[1981-03-22-AWA-St. Paul, MN] Nick Bockwinkel vs Pat O'Connor

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Stephen-]

We join in the middle of the match and O'Connor is applying a toe hold. O'Connor is relentless with the toe holds in this match, and Bockwinkel displays some of the best selling of the leg I have seen. O'Connor is claimed to have boxing experience, and from this footage, I believe it. (side note: I am surprised I have not heard about this? I know of a Pat O'Connor that did box but he would not have been born when the wrestler began his career.) He throws beautiful punches, head and body, to Bockwinkel. I have not seen a lot of Pat O'Connor so this is mostly new to me and I understand why many are high on him. Bockwinkel has limited offense in this match but makes the most of it in pummeling the back of O'Connor's skull while O'Connor is trapped in the corner. This one ends in a roll up exchange with Bockwinkel narrowly escaping with the victory, in typical Bock fashion. I really like the action here and despite it being only around 7 minutes of the match, it's worth checking out. *** 1/4