[1983-02-25-Houston Wrestling] Nick Bockwinkel vs Chavo Guerrero

[shoe]

This is a non title match. So the goal is simple. Make Chavo a threat, and make the audience believe he will be the next AWA World Champ. In the match I feel they accomplished this. Bockwinkle along with Buddy Rose are the 2 best at working different type of matches.

 

It starts with Bock trying to slow the pace and use the weight advantage. They start an over the head wristlock battle. This transitions into Chavo working Bock's arm. The arm work here is real nifty. Chavo also is good at keeping Bock off balance with his speed. Eventually Nick escapes and because his arm has been worked over uses his legs and puts Chavo in a body scissor. This is something all wrestlers should look at. In a really nice touch, we see Bock trying to shake the arm out. We some real fun stuff come out of the body scissors. Then transitions into Bock stooging for Chavo. We see Chavo deliver a beautiful German Suplex for the win. I guarantee in the rematch if we get to see it; Bockwinkle will work a different match . 3 1/2*

[Therealheel]

Just watched this match and I got to say that I agree with everything said about the idea of this match was to get Chavo over as a credible contender to that championship. I have to credit Paul Bosch and his commentating for the way he explains the reasoning of why this is a non title match and why it was Bocks decision to not give credit to Chavo and that he is not a valid contender in Bocks eyes. This commentary sets up the post interviews perfectly with Chavo expanding on Bosch's commentary during the match , furthering the story and perception of the angle. Chavo does a nice job showing his passion and fire wanting a title shot , and then Bock come in with his own Interview with Bosch and even furthers the story more setting the stage for an awesome rematch. Bock is awesome when he goes into bashing Texas and Texans , I find the way he does it is genius and its perfect when working this Huston fan base. I hope the rematch comes up on the service soon and I agree that Bock will work a completely different style in that one. In this match it was very evident that Bock was making Chavo look like a million bucks and putting him over as a legit contender. That wont happen in the rematch.

[DR Ackermann]

The story here is that the AWA champ Bockwinkel refuses to put the belt on the line against Chavo Guerrero, so Guerrero must prove himself in a non-title match instead. Guerrero was a good wrestler who didn't need to be carried so I wouldn't call this a carry job, but all of the action in is in Bockwinkel's hands and supremely structured for dramatic effect.

Things start off with Bockwinkel getting the better of Guerrero until Guerrero comes right back and shows he can go hold for hold with Bockwinkel. The bulk of the match is a struggle for control as they maneuver in and out of each other's holds before Bockwinkel finally throws a punch and takes over. The late control segment segues into the finish with Guerrero getting the upset but clean and decisive win with a German suplex. What really stood out to me was how subtle Bock's entire performance was. At the beginning when he was trying to show up Guerrero with some tosses and slams out of the lockup he would bounce a certain way after Guerrero hit the mat. He was just a little bit more upright and feeling himself without making a big show of it. It gave the sense that Bockwinkel was arrogant but also a professional and this was just another day at work for him.

When Guerrero showed him up and proved he could give as he could get with the same slams and tosses, Bockwinkel didn't completely freak out but his facial expressions and body language changed and he started moving more cautiously. When they started rolling around on the mat it never felt like they were sitting around in holds because they kept it moving and treated it like it was a constant battle for control. When Bockwinkel would take the advantage Guerrero would be on the move trying to reverse it and vice versa and the effect of the struggle was increased because Bockwinkel kept selling even on the offensive.

With Bockwinkel you get a sense that he was in complete control of the dramatic logic. Every hold, every transition, every expression seemed to mean something as it built toward Bockwinkel realizing he was possibly outmatched, finally having to resort to throwing a punch in desperation. At first I thought Bock should have been a bit more expressive when he was being cocky at the beginning, but looking at the whole you appreciate that the subtlety of it enhances the dramatic effect of his increasing desperation and eventual panic.

Maybe its trite to compare Bockwinkel to Flair, but I find it helpful to conceptualize what makes wrestling work well or what I like about it when you can contrast one wrestler's actions with another's. Bock layers things on with touches that serve to build a whole while Flair tends to do things that strictly have meaning in and of themselves in that moment to pop the crowd.

A good match and a great example of Bockwinkle's brilliance and masterful control of match structure and meaning.