One of my loyal readers contacted me upon learning of the recent death of wrestler Nick Bockwinkel on 11/14/15. My reader was a big fan of Bockwinkel and who could blame him? Just look at that body, and that hair, and that body hair!
(In case you never heard of Nick Bockwinkel, he is the beefy daddy with the flowing blond mane and burgundy trunks in the photos to the left. He was renowned for his skill as a grappler and his arsenal of fancy holds.)
So my reader suggested that, in honor of Bockwinkel’s life and amazing talent, I should re-post a three-part article I wrote back in 2012 called: “The Last Great Wrestling Match.” That article described a famous one-hour, bloody, sexy match that Bock wrestled against young Curt Hennig in 1986.
Rather than re-post those entire articles, I re-posted a few images here and provide the links so you can revisit part 1, 2, & 3 of that series.
Upon receiving my reader’s suggestion to create a tribute to the deceased Nick Bockwinkel, my first instinct was to decline. It feels creepy or disrespectful to talk about the dead and how hot they look in trunks, I explained. Plus it saddens me to think about these athletes, so young and virile and hardy, suddenly old or dead.
So I thanked my reader for his suggestion and agreed that Bockwinkel was a pleasure, but on my blog, every wrestler remains young and beautiful forever, so I did not intend to write about Bockwinkel’s death.
But my reader had included a detailed write-up of his attraction and excitement over first seeing Nick Bockwinkel. His description is so authentic — and so similar to my own experiences — that I decided to share his story with you. Many wrestling lovers will relate to this reader’s memories, so I guess I am doing a Nick Bockwinkel tribute whether it’s my usual policy or not. Here is what he wrote:
“In the 70s, when I was much younger, the wrestling magazines were not far from the science-fiction magazines and my eye wandered in their direction. I remember an issue of “Inside Wrestling” with a feature photo of Bruno Sammartino on the front, steadying himself on the ropes and the kayfabe headline “Has the Punishment taken its toll?” I bought that magazine that day and while I was attracted to Bruno, it was another feature story inside the magazine that would pique my interest.”
“The article was titled “The Belt Finally Fits Nick Bockwinkel”. There was a full page, black and white photo of Nick enlarged just showing his face, head and barrel chest… I’ve got to say I was smitten. The article was typical kayfabe about how Nick endured in the AWA and finally is the title holder … there were only a few other pics, both of him in a match against Larry “The Axe” Hennig.
“I grew up in Florida and was exposed to the Florida wrestling which meant Dusty Rhodes, the Briscos and the Funks (and more). I never bought wrestling magazines as a rule because I was too deeply in the closet at the time, but the few mags I owned made me realize there was a whole wrestling culture across the U.S. far beyond what we had in the South.”
“Flash forward to the early 80s … I still lived with my family while attending college and there was one Saturday night I arrived home late and flipped through the cable channels… that’s when I noticed the AWA was on ESPN … and the match that had just started was “The Last Great Wrestling Match!”
“I couldn’t believe it! I was finally able to see Bockwinkel fight in the flesh! I quickly had an idea and grabbed a VHS tape and hit record …”
“I wasn’t disappointed in the match at all … what a battle! I sat on the floor in my family’s darkened living room with only the TV lighting the space … my groin stirred with every punch and every hold…”
“Bockwinkel trapped Curt’s head in a figure-four head scissors… it went on forever. The camera zoomed in on Henning between Bockwinkel’s legs… then slowly panned up Nick’s magnificent gut and chest to his face. Nick grimaced and he poured on the pressure on Curt’s head … the camera panned back down and Curt’s eyes were closed… his eyelashes rested shut and it looked like he was going to go out right there in Nick’s warm crotch … but Hennig eventually broke free and fight went on.”
“As the years went on and I moved away from my home state I was able to come to terms to myself and my ‘rassling kink. I bought a lot of the old school ‘rassling mags off e-bay, particularly the ones featuring Bockwinkel (and Sammartino … Jack Brisco … Joe LeDuc … Lawler … the list goes on). I felt disturbed by my wrestling fetish for years… but now I embrace it.”
And there you have it — thanks for sharing your story! And RIP to Nick Bockwinkel who is missed by at least a couple old wrestling lovers who grew up enjoying his matches in the 1970s and 80’s. By the way, I too felt disturbed by my wrestling fetish for years, but now I embrace it as this blog perhaps verifies…
So why is today’s article entitled “Death and Re-birth,” yet all I’ve written about so far is a deceased wrestler? Well, back on March 23rd, 2015, I wrote an article called “Departing Skull Island” which included this Sleeper collage from my Last Great Wrestling Match (LGWM) (Part 2) and lamented the closure that day of one of my favorite wrestling blogs: Ringside at Skull Island.
When I posted this Bockwinkle Sleeper image in LGWM Part 2, I included my first reference ever to Skull Island. This Sleeper image reminded me of a superb narrative the Skull Island author (Joe) had written about body contact and the erotic power of touch in his 2011 article called “Frottage.”
To my total surprise and delight, I discovered just today that the Ringside at Skull Island blog might be back in business after a 9-month hiatus! Welcome back, Joe! (if you’re really back…)
I don’t want to jinx it or to scare Joe off by promising that he is now fully engaged in blogging about wrestling and will post at full capacity. I’m just saying the old articles have re-appeared online as of the time I am typing this, and a few new posts appeared on Skull Island the same week Bockwinkel died.
I sure hope Ringside at Skull Island is in fact reborn. Joe’s excellent prose and colorful descriptions of his favorite wrestlers have been missed.
For example, here is how Joe describes WWE personality Brad Maddox in his 11/14/15 article entitled “Maddox”:
“I don’t think anybody can possibly look more Southern than wrestler Brad Maddox, 5’11”, 207#. What does “Southern” look like? For me it starts with an oval, highly expressive face, full lips and bedroom eyes that easily glaze over under the influence of love or Jack Daniels.”
Yeah, that! What a great way to say it. Please keep your blog alive, Joe!