Professional wrestling legend and former American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel has passed away at the age of 80.

Longtime wrestling fans remember Bockwinkel as being one of the biggest stars in all of wrestling in the 1970's and 80's. Along with the late great Verne Gagne, Bockwinkel was one of the top stars of the American Wrestling Association and was arguably the greatest AWA World Heavyweight Champion of all time, as well as one of the greatest World Champions in all of wrestling history.

Bockwinkel was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in New York in 2003, and was also inducted into World Wrestling Entertainment's Hall of Fame in 2007. He served as the President of the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC) organization for a number of years before stepping down in 2014 due to health issues. The CAC is a professional wrestling fraternal organization that hosts yearly conventions and honors retired wrestlers with awards.

The CAC reported early this morning, Sunday, November 15, 2015, that Nick Bockwinkel had passed away on Saturday night at roughly 8:40 PM.

Watch some top Bockwinkel moments below: