'The Incredible' Hulk Hogan takes on AWA Champion, Nick Bockwinkel in another match marred with controversy. A very slow paced match here, as it takes about four minutes just to have a lock up. Hogan pretty much controls the pace of the match, hitting lots of offensive maneuvers that take Bockwinkel down. I would say Hogan is more fluid here in the ring then he would be later on in his career.
Bockwinkel would take back control with a sleeper hold as Hogan has to carry him on his back. Hogan would try to drive Bockwinkel into the corner but the referee would be there as well causing a ref bump. Hogan would dump Bockwinkel over the top rope to get out of the sleeper and wake up the ref. When Bockwinkel would get back into the ring, Hogan would take back control of the match, hitting the leg drop to win the AWA Championship.
Unfortunately, if you look at title histories, you will see that Hulk Hogan did not win the AWA Championship on this date. As a matter of fact, after the match, the AWA President would rule since Hogan dumped Bockwinkel over the top rope, that Hogan would be disqualified, meaning Bockwinkel would retain the title. The fans would be very upset, pelting the ring with garbage. Hogan would then beat up both Bockwinkel and his manager Bobby Heenan and then proclaim that the AWA Championship was the fans title and that he was their champion. A definite precursor to Hulkamania.
My Grade: C+
Not the greatest match, but an interesting finish to say the least.
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