The epic one-hour fight between young Curt Hennig and gorgeous Nick Bockwinkel can be divided into three chapters. The first section featured the opponents trading a series of picture-perfect technical holds — a Wrassling clinic. The second section displayed a more intimate, gentle side as they slowed down and enjoyed some skin on skin contact.
The final part of the match is all about blood and violence. The veteran gets rough with his cute opponent, kicking the poor kid out of the ring. After a few scary moments flat on his face (apparently trying to recover from his stiff bump,) Hennig comes up bloody.
Like a shark in a frenzy, the cold-hearted veteran assaults the open wound, causing the blood to flow faster and faster.
This is so unfair and unjust! Hennig has handsome features, so to see him disfigured and maimed, his beauty marred by the flow of blood, just feels cruel and vicious. The veteran has no compassion! Every punch and kick to Hennig’s open wound by the hairy-chested villain seems absolutely savage — and powerfully exciting. The match takes on a more desperate, grown-up, intense tone now that one of the men is injured.
The point of this match is to show that Hennig may be pretty, but he is no weakling jobber. He fights back passionately, pounding Bockwinkel’s face using his patented Axe — a punch to the forehead that his father Larry “The Axe” Hennig invented.
Soon the veteran’s forehead is split open as well. Both men are gushing blood, and our friendly scientific human chess match has degraded into a gory brawl. THIS is the sort of action that turns a wrestling match into Wrassling. THIS is why I love pro wrassling.
The blood pours down their faces, splashing onto their chests, adding the kind of drama and passion that can rile up the audience. Their faces disfigured by the coating of blood makes the stakes seem more serious, the suffering more permanent and important.
Hennig applies one of the most memorable and gory Figure Four Leglocks in the history of Wrassling — both men wearing the Crimson Mask, their bodies coated in sweat. The young show-off pours on the pressure, but the hard-ass Veteran refuses to submit. Finally, the one-hour time limit is reached and the match is called a draw.
Our poor rookie fought so hard for so long, but must go home empty handed. How our hearts bleed for him. We will need to tune into their next fight (and the one after that, and the one after that) to see whether this brave Young Lion can finally unseat the cocky and cunning champ.
You can watch this historic match on YouTube, in six ten-minute clips:
- Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel, part 1 of 6
- Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel, part 2 of 6
- Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel, part 3 of 6
- Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel, part 4 of 6
- Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel, part 5 of 6
- Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel, part 6 of 6