Despite his success in the industry, AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman still considers himself a student of the game, regularly watching wrestling (old and new) to learn and stay up on what’s happening. Appearing in an interview with LNG Productions, MJF gave credit to one of his favorites, whom he believes doesn’t receive enough praise from today’s fans.
“I f***ing love Nick Bockwinkel,” MJF said. “If Nick Bockwinkel and the AWA had the same amount of television coverage as Crockett Promotions, I think that there’d be arguments today about Nick Bockwinkel being the better overall package than Ric Flair.”
MJF clarified that he didn’t necessarily think that was the truth, but he believes it should be discussed as a possibility. The AEW star admires that Bockwinkel didn’t act like a traditional cowardly heel, but would instead “talk s**t” before repeatedly backing up his words in the ring (and cheating on occasion). All the while, Bockwinkel made a lot of money for himself and the people he worked with, and his style is one that MJF believes has fallen out of favor among today’s wrestlers.
“I really think that Nick Bockwinkel deserves way more flowers,” MJF continued.
MJF tells the tale of Nick Bockwinkel taking revenge on Marty Jannetty
MJF appreciates more than Bockwinkel’s in-ring work, sharing his opinion that the late wrestler surpassed WWE’s Mr. Fuji for the title of greatest “ribber” in wrestling history. The AEW performer, citing an unnamed wrestling legend, then told a story about Bockwinkel and Marty Jannetty in the AWA.
According to the tale, Jannetty made the unwise decision of playing a prank on Bockwinkel, who was the promotion’s top guy, by hiding his bag. Bockwinkel eventually deduced that it was Jannetty, and he approached Jannetty’s tag team partner Shawn Michaels, who confirmed it.
“The night before show day, at like 1 a.m. in the morning, Nick Bockwinkel takes a tire off of Marty’s car,” MJF said. “Marty figures out a way to get to the building. Marty walks up to Nick and he goes, ‘Dude, I’m sorry, I thought it was funny. I was just ribbing you.’ And Nick goes, ‘Hey, we’re even, don’t worry about it.’ Next taping, the night before the show, Nick Bockwinkel pays Marty Jannetty’s car a visit.”
The second time, Bockwinkel took two tires from Jannetty’s car. MJF stated that this continued until Jannetty and Michaels left the AWA.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit LNG Productions and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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