After months of appearing on the same cards WWWF champion Bob Backlund and AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel were to finally meet. Both grapplers had been doing well in the area. Backlund had defeated Ken Patera, Ivan Koloff and Gorilla Monsoon, while Bockwinkel had beaten Angleo Mosca, Tiger Jeet Singh, and Billy Robinson in the months preceeding the Title Unification bout. Frank Tunney would continue his tradition of excellence matching these two in a historic bout at MLG in March 1979

Backlund would use his 'Atomic Spinebreaker' while Bockwinkel would counter with the sleeper and figure four leglock in an attempt to unite both titles. The match would be decided on the floor after both men were counted out

"The two men wrestled for a solid 15 minutes without a punch or kick being thrown. During this time Bockwinkel seemed to be the more aggressive of the two combatants, but Backlund was able to counter quite effectively with his wide assortment of holds. This match was a true display of wrestling moves and techniques with holds and counterholds being applied constantly. But although it was exciting to watch, the fans hollered for action. Bockwinkel gave them just what they wanted when he managed to trap Backlund in the corner and began to pound away. This also seemed to stir up Backlund as the WWWF champion rebounded with some moves of his own. After close to 25 minutes of combat Bockwinkel applied the figure four and it seemed as if Backlund might submit. But, the WWWF champ hung on and managed to crawl to the ropes. Once the hold was released both men battled furiously trying to weaken the other, but, no matter what they tried, the two men were just too evenly matched to gain an advantage over the other. After 35 minutes Bockwinkel and Backlund carried their battle to the floor and it was here that the match ended. Referee Cashman counted them both outside the ring and thus the classic confrontation ended in a draw".....Ring Wrestling

poster by MLWP

Pictures from Wrestling News, Ring Wrestling, and Wrestling World
believe all the pics are by George Napolitano

A display of the belts prior to the bout

Backlund would defend his title until 1983 losing to The Iron Sheik (Hossein The Arab)
while Bockwinkel would lose to Verne Gagne in July 1980 ending his first of four reigns with the title

 

 

 

 

Other bouts on the historic card included U.S. champ Rick Steamboat defeating arch-enemy Ric Flair, and Dino Bravo losing his bout but not the Canadian Title against Greg Valentine

 

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