Rocket launch schedule professional#

The referee, Lord James Blears, a wrestling great in his own right Announcer, “Mean” Gene Okerlund Commentator, Rod Trongard AWA President, Stanley Blackburn and of course, the participants, Hulk Hogan and Nick Bockwinkel. Let’s set the stage for that fateful evening. Nick Bockwinkel: A Match Remembered For All the Wrong Reasons He would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on ten occasions. Soon, the AWA would become one of the biggest promotions in the country, with Gagne at the forefront. In 1960, Verne Gagne formed the American Wrestling Association. However, in November 1975, he dropped the belt to Bockwinkel and would, save for one last run in 1980, keep himself out of the title picture going forward. Gagne himself held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship for most of the promotion’s existence. However, the hub for the entirety of the promotion was the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Throughout the sixties and seventies, the AWA ran shows in Chicago, Milwaukee, Winnipeg, Denver, and later Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. Gagne and Karbo organized the secession of several territories out of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), forming a highly successful and independent Midwest promotion. The AWA was founded in 1960 by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo, having purchased the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club from Dennis Stecher a year earlier. Early Years of AWAĪ little bit of history is in order here. Hulk Hogan earlier in his career with manager Freddie Blassie.

Rocket launch schedule professional#

Ironically, Hulk was a little over a year old when Bockwinkel made his professional wrestling debut against Jerry Christy at the Valley Garden Arena in Los Angeles on September 3rd, 1954. Hogan, then 29, had been wrestling for less than six years, having joined the AWA in late September 1982 after an extended tour of Japan. Paul Civic Center had hosted many sellouts over the years, featuring the likes of wrestling greats Verne Gagne, Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon, Baron Von Raschke, Larry Hennig, and of course, Bockwinkel. Wanz had captured the belt 41 days earlier, defeating Bockwinkel on August 29th at the Civic Center. Bockwinkel, then 48, had been wrestling professionally since 1954 and was in his third reign as AWA Champion, having won the belt on October 9th, 1982, defeating Austrian legend Otto Wanz at the International Amphitheater in Chicago. Paul Civic Center.Ĥ-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel. That evening, reigning AWA Heavyweight Champion Warren Nicholas “Nick” Bockwinkel defended his title against a relative newcomer by the name of Terry Eugene Bollea, more commonly known as Hulk Hogan, at the St.

Twin Citians were grilling bratwursts in their shorts and flip-flops and chasing that delicious fare down with a cold, refreshing Hamm’s. On that April day, the temperature had climbed to a balmy 68 degrees. Schools were closed, and mail delivery was suspended for the day.Īlthough this sounds like a tale of gloom and doom, and while an event like this would paralyze most cities for days on end, Minnesotans, besides being friendly, are amazingly resilient and equally proficient at dealing with occurrences like this. Paul were hit with the largest April snowstorm in history (13.6 inches).Īs a result, the Metrodome, home of the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings, deflated. Ten days earlier, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Hulk Hogan winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship remains one of the greatest “What if’s” in our beloved sport’s rich history. Nine months later, Hogan would be pinning Iron Sheik for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Instead, Verne’s blunder that night soon led to the downfall of the AWA. It should have been the match that kickstarted one of the greatest runs in wrestling history. The Incredible Hulk Hogan was battling for the American Wrestling Association Championship against Mr. Promoter Verne Gagne had the hottest star in the business.