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But at least Handsome Harley Race was a skilled technical wrestler who had a credible tough guy image. Harley wasn’t the prettiest guy in the world, but when he was champ he demanded respect. Even the fans who hated him felt he could kick their hero’s ass.

Modern wrestling doesn’t create that aura in anyone. Too choreographed, acrobatic, etc.

I had high hopes that Bret Hart might being back the tough, credible, take-all-comers champion. They tried it, then went with the 200lb acrobat Shawn Michaels, who gives up a lot in credibility in my book.

I like it when wrestling has a basic credibility to it. Moves off the top ropes are fine, but when they get too acrobatic, with flips or whatever, I ask ‘how does that make the move more destructive?’ It doesn’t, and to me that always cheapened the product.

Admittedly, I may have a minority position. I had a tape from Japan, early 1990s, it was Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey vs Williams & Gordy, I think. Nothing fancy, no acrobatics. But it had tremendous heat, lots of great moves and double team moves, and an explosive mayhem. I have seldom seen that kind of intensity in US rings. A long, dramatic, and credible match with incredible drama. To me, that should be the model for wrestling.

Those days truly were better. I’d rather watch Nick Bockwinkle methodically take some guy apart in a dramatic match than 3/4 of the stuff that passes for wrestling these days.

I bump into Bockwinkle now and then here in Las Vegas. I think he either vacations here a lot or lives here. Nice guy and still in great shape - doesn’t look that different than he did back in the 1980s.