There are times when a sports-entertainer is just destined to become great. Some are born into it and some are brought into it, but they all leave a mark that nobody will ever forget. Their successes aren't measured just by the championships they won, but also by the legacy they create in the ring for future stars of the business to follow.
Nick Bockwinkel is such a man. He broke into sports-entertainment in the mid-1950s after playing football at the University of Oklahoma. Early in his sports-entertainment career, he was under the tutelage of his famous father, Warren, and wrestling legend Lou Thesz. Nick teamed with his father numerous times in the ring, competing in Georgia, Texas and the Pacific Northwest before moving on to the place he would find the most success: the American Wrestling Association.
It was in the AWA that he formed a devastating tag team with Ray "The Crippler" Stevens. Managed by WWE Hall of Famer Bobby Heenan, Bockwinkel and Stevens would capture their first AWA World Tag Team Championship in 1972 and would go on to hold the titles three times.
