Warren Bockwinkel

Who was Warren Bockwinkel?

Warren Bockwinkel, often misspelled Bockwinkle, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance and North American regional promotions during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. One of the earliest wrestlers to appear on television, he teamed with many of the top wrestlers of the day including Ray Vilmer, Killer Kowalski and "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Although never winning a world title during his career, he was involved in many high profile feuds including Ernie Dusek, Paul Boesch, Sandor Szabo, George Zaharias and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz.

He was also the trainer of several wrestlers of the "Golden Age of Wrestling"-era including Wilbur Snyder and, along with Lou Thesz, his son Nick Bockwinkel who would eventually become a major star in the American Wrestling Association winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship 6 times during the 1970s and 1980s.

A personal friend of promoter Lord James Blears, he convinced Blears to allow Nick Bockwinkel to compete in his NWA Hawaii territory and later teamed with his son during the early 1950s.

Retiring during the late 1950s, he briefly came out of retirement to team with his son to face Verne Gagne and his son Greg in Montreal at a memorial show for promoter Johnny Rougeau in 1984; Bockwinkel, at age 72, is one of the oldest wrestlers to ever compete in a professional wrestling match. He died in St. Louis, Missouri on March 25, 1986.