[1980-02-03-AWA] Nick Bockwinkel vs The Crusher (Cage)

[paul sosnowski]

This is JIP and probably clipped, only 6 minutes of footage. It is marked as February 3, 1979, but it is actually on that same date in 1980. The Crusher is 53 years old here, Bockwinkel has recently turned 45.

We start with Nick Bockwinkel ramming The Crusher's head into the far side of the cage, then he brings him over to camera side and does it again. Bock punches the Crusher in the head four times and Crusher goes down. The Crusher is bleeding now and Bockwinkel is punching and going after the cut. He is biting him and goes to ram him into the cage, but The Crusher reverses and sends Bockwinkel into the fence, he punches Bock and takes him into the fencepost on the opposite side. Bockwinkel is bleeding now. He throws Bock into the cage two more times and starts raking his face against the steel mesh. Crusher slowly climbs to the second rope...and very slowly drops his foot on Bock's head...very slowly. Crusher punches and busts open the cut. We get a 10 minute call at about the 3 minute mark of the footage.

Bockwinkel hits an uppercut and pounds on Crusher's back. Now he is hammering down on Crusher's forehead and both men are bleeding profusely. Bockwinkel climbs to the top rope to escape the cage, but Crusher comes up after him and knocks Bock to the mat with a big blow to the head. Crusher steps down and hurls Bockwinkel across the ring with his back to the cage. Bockwinkel whips Crusher, drops down, and Crusher runs the ropes and hops over him, but then the two men collide and collapse. Nick is up first, and covers Crusher for a one count. Then he starts climbing the cage again. The Crusher follows him to the top rope and rams Bockwinkel's head into the top of the cage. He slowly climbs down and pounces on Bockwinkel for the three count and the win, maybe around the 13 minute mark. (Nontitle). 5:45 shown

Crusher looked better than I expected at his age. Bockwinkel was great. 2 3/4*** based on what aired.

[Stephen-]

One of many Bockwinkel matches that make me forever sad that we do not have the full footage. Even in the 5 or 6 minutes we do have, this ROCKS. I feel like a huge mark watching this, one because it is Bockwinkel and everyone is marked out for Bock, but also because there are some crisp punches from both Bockwinkel and Crusher in this one. I think early on in the clip, Bock busts Crusher open the hard way with a series of punches. Bockwinkel gets ragdolled around the cage on multiple occasions in one of the great showcases of Bock's bumping abilities. This is intense from the jump in the footage we have. Bock lands a flurry of left hands to Crusher's crown and the back of the skull that look mean. Bock attempts an escape and is sent flying off the top rope from a huge right hand. At one point, Crusher stomps on Bock's skull from the second rope and it is not a move I would ever want to take. The ending sequence is a near escape from Bockwinkel, the Crusher climbs up alongside him, sends him headfirst into the top of the cage, Bock goes flying, and Crusher pins him 1 2 3. This match is my shit. Just a brutal back and forth and Bockwinkel's bumping is an all timer here. I hope somewhere the entire footage of the match exists and I can properly rate it. No star rating since it's at most half the match. But I highly recommend.