RARE: Hulk Hogan Fighting a 5′10″ Wrestler and Making Him Look Like a Kid

Hulk Hogan has achieved almost everything in the pro-wrestling business and is a legend. He has had a long career which saw him becoming The Immortal Hulk Hogan. Whenever he entered the arena, the fans erupted, cheering their hero all through the match. 

Before joining WWE, Hogan used to wrestle in other territories. For two years (1981 – 1983) he worked with AWA, where he transitioned as a babyface for the first time. During his time in AWA, Hogan was chasing the AWA Heavyweight Title facing the then champion Nick Bockwinkel. 

Recently, a wrestling fan shared a picture of one match between Hogan and Bockwinkel on Twitter. The picture is of Bockwinkel hitting the midsection of Hogan.

“AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel attempts to wear down Hulk Hogan with a shot to the midsection during this Title defense, back in 1982”

Nick Bockwinkel was the top heel and AWA champion during that time. He is one of the best technical wrestlers who ever stepped foot in the ring. Bockwinkel had a lengthy professional wrestling career with matches in 34 consecutive years. 

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Hulk Hogan was in his initial years of stardom in 1982. He had just left WWE and worked in the movie Rocky 3. He entered AWA as a heel but became an ultimate babyface towards the end of his tenure at AWA.

Nick Bockwinkel vs Hulk Hogan (06/20/1982)

One of their matches happened on 20th June 1982 for the AWA Heavyweight Championship. Hulk Hogan was the ultimate babyface in the match while Bockwinkel was the top heel and the champion. They had 12 matches in 1982.

Hogan could not take the title but won the match via DQ when Bob Heenan interfered and hit Hogan with a chair. The referee immediately ended the match. After the match, an angry Hogan started attacking Heenan and Bockwinkel.

Hulk Hogan never had the chance

Nick Bockwinkel and Hulk Hogan faced each other in 12 matches over the course of the year 1982. Of the 12 matches, 11 matches were for the AWA title and one was a non-title match.

However, Hogan could never win the matches which were for the AWA championship. He won the matches but via DQ and as per rule title change does not happen.

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Hogan defeated Bockwinkel in a non-title match. However, never in the title match. Bockwinkel always had Hogan’s number when he had to defend his title.