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[1986-12-25-AWA-Brawl in St. Paul] Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig


Superstar Sleeze

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AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig - AWA Brawl in St. Paul 12/25/86

 

I really love the camerawork of the AWA. You can really hear the sound of flesh on flesh. It felt like you were actually in the ring with professional wrestlers. It was so gritty. It may be my favorite camerawork of all time. It really stood out to me during some of the badass tag team steel cage matches. I think this match is exemplary of the greatness of the AWA camerawork. You can hear Curt and Nick smack the shit out of each other. You can hear them yelling at each other and in pain.

 

One of the hallmarks of the Bockwinkel vs. Henng feud is the progress of Hennig in these matches and his increasing disillusionment with the system. Hennig got the advantage early and the first cover. Bock freaks out and he takes a walk. He tries to psych Hennig out with a slap on a rope break. He wins a top wristlock battle with a hairpull. So we see Bock going to heel tactics a lot earlier. So he sees Hennig as a much bigger threat than he did at the 1 hour draw just a month ago. Hennig himself looks much more confident in the ring and really feels like a world championship contender. Bock and Hennig just start laying into each other way earlier. It was so fiery and really pumps you up. I really like Hennig's discombobulated selling, but always moving forward. Out of desperation, Bock grabs Hennig's ankle and wraps the knee around the post. There is some Holy Shit awesome leg selling. This is a serious candidate for Best Inverted Indian Deathlock ever. It was so gritty. You can hear the wrestlers barking at each other and smacking each other. The fans are awesome too. It feels so gritty. Hennig uses the hair to pull Bock closer enough to him to punch him in the head. Bock kicks Hennig's leg out from under him, which became a trademark Mr. Perfect spot and here it was expertly placed. Hennig fights from underneath with a big strikes and kneelifts. Hennig starts to work on the arm, but unfortunately we get a cut. Bock bounces Hennig's head off the table outside the ring in front of Verne Gagne and the crowd is red hot. Bock is in his element playing KIng of the Mountain. Hennig starts his comeback with a sunset flip then dropkick, BIG CHOPS and now the AXE!!!

It should be mentioned that Billy Robinson is the referee. Bock runs over Robinson and they both fall to the outside. Hennig gets the visual fall. Bock wants the piledriver and Hennig back drops him over the top. Hennig nails a missile dropkick! Robinson calls for a DQ because of Bockwinkel's tumble over the top rope. Hennig audibly says Bullshit and a huge Bullshit chant from the Twin Cities crowd.

Hennig was clearly established in Minnesota's home base as a strong challenger that was screwed. He really had the champion on the ropes and juts a couple unfortunate circumstances derailed him. So Hennig has improved in the ring, but also he got screwed planting the seeds of resentment. Bockwinkel was great at giving Hennig the match, but also building incredibly strong heat with the leg selling and the King of the Mountain. The cut hurts this a bit so I cant go above ****1/4.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1986-12-25-AWA-Brawl in St. Paul] Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig

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