight everybody loves the Horsemen and so much old footage is available and highlighted. When really, that wasn't the case until 1987 or perhaps later- when Bockwinkel was already done.
At that point you might as well wax about what if Verne had retired and then signed Dusty long term to get into a top of the card blood feud with Bock for the majority of the 1980s.
As a manager yes
Great compliment and well deserved for an always overlooked Barry Windham! He was technically sound! And I totally agree bc Backwinkel was amazing!
Bockwinkle would’ve basically been Tully Blanchard
Nick as leader of "The Real Horsemen" vs Ric as leader of "The Original Horsemen"? Book it!
Gino Hernandez would have been the most perfect fit. He didnt have the national name but stylistically he was a perfect fit both in the ring and in the bars.Plus he had the background with Tully Blanchard. Ginos work was not at the level of the Horsemen but it was close enough and similar enough for people to buy no problem. On the mic, and the way he carried himself, Gino would be the first Horseman to challenge Flair in the charisma department. No one was going to outFlair Flair on that era, but Gino would have kept him on his toes constantly shadowing him on the mic, and in the bar and who was dressing the slickest. Great fit. The only guy i see in the NWA roster then who could hit the ground running with the Horsemen and excel was Eddie Gilbert but he wasnt Horseman material in the bars. then again neither were windham, luger or ole. Gilbert could talk the role Im sure. He would be a weird fit for the spot that was always the Horsemens big man as he would be the smallest Horsman ever by far. But in the ring and on the mic Eddie Gilbert would deliver seemlessly without missing a beat and Missy Hyatt would be an interesting addition to the entourage
J
Bruno was the man fuck flair
Good points. I always thought Paul Orndorff would have been a great Horseman, too...
another person (not in NWA) but who would have been a great fit ringwise and bars was Curt Hennig. He wouldn't have matched Ric in the fashion dept. but he'd like to party, could work, and had the mic skills and charisma to keep up with the others.
He would have been an amazing fit.
If the NWA & AWA had continued their relationship I could see it, you have both world champs, similar to a point, both big egos, and I could see them making a run at either the AWA or NWA world tag titles, but I cant see Bockwinkle as a Horseman, although I could a run eventually w/ him and Flair both heel which could have been something
My Dream 4 Horseman Unit Ric Flair And Tully Blanchard And Arn Anderson And Nick Bockwinkel
I had Nick in the four horsemen with my remco figures Flair, Bockwinkle, Scott Hall and curt hennig
Jeremy Eggleston are you my long lost brother from another mother? Lmao Only difference would be me adding Arn.
What a shit stable, seriously. Hall and Hennig where passable in the 80's when the Horsemen would have been on top of the world. Bockwinkle sticks out from the rest as far as personality goes. Do you know anything or just like presenting the public with absolutely shit?
Jeremy Eggleston
Ric, Nick, Tully & Arn
Jeremy Eggleston ah! The Minnesota connection!
I could see it to a certain extent. But it would have been in the AWA.
Concerning Nick Bockwinkel being in the Horseman, umm maybe. But eventually Flair and Nick would have come to blows. Neither would have wanted to be the lesser man. But it could've been a helluva program between Ric Flair and Nick Bockwinkel.
Swap Nick for Ole and JJ. Nick is equal to both combined
Bon Louis and make Heenan the manager.
@@426roads4 I agree with the original poster. You wouldn't need a manager.
If Bockwinkle had been in Crockett Promotions at that time, he couldnt have worked in the Horsemen for long, as I could see more of a civil war between the Horsemen happening with Bockwinkle vs Flair for leadership of the Horsemen then they slpinter off to chosing which Horsemen was the best. Maybe the AWA should have thought about copying the Horsemen idea and creating some sort of stable kind of close and had them run roughshot over AWA with Bockwinkle leading them. Curt Hennig, Larry Zybysko and bringing some young talent and elavating his career through association could hve gave some longevity to the promotion with a proven storyline that works but tweeked to fit the AWA mold. Ray Stevens could have managed them. It would have worked I think.
Uhhhhhh.... you mean the Heenan Family, which was at the top of the AWA through most of the 70s until early 1984? So you want them to pretty much just do that again, except starting in 1985. Got it.
You know, I honestly forgot about the AWA Heenan Family. No, I dont want anyone to recreate, but maybe be inspired from past ideas and make them better. Hammock, I swear I never thought of it, maybe the AWA Heenan family was the precurser to what we knew as the Horsemen.
Nick and Flair could never have coexisted with both wanting to be champion.
That would have been 🔥
I couldn't believe the others wanting to hang around Bockwinkel.
Why?
Gino Hernandez would have been outstanding in the horsemen... He was a younger slightly smaller Ric Flair... he could work he could talk and he knew how to get heat
I agree with you 100%. Gino would've been amazing as a Horseman.
Did the Carolinas have enough of the Peruvian powder for Gino
Do you think if Gino Hernandez had lived he would have reunited with Tully Blanchard to reform the Dynamic Duo and become a Horseman?
Only as long Gino was a heel. They probably wouldn't be "The Dynamic Duo" but I could see them as the Horseman tag-champs while Arn played enforcer and had the TV and US titles to Flair's World title. Which begs the question "Was Gino World title material?"
@@cretinousjester3475 Ringwise and character wise, absolutely. But I think he would have self destructed even faster as a world champion.
@@cretinousjester3475 Gino had the charisma and the talent. He knew how to draw heat and work the crowd. His personal demons might've cost him but as far as the wrestling business goes, he was top knotch.
As a manager Nick Bockwinkel would have worked but not as a wrestler
I swore I saw Nick bockwinkel WCW commissioner.?
yes in 1994
NIck would fit in terms of in ring ability, wardrobe, and mic skills. BUT I agree with Corny that it wouldn't have been the most ideal fit either. If Nick could have somehow adjusted his persona some more to a 007 type persona, it would have been awesome I think. He could be a ladies man in an understated way like James Bond. However, Gino Hernandez was the ABSOLUTE perfect fit to be a Horsemen! He checked all the boxes and was a great team with Tully. The only thing is the Horsemen usually had Arn as the Enforcer AND another big guy or bad ass capable of being an enforcer. That's where Ole, Luger, Windham (even though Barry could do it all in ring, he was 6'6 260), and Sid came in.
So the heat would be on Arn EVEN MORE to be the enforcer with the top three heel pretty boys in wrestling rounding out the group! Which would have been a great dynamic in its own way. But I think Gino, Dibiase, Orndorff, Greg Valentine, and Austin Idol ALL had the Horsemen type swag.
A sleeper pick in the Benoit mold could have been the Dynamite Kid leaving the WWF and joining the group! Dynamite was a legit bad ass and world class technician who could do it ALL in ring. Sure he was small BUT he would have fit the group because he had the in ring skills and toughness to back it up.
Terry Taylor,Paul Orndorff,Larry Zybysko would've in my opinion would've made great HORSEMEN
Only Larry could talk
Remco didn’t make a Tully and Arn figures...
It would've been kinda cool if jcp and the AWA could have had a working agreement and had NB as.a horseman but was AWA CHAMP...and have him come south every now and then and have flair..tully...arn to up north and work
Exactly! When they were doing Pro Wrestling USA (a loose working agreement-talent exchange between NWA, JCP, Memphis, and WCCW), that would have been an EPIC angle run! PWUSA was missing those types of dream angles to really make that deal roll. Nick as AWA Champ with Flair as NWA Champ wreaking havoc on the NWA and AWA would have been EPIC!
I loved watching Nick. He was a great athlete, knew how to work the crowd and cut great promos. I think he was a better world champion than flair. I would rank my top 3, 1.) Nick,2.) Harley and 3.) Flair.
I think Bockwinkel could have done the same gimmick that Ric Flair would later do with Triple H.
This theme music needs to change.
What If Nick Bockwinkel Joined The Four Horsemen? It would have been great.
Should have been the big swerve for the forth spot. Dusty!
Who had a greater career - Tully or Zbyszko.
I'm more partial to Tullly because of his work in Houston
WELL,NICK BOCKWINKEL WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST ARTICULATE HORESMAN FOR SURELY 😂💯👍🏿
I don't see it working. Simply because of personalities.
Green Reaper: Same here. Bockwinkel and Flair were mega personalities. As heels, they both would be leaders of any stable they were in. It's putting DC's Lex Luthor and Marvel's Kingpen in the same group and they would inevitably clash.
Cretinous Jester Exactly. The Horsemen were loud-mouthed showoffs who bragged about everything they had every chance they got. Even Arn and Ole who weren't as flamboyant as Flair and Tully, but they would brag about how tough they were. Bockwinkel wasn't that at all.
Yeah, you can't have two arch-villainous types in the same group. Bockwinkel stands out to me as one of the very few wrestlers who could pull off the "honorable heel" persona (and that's hard enough alone and damn near impossible when you're in a stable). Yeah he could be a cocky, arrogant heel but he could back up and nt have to cheat when the time came. Flair could wrestler but all in all- he was a bag of dirty tricks who you loved to hate and couldn't get enough of with a mouth as big as his ego and probably the greatest "scoundrel" in wrestling. Two completely different heel leaders.
Also and this is just a personal rule of mine: You do not put 2 World Champion guys in a stable. Bockwinkel and Flair were two of greatest world champions in wrestling history....period and it would've just been a matter of time before Nick and Ric fought over who was the top dick......lol.
HEY JIM THE ONE GUY I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A GREAT 4 HORSEMEN MY BOY EDDIE GILBERT ,FLASHY,GREAT WRESTLER ,AND WOULD LOVE TO GO OUT AND PARTY 🥳 !!! THE IDEAL FIT IN MY BOOK !!! R.I.P. HOT 🔥 STUFF EDDIE GILBET !!!
What if Bockwinkel joined the Horsemen? My answer: He’d be their best wrestler. Jim seems to agree. 😀
Nick would have been a great fit in my opinion.
Lil. Nick wouldn't stoop that low.......he earned a wonderful living
Gino Hernandez would have been a great horseman.....
If he had....he might be alive today!
I can't see it. If Nick was in JPC at the time, he probably would've been the face counterpart to Flair. The matches would've been great but as a Horseman? I can't see it.
He would have been a smooth fit 🤼4️⃣👍
Nick bockwinkel wouldn't really have fit in the Four Horsemen, by the time they were formed in 1986, Nick Bockwinkle was 15 years past his prime, he was 15 years older than Ric Flair, 24 years older than Arn Anderson, 26 years older than Barry Windham, 20 years older than Tully Blanchard and 9 years older than both J.J. Dillon and Ole Anderson, AT BEST, he would've made a good mouthpiece/advisor
Lighten up Francis it's all hypothetical
Wow, if you want to see a really ignorant statement, you can't get any more ignorant than your statement here. 😂
Explain why he was still one of the best in the business in 1986, then? He was the best around, still. Far better than Flair was, that's a definite. Flair did the same exact thing every night.
Andre should have been a horsemen, he'd have outdrank all the others combined🎉🍻✌️
GREG VALENTINE COULD HAVE BEEN A FOUR HORSEMEN!
Flair's ego wouldn't have allowed it
Bockwinkel had to be the leader. His ego wouldn't have it any other way.
He could have at least taken jj dillions place as the manager.
I think terry taylor was an awsome heel, and wouldv fit in great on camera
The best fit at the time (87,88).....Ted Dibiase
What if your mother and father never met?
As much as I like Flair, if Nick was in his prime you could have easily put him in Flair's spot & that group would be just as good f not better. I grew up thinking Flair was the best talker in the business. That his promos made him look like a million bucks, but now that i am older & wiser I think Bockwinkel's promos are better. He is far more articulate & that comes across with the "I am better than you" more than Flair's I got this coat & wear a Rolex & have nice cars etc. Sham eNick was so content in the AWA as I think he could have made for an excellent role model for the WWE in it's early years. I never liked Hogan & have always preferred people that were a bit more shall we say believable in the ring. I didn't need muscle bound monsters...just good wrestling. Bockwinkel had that ability to be hated, but begrudgingly respected by the fans because he was so good. That is a rare talent indeed.
Of course it could have worked. BUT in terms of the swag the Horsemen represented, it wouldn't have been as good. Flair and Nick are BOTH among the best total packages of all time. PLUS u can't underestimate the natural chemistry between Flair, Tully, and Arn. They were close friends AWAY from the ring. And a huge part of the Horsemen was talking about all the women they had, flossing the bling, talking about their cars, etc. NOW Bock could also adapt to anything. So KNOWING Nick, I think he would tweak his persona a tad to fit the Horsemen. He would still be understated in interviews. BUT would come across more in a James Bond-esque type of ladies man.
@@bizil100Flair isn't in Bockwinkel's league, but few were.
@@Rjensen2 I wouldn't take it that far. LOL In ring, I think Bock was better. BUT Flair was still great in the ring. Charisma/IT factor wise, both are easily main event material in any company and any era. BUT I prefer Flair on that end. Mic skill wise, both are among the best of all time. But I prefer Flair.
Flair and Bock were BOTH the epitome of what a great total package should be. I'm not gonna argue with ANYBODY who prefers Bock over Flair. BUT to say Flair isn't in Bock's league is a bit much in my opinion.
Maybe as an Ole replacement or JJ replacement
Remco didn’t make an Arn figure😡
Nick would have been a better JJ Dillon, and Dillon was Awesome!!!
Nick only lacked one thing...the vicious streak. He was a great worker though
Lmao, he was more vicious than Flair. It wasn't a part of his gimmick anyway, so it's a ridiculous statement.
Bock could get vicious! But his THING was being the ultimate crafty heel technical wrestler. Who mixed in the brawling to go with it. When you are battling guys like Hogan, Bruiser, Crusher, Brody, Hansen, Mad Dog, etc., it would be FOOLISH (KAYFABE wise) to try to outbrawl them. When Bock faced guys just as good as him technically (or even a bit better in rare case), it would make MORE SENSE to use his heel tactics/brawling more and be more vicious.
He wouldve done better to have his own group facing the 4 horsemen , have Nick come in from AWA with 3 guys with him to form his own 4 man group because i think Flair copied some of Nicks stuff
Bockwinkle >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tully
HydroArctic Ummm I'd add Bockwinkel >>>>>> Flair
Nick Bockwinkel is a legend I never really cared for. Him and Bob Backlund.
@Gene Bone What they have in common is, they're both considered legends.
@Gene Bone I see Bockwinkle was an amplified version of Bob Backlund. He was trained by Lou Thesz and had a great career. I just didn't care for his style. Like Bob Backlund. Lol.