Born Nicholas Warren Francis Bockwinkel on the 6th December 1934, in St. Louis, Missouri USA, Nick was a professional wrestler best known to the world for competing in the American Wrestling Association from 1970 until 1987, during which he won the World Heavyweight Championship four times, and World Tag Tea Championship three times. Nick passed away in 2015.
Have you ever wondered how rich Nick Bockwinkel was, at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Bockwinkel’s net worth was as high as $500,000, an amount earned through his successful career as a wrestler, which was active from the ‘50s until 1987. During his career, Nick became famous for some of his wrestling moves, which include cobra clutch, body slam, arm drag, and Indian deathlock, among others.
Nick Bockwinkel Net Worth $500,000
Nick was the son of professional wrestler Warren Bockwinkel and his wife, Helen, née Crnkovich, of part-Croatian ancestry. After finishing high school, Nick enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, from which he received a football scholarship. He played for the Oklahoma Sooners, however, a knee injury put an end to that possible career, and also he lost his scholarship.
Nevertheless, he still found himself in sports, only it was wrestling. He was trained by his father initially, then joined by Lou Thesz. In the early years of his career, Nick tagged alongside his father, then debuted as a solo act when he was 16 against his trainer Lou Thesz., Nick slowly became more experienced, and it was in 1963 that he won his first solo major title.
He fought against Tony Borne for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship, and continued quite successfully, winning several other titles in Hawaii and California, and so boosting his net worth.
In 1970 he became part of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), and remained with it until his retirement in 1987. In his early years at AWA, he was a part of a tag team with Ray Stevens and Bobby Heenan, who was his manager at the time. While being teamed with them, Nick won the AWA World Tag Team Championship title three times. His first singles title came in 1975 when he defeated Verne Gagne, and for the next 1716 days he held the title. In order to defend it, he fought against numerous wrestlers, including Billy Robinson, The Crusher, Mad Dog Vachon, Dick the Bruiser, Tito Santana, Otto Wanz, Jim Brunzell, and Hulk Hogan.
However, he lost it to the one from whom he won it; Verne Gagne defeated Nick on the 19th July 1980, and then announced that he planned on retiring from wrestling. As a result, Nick was given back the title on the 19th May 1981. Fans were furious by this decision, which made Nick one of the most hated wrestlers at the time. Nick lost his title the following year to Hulk Hogan, but after the AWA President Stanley Blackburn changed the outcome of the match, the title remained in his hands. After the bout with Hogan, Nick fought against Otto Wanz and lost the match and the title, but just two months later regained it. He lost the title again in 1984 to Jumbo Tsuruta, and then in 1987 won for the fourth and last time. He didn’t even fight for the title, as Stan Hansen, then Heavyweight Champion didn’t appear for the match, and as a result Nick was declared the new champion. However, he lost it again, this time to Curt Hennig, and retired later that year.
Nick didn’t leave wrestling for good; he served as road agent for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and was also a color commentator. He made a brief return to the ring in 1993 for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), fighting against Dory Funk Jr. Furthermore, he was the commissioner with Yoshiaki Fujiwara of the Japan Pro Wrestling Promotion, but the promotion soon folded.
His last engagement in wrestling was as the President of the Cauliflower Alley Club, a position he held until 2014, when he left the wrestling association for good due to health problems.
Back in 2007 he was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame by Bobby Heenan.
Regarding his personal life, Nick was married to Darnele Hampp from 1972 until his death. Previously, he was married to Susan Tranchitella from 1957 until 1967, with whom he had two daughters.
In 2007 he underwent triple bypass heart surgery. In his last years he suffered from dementia, apart from experiencing heart issues. He passed away on the evening of the 14th November 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was cremated and there was a memorial mass held at St. Jospeh Croatian Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri seven days after his death.
