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The Dames' Diatribe on The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD (Disc 1)
Posted by The Dames on Jan 6, 2004, 04:57
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The Dames� Diatribe on The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD Set (Disc 1)
Ric Flair.
His name is renowned throughout the wrestling world as one of the greatest North American wrestlers of all time.
He is on practically every wrestling related Top 10 list, has been one of the most influential workers ever and yet still continues to entertain wrestling audiences around with the world weekly on Monday nights. Although he�s gone through a myriad of battles with promoters and bookers in the past, his talent and charisma have always allowed him to land on his feet somehow.
Throughout his illustrious career, Ric Flair has been involved in many memorable angles, countless excellent matches and tons of enthusiastic and sometimes heartfelt interviews. This past November, World Wrestling Entertainment released a 3-Disc DVD set called The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection, compiling just some of these angles, matches and interviews. It quickly became the fastest selling wrestling DVD of all time, and with the holidays just passed, it is no question that many wrestling fans are ecstatic about this 3 DVD set.
Therefore, since there isn�t an in depth review of the DVD on the net so far as of yet, I�ve decided to take the time out to write one up. Some of the extras are a bit scattered around, so to try and maximize your enjoyment if you happen to be watching this for the first time, I�m going to review this the way I feel the DVD should be watched. Each disc has a �Play� and �Chapters� selection on the main menu, but simply selecting �Play� will only play the main feature and the matches. I don�t recommend this because the extras really add a lot of insight as to why the matches are taking place and they allow you to become more emotionally invested in what is going on. I would recommend clicking on the �Chapters� section of each disc and going from there.
Each disc is divided into chapters and every chapter has a main feature, matches and extras that are specific to a certain topic. To try and spread it all out, this will be a review on the first disc, with disc 2 and disc 3 to come in the following weeks.
Going in chronological order, we start out with:
Disc 1 � The Early Years.
Chapter: Harley Race: The NWA Championship
In the main feature, called Harley Race: The NWA Championship, it starts out with footage from September 1981 of former Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling announcer Bob Caudle and Jim Crockett announcing to the world that Ric Flair is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Flair is then shown brandishing the NWA Title (the same style and look of NWA:TNA�s current World Title) before going into thoughts from Ric Flair himself. Flair states that winning the NWA World Title was the greatest moment of his life at that point as it was considered to be more prestigious than the AWA Title and the WWWF Title then because of the fact that they actually did travel around the world and across the states for title defenses. Considering the fact that between 1974 and 1980, the NWA Title changed hands in Japan six times, this would appear to be true and not just hyperbole. (Credit: www.nwawrestling.com)
Footage is now shown of a match between Harley Race and Ric Flair from June 10th, 1983 in Race�s home state of Missouri. The finish of the match is Flair floating over a Race vertical suplex and hitting a back suplex as the ref counts both men�s shoulders down. Race gets a shoulder up at the last second and the match is over. Flair believes that he has won the match, but the referee informs him that he has not and in fact, Race is now the World Champion for an unprecedented seventh time.
As footage of Race with the NWA Title is shown, Flair states that he believes Harley Race is probably the toughest man he�s ever been in the ring with.
A press conference by the NWA Board of Directors is shown, announcing a rematch between Harley Race & Ric Flair for the NWA World Title. More on this in the extras section. This match is to take place at the first ever Starrcade in 1983 in Flair�s home state of North Carolina.
Footage of the entrance and the post match celebration is shown (ruining the ending, although since it�s a Flair compilation, you won�t see too many losses) before we head into the actual match itself, Harley Race vs. Ric Flair at Starrcade �83.
Before we get into the match, it�s time to watch the extras and the build up for the match.
The $25,000 Bounty � Harley Race cuts a short promo, putting out a $25,000 bounty for whomever can �eliminate Ric Flair from wrestling�. This is a great, great promo for several reasons. First off, his growing intensity is excellent, starting off relatively calm and collected, but ending the promo practically begging anyone to collect the bounty with his trademark raspy voice at a fever pitch. �TAKE THE DAMN MONEY!� He puts over several wrestlers in the promotion who he feels are up to the task, including Jack Brisco. �You were World�s Champion! You took the belt from ME! You�re the man, you can do it!� It�s very rare that you see someone put over a competitor in that respect. And last but not least, it makes Ric Flair seem like a viable threat and puts him over big time since Race seems desperate to get rid of him for good.
Sidenote: If this angle sounds familiar, it should. Triple H, trying to model his career after Flair�s, recently put out a $100,000 bounty on Bill Goldberg on an edition of Raw, although the promo wasn�t nearly as effective. Race showed desperation and despair with his promo, while Triple H�s promo was full of cockiness, failing to put over Goldberg with the promo or anyone else for that matter. Although this is a minor issue, the fact that the money, held in Race�s briefcase, was crumpled up and seemed used gave it more of a realistic feel.
Orton & Slater collect � August 31st, 1983.
A rematch between Ric Flair and Harley Race is shown. Race misses a 2nd rope headbutt and Flair tries to capitalize by hooking on the Figure Four. The crowd pops big time, but it�s short lived as Dirty Dick Slater heads towards the ringside area, obviously looking to collect the bounty. Flair fights him off on the apron and goes back to Race, taking him to school with the Figure Four. Babyface Bob Orton comes into the ring to ward off Dick Slater, who is getting up�but Orton attacks Flair instead, turning heel. Orton and Slater comes in to work over Flair and they hit him with a Spike Piledriver. Orton then sits Flair up and twists his head viciously, which Flair sells like absolute DEATH. Race points and laughs at Flair until of all people, Roddy Piper comes running into the ring to check on Flair. The crowd goes NUTS for Roddy as the heels nonchalantly walk away, proud of what they�ve accomplished.
After a commercial break, medical personnel are taking Flair out of the ring with a stretcher. In the locker room area, Race gladly splits the money with Bob Orton and Dick Slater as Jim Crockett admonishes them for their actions. Race obviously doesn�t care and brags about the cash as this segment comes to a close.
Once again, this is a great angle as kayfabe was alive and well in this era, causing the fans to just HATE Bob Orton and Dick Slater for their treachery. Mid Atlantic promotions capitalized on this sea of heel heat that they stumbled upon and made Orton and Slater a tag team. Race came across like he should have, the heel mastermind who just paid to have Flair taken out with a smile on his face. There isn�t a man involved here who didn�t get over in some way.
Ric Announces Retirement � Once again, the fans still weren�t clued into the fact that wrestling wasn�t exactly a legitimate athletic competition and bought this hook line and sinker. Flair is shown sitting on a desk alone, with a microphone in hand and tells everyone that because of the injury to his neck, he�s retiring from the �sport of professional wrestling�. He says that he�s become NWA World Champion once, which is more than most people ever accomplish (again, putting over the NWA Title), so right now, he�s more concerned about his health. He says that he can�t thank the fans enough for their support throughout his career and signs off. Once again�this really puts over Orton and Slater�s attack.
�It�s Only Just Begun!� � September 21, 1983.
Orton and Slater are in a tag team match, when all of a sudden, the fans (mostly female) go into a FRENZY as Ric Flair power walks down to ringside with a neck brace on and a baseball bat in his hand. He charges at Orton, swinging wildly and the heels run away as fast as they can with Flair giving pursuit. Orton gets away, so Flair goes after Slater who uses a chair to try and shield himself as he runs away as well.
Flair gets on the interview stage (Mid Atlantic had an interview station set up near the ring) and is interviewed by Bob Caudle. Flair gets INTENSE as he begins hollering and yelling about Orton and Slater making sure the world knew they were responsible for Flair�s retirement. Flair starts ripping his shirt off, along with his neck brace as he tells the World that he is not done. �Orton and Slater! You�ll go to your GRAVES because of me!� Flair grabs the baseball bat and proclaims �This is my tag partner now!� He makes sure to bring the point back to Race, letting him know that he�ll have his revenge by taking his title away.
This angle is about 95 different ways of awesomeness. If you look at the dates, it�s 3 weeks or so since the attack from Orton and Slater, which is a hell of a lot more believable than Kurt Angle getting piledriven on the floor by Austin, only to come back the same night at the end of the show (Smackdown 2001). The fans were in an absolute frenzy and if Flair wasn�t the top babyface in the company by this point, this sure put him over the top.
NWA Press Conference � October 12, 1983
This is the entire Press Conference held by the NWA to decide where the Harley Race/Ric Flair World Title match would be.
What is extremely refreshing as I watch this old footage is the fact that this is all treated as an important press conference for a legitimate sporting event. The NWA reporters (including legendary announcer Gordon Solie) act like news reporters and the President of the NWA reads a statement concerning the announcement. The announcement was not IF the match would take place, but where as many promoters from various NWA Territories were vying for the match.
Jim Crockett Promotions wins out, of course and he�s given some mic time to announce that it will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina. In order to promote it as the �Match of the Decade� the event will be called Starrcade, to be held on Thanksgiving night in 1983. The match will be contested inside a Steel Cage (presumably to keep Dick Slater and Bob Orton out � once again, the stipulation has a purpose as does almost everything in the old school NWA).
After the conference is over, Harley Race gives his thoughts on the decision that was made. He�s not happy about facing Flair in his home state, but he tells Flair to remember that he�s the champion and he must be defeated. This will be no cakewalk.
A young Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair from his home and Flair tells Tony that he�s very pleased wit the decision and he�s going to call his quest for the World Title �A Flair For the Gold�.
It�s pretty cool if you think about it, knowing that Flair is partially responsible for the existence of Starrcade, which went on to become the NWA�s (and WCW�s) biggest show of the year. Also, the birth of the �Flair for the Gold� phrase came out of this, which once again is pretty cool from a nostalgic sense.
There are more extras on a second page in this chapter.
Starrcade �83 Pre-Match Interviews
Harley Race � Tony Schiavone is in the back with Harley Race as well as U.S. Champion Greg Valentine and NWA Tag Champs Jack and Jerry Brisco. He asks Race on his thoughts on the fact that he is in Greensboro, N.C. facing Ric Flair for the World Title on Thanksgiving Night. Race tells Tony that he�d never want to be in Greensboro, N.C. for any reason. He says that he�s been surrounding himself with people who know Ric Flair�s weaknesses and shortcomings, such as Greg Valentine (who tagged with Flair for many years in the 70�s).
Ric Flair � Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair in his locker room, who�s with Ricky Steamboat and his tag team partner Jay Youngblood (who are going to face the Brisco�s for the tag straps that night). Flair lets Tony know that he is definitely ready for the main event tonight before wishing Steamboat and Youngblood luck in their tag match.
Race, Bob Orton, Jr. & Dick Slater � Schiavone catches up with the Champion and his cohorts later on that night. Orton speaks first, stating that not only did they collect the 25 grand for taking Flair out, but they would have sent him back in if it wasn�t for Wahoo McDaniel. Slater addresses Flair and lets him know that the cage might protect him from Orton and himself, but he still has to face the champion tonight. Race plainly states that he is going after Flair�s neck tonight and he will eliminate him from wrestling.
Ric Flair & Wahoo McDaniel � Flair is with Wahoo McDaniel, who was injured sometime during the night by Orton & Slater. Flair lets them know that soon, they�ll have to face up to it. Flair tells Race that he wants Race�s best tonight. He wants him to do whatever he must in order for him not to win the World Title, because he expects nothing less from him. He then thanks Wahoo for his sacrifice and tells him that if he ever needs anything in the future, just ask. Wahoo tells Schiavone that he knows Flair is ready, since he helped train him and if he were a betting man, he�d put all his money on Flair.
Finally, the match�.
Starrcade �83
Ric Flair vs. Harley Race in a Steel Cage for the World Heavyweight Title � November 24th, 1983
Match Background: The extras tell the story well enough.
The Match: The main event on the DVD begins with Flair�s prolonged entrance, as the challenger enters the ring first. With the arena in total darkness, Flair�s theme blares out of the PA system as a small light show airs on the arena ceiling. This really gives the match a real �big match� feel to it, despite NWA�s poor production values at the time. Flair doesn�t even take a step into the arena until his theme plays all the way through, once again adding to the anticipation for the main event.
The crowd erupts as Flair makes his way towards the ring in an elegant robe, surrounded by smoke and Flair emerges from it with a spotlight shone onto him. Security helps Flair get through the crowd as the fans are literally crowding Flair as he walks to the ring, including a woman who looks for an embrace from The Man. The home town crowd pops once again as Flair enters the cage, prepared to do battle for the NWA World Title.
Race then makes his way to the ring to a chorus of boos, only to pop when Race enters the cage, knowing what�s to come.
Former NWA World Champion and legend Gene Kiniski will be the referee for this main event match. Flair receives a great ovation as the ring announcer bells out the fact that Flair is from North Carolina.
Gordon Solie and Bob Caudle are your announcers for this match.
Race and Flair exchange words in the middle of the ring, but Kiniski interrupts them to check both competitors. The bell rings and Flair lets out a big �WOO� to get the crowd even more involved. They lock up with Flair taking Race over with a side headlock, only for Race to try and counter that for a pinfall attempt of his own. Flair immediately lets go and puts the dukes up, ready to fight for a pop.
They lock up again and Flair gets in a chop before going back to a side headlock. Flair wrenches it in, but Race is able to get to the ropes, but instead of a clean break, Race connects with a knee to the midsection. This begins an argument between himself and the referee, but Flair returns the favor moments later with a knee to the midsection by the ropes. Race shoots Flair off to the ropes and connects with a high knee (yes, a Triple H-esque high knee) and attempts a headbutt, but Flair moves out of the way. Flair chops Race down and goes back to the side headlock. Race and Flair battle for positioning on the mat, with Kiniski having the slowest count EVER, until Flair transitions into a front face lock. Flair shoots Race over for a two count as Gordon Solie states that wrestling takes more out of your body than a pro football game. He explains this statement by saying that in a normal football game, there is only 14.1 minutes of actual contact, as opposed to a 60 minute wrestling match, which were not uncommon back then. With no time-outs in a wrestling match, it can be the equivalent of 4 football games, he says.
Race picks Flair up for a vertical suplex (pronounced correctly by Solie, of course), but misses an elbowdrop. Flair looks to slam the larger Race, but his weight can�t support it and Race lands on top for a nearfall. Race hits a couple of knee drops before beginning to choke Flair and Kiniski has to literally pull the champion off of the challenger. Race begins working on the head and neck with rabbit punches and Flair sells accordingly. Race hits a piledriver and hits an elbowdrop for a two count. The announcers state that Race made a mistake not going for the cover immediately for the piledriver as Flair kicks out. Race hits a swinging neckbreaker for another nearfall before dropping his knee onto Flair�s neck several times. Race tosses Flair into the cage and Flair is downed, but not yet out.
Race slams Flair with a standing powerslam, but Flair slowly gets up and shoots off a couple of punches to the midsection. Race stops that dead with a headbutt and follows it up with a second. Race sends Flair into the cage two times, busting open the challenger and even getting a droplet of blood on the camera. Race goes after the wound in the corner, but Kiniski pulls Race off again, only to end up holding Race for Flair�s offense.
Flair comes back with a chop and a flurry of blows in the corner, only for Race to connect with a headbutt to stop the onslaught. Flair reverses an irish whip, sending Race into the cage and busting the champion open. Flair puts Race down and connects with a knee drop, playing up to the crowd before hitting a piledriver, but Race puts his foot across the ropes to escape. Flair hits a butterfly suplex for a two count and follows it up with a chop and sending Race into the cage. Kiniski and Flair then get into it, as the ref disapproves of Flair�s tactics, but Race hits a headbutt on the challenger�s midsection, doubling him over.
Race grinds Flair�s face into the cage, only to get pulled back by Kiniski. Race tosses Flair into the cage once again and Flair tries to fight back wildly, only to get put down by a headbutt. Flair fights back and hits a big chop for a two count. Flair mounts Race and connects with rapid punches, followed by a back suplex. Flair is a bloody mess at this point as the blood from his head is dripping all over his chest.
Flair hooks on the Figure Four, which was seldom reversed at that point in time, but Race is able to turn Flair over. Flair turns it over again, but they end up near the ropes and the hold must be broken. Flair goes after Race again, but Race connects with several headbutts and sets him up for a vertical suplex. Flair lands on top of him for a pinfall attempt and he almost wins the NWA World Championship that way. Race goes back to the headbutt and connects with a 2nd rope headbutt on the challenger for a nearfall. Race suplexes Flair again for a two count before nailing him in the forehead again with punches. Race hits a knee drop to the head and follows it up by sending Flair into the cage. Race begins to choke Flair until Kiniski literally pulls Race off of Flair and across the ring by his hair.
Race goes for a suplex on Flair, but Flair reverses it�and misses an elbowdrop. Race hooks on a side headlock�and headbutts the ref down for some reason. Flair charges and they botch whatever it was Flair was attempting. Flair hits a couple of blows to Race, staggering him before going to the top rope and hitting a cross body for the pinfall victory and his second NWA World Title.
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair
The crowd pops huge for the victory as Flair begins to celebrate. A bunch of babyfaces run into the ring and hoist Flair onto their shoulders to add to the celebration. Race argues with the referee about the three count as the ring fills up with more wrestlers. Ricky Steamboat ends up being the man that wraps the NWA Title around Flair�s waist. Flair is once again hoisted onto the shoulders of the babyfaces and paraded around the ring in a memorable, classic visual.
Flair�s wife comes into the ring and immediately hugs him before leaving the cage. Flair gets on the microphone and with tears in his eyes, thanks the crowd for their support. He tells them that it�s the greatest night of his life as the segment comes to a close.
My Opinion: Although certainly a memorable, classic match for several reasons, I did have several problems with it. First off, it was a very slow, methodically paced match, which the fans of the current generation would, no doubt, have little hesitation before dismissing it as boring. Every thing was deliberate and there was almost no wasted motion, which was excellent, but the pace of the match made it a bit difficult to sit through.
Also, referee and former NWA World Champion Gene Kiniski got too involved for my liking, holding Race for some of Flair�s offense and generally seemed biased at certain points. The ref bump was done very poorly and the ending sequenced was botched, which once again, doesn�t lend itself in a positive manner towards this match.
However, this truly felt like two men fighting it out for the �richest prize in the sport� and the psychology was spot on. Race attacked the neck and head with various attacks and Flair sold it accordingly. The announcing was excellent, concentrating on the match and the execution of the maneuvers and the effect these moves would have on their opponents. With all of the factors involved, I would state that this historic match is about **3/4.
Back to the extras for post match comments:
Post Match Interviews:
Ric Flair � Backstage in the locker room, Tony Schiavone interviews a still bloody Ric Flair who is still overcome by emotions by his title win. He thanks all of the wrestlers who helped train him for this match and thanks the people for their support again. It�s absolutely amazing how great Flair is as a babyface, as he can certainly play both sides of the fence like no other. Ricky Steamboat comes by and shakes Flair�s hand, congratulating him. Steamboat says: �You owe me one�. Flair: �Anytime, anything you want, it�s yours.� Some other wrestlers come by and pour champagne on him to continue the celebration.
All of a sudden, Dusty Rhodes comes in and congratulates Flair, but lets him know that he wants a title shot down the line. He tells him that they can both state that they have been the NWA Champion on two different occasions and walks away talking about a match between them. That seemed pretty heelish to me�.very interesting.
Harley Race � Race is interviewed and he says that while he�s been the NWA Champion 7 times already, there�s nothing that can prevent him from becoming an 8 time champion. Race tells Flair to enjoy tonight�s victory, since it was all arranged for him. He issues Flair a warning though�he�s going to keep coming at him until he gets his title back.
Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood � Once again, Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair, this time accompanied by the new Tag champs, Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood. Flair is extremely humble about their title wins and congratulates Steamboat & Youngblood on their 5th reign as tag team champs. Steamboat & Youngblood state a few words as this segment comes to a close.
Aftermath: According to NWAWrestling.com, Harley Race regained the NWA World Title from Ric Flair for a then-unprecedented eighth time in New Zealand, only to lose it back to Flair two days later in Singapore.
Sadly, Race eventually went to the WWF where they decided to make him a cartoonish �King�, full with a cape and crown. He ended up having to retire after Hulk Hogan injured him with a forward suplex onto a table on an edition of Saturday Night�s Main Event in 1987. He eventually returned to wrestling as Vader�s manager in the early 90�s.
I think it�s pretty ironic and a bit sad that Flair is associated with Randy Orton these days, considering his father tried to take him out of wrestling. With WWE owning all of the video footage, they definitely could have made an issue out of that (especially during the Goldberg bounty angle), but instead, it�s been ignored on TV, when it could be a great way to hook newer fans into purchasing this DVD and seeing exactly what took place.
Overall Chapter: In terms of build up and anticipation, this DVD�s extras really went all the way to get a fan (myself) emotionally invested in a match that�s 20 years old at this point. It went from point to point without skipping a beat and I�ll be damned if there wasn�t a segment or an angle that didn�t properly serve it�s purpose.
The match itself wasn�t a technical marvel but its historic significance makes this a must have on this Ultimate Flair Compilation. If only all of the chapters were put together this well, this would be an even greater DVD. I would have to give this chapter ***** for its build up, hefty extras and excellent presentation alone.
The next chapter is:
Dusty Rhodes: Talking The Talk
The main feature begins with footage of a Flair promo directed at Dusty Rhodes. This is the Flair that we�ve come to know over the years, wearing a suit and proclaiming himself to be �The Man� and the best in the world, now that success has gone to his head. It�s a natural progression of the character, which makes it even more compelling.
Flair begins narrating about his battles with Dusty and how much money they drew, since it was a clear cut heel vs. babyface story. Rhodes was a pleasure to work with because he was agile for his size and had a great grasp of psychology, according to Flair. Flair accounts Dusty�s popularity with the fans to his charisma and �every day man� type character, which the fans could relate to. He says that back then, the key guys in the promotions were those who could wrestle AND talk. On a personal note, I�d like to think the same applies today, but clearly, mic skills and charisma go a hell of a lot farther than wrestling skill in this day and age.
�He didn�t know a lot, but what he did do, he did well and he was exciting�. Flair puts over the fact that despite his size, Dusty could still wrestle for an hour if he wanted to.
To the extras!
Flair & The Andersons Break Dusty�s Ankle � Bob Caudle and Tony Schiavone present footage of an incident that occurred between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Flair has just defeated The Russian Nightmare, Nikita Koloff in a Steel Cage match. After the match is over, Koloff begins to beat on Flair some more and Ivan Koloff comes in to double team Flair. Krusher Khruschev, the Koloff�s ally, comes down and locks the cage to keep Flair from receiving any assistance.
All of a sudden, the NWA TV Champion at the time, Dusty Rhodes, attacks Krusher Khruschev and enters the cage to help out Flair. Dusty clears the ring to a pop as he came to the aid of Flair, who at the time was a babyface with tweener tendencies. Dusty looks down at Flair, who�s still on the mat�but Flair does not look happy. Ole and Arn Anderson charge into the ring and begin beating down on Dusty as Flair locks the cage again! Flair gets some mounted punches on Dusty, but stops to climb the ropes. Ole and Arn hold Dusty down with his right leg extended and knee drops Dusty�s ankle from the top rope. Flair then hooks on the Figure Four until some of Dusty�s babyface allies such as Magnum TA and the Rock and Roll Express, come down to save him. They get into a small brawl with Flair and the Andersons until the Andersons finally decide to leave and the babyfaces go to check on Dusty.
To really put the angle over, the announcers make sure to state that since the Steel Cage was up and Dusty wasn�t mobile, the cage would have to be taken down before Dusty could receive any medical assistance. They even go as far as cutting Dusty�s pants leg to take off his boot and prevent more swelling. Dusty sells this like DEATH as he�s in a TON of pain, once again, putting over the attack by Flair and the Andersons. The cage is taken down and the ring crew go as far as to take the ring ropes apart in order to properly put Dusty on a stretcher without hurting him at all. The fans pop as all of the babyfaces pick Dusty up and carry him out of the ring and onto a stretcher.
This angle was a success for several reasons. First off, it caught everyone by surprise. These days, you can see swerves coming a mile away, especially since there is rarely a slow build to a heel turn in the modern era. Dusty coming to save Flair from a common enemy is enough to leave the fans at home satisfied and surprised, but they decided to take it a step further.
Also, it solidified Ric Flair and the Anderson brothers as heels. For the majority of that year, Flair was a bit of a tweener, but never turned the corner into being a full fledged heel until this point. Even the Andersons� relationship with Flair wasn�t yet the era of the Horsemen that we had all come to know and love (or hate), but it was the start of it.
The best reason of all is that it gave you a reason to get behind Dusty Rhodes, even if you weren�t a fan of his character or his in-ring work. The fact that he came in to help Flair, only to be betrayed by him and get his ankle shattered made him an even bigger babyface than he already was and was obviously setting the stage for a one on one match between the two for the World Heavyweight Title later on down the road.
Flair Cuts A Promo � Bob Caudle interviews Flair and Flair here cuts the first cocky heel promo on the DVD as he brags about winning over and over again. He brags about the shoes and the clothes and everything that we�ve come to know about Ric Flair�s persona over the years. He starts naming babyfaces to talk trash about and includes Tully Blanchard�and then stops.
�You know what, all of a sudden, I LIKE Tully Blanchard because he�s a winner!� That is just beautiful, beautiful foreshadowing. He calls The Andersons winners and concludes the interview by stating that he�s a winner and that�s pretty much the bottom line.
While this promo didn�t exactly shake the wrestling world, unlike the Austin 3:16 speech, it did set up the excellent Horsemen era of the 80�s. It gave us the Flair that we�ve been accustomed to throughout the years, minus the catchphrases and let the world know that Flair is one cocky World Heavyweight Champ that needed to be knocked off of his pedestal.
�That�s Hard Times� � Bob Caudle welcomes back Dusty Rhodes for his first interview since his ankle was shattered by Flair and the Andersons. I just HAVE to comment on the fact that Dusty was sporting a horrendous haircut. It just doesn�t fit him.
See What I Mean?
Dusty goes OFF on Flair for putting �Hard Times� on him and his family by shattering his ankle. In order to solidify his babyface status with the �every day people� that Flair definitely didn�t represent, Dusty put over the �Hard Times� that factory workers and other laymen were going through, being laid off, overworked and replaced by automation.
�I admit, I don�t look like the athlete of today is supposed to look! My gut just a little big, my heinie�s just a little big, but brother, I am bad and they know I�m bad!�
Dusty vows to win the title from Flair at Starrcade �85. Dusty asks the people for their support as the promo comes to an end.
This was definitely the most intense promo that I�ve ever seen from Dusty and he got his point across without the usual blabbering he normally spouts these days. Unfortunately, this is the end of the build up in this chapter before we get to the featured match.
Starrcade �85: The Gathering � 11/28/85
Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Title
Match Background: Although I�m sure that there was more of a build up to this match, I�m not as versed with the NWA as I should be. All I can definitely tell you is that Flair and Rhodes were never much of friends and going as far back as the first Starrcade when Flair won the NWA Title for a second time, Dusty was the first man to ask him face to face for a World Title shot during Flair�s victory celebration. Then, in the aforementioned angle, Dusty saved Flair from an attack by the Koloff�s, but paid for it dearly as Flair and the Andersons broke his ankle. This lead to the title match at Starrcade �85�
The Match: The footage begins with Flair making his entrance into the ring with Dusty already awaiting him inside. I remember now why I always wanted Dusty to put a shirt on. That liver spot is just ugly and distracting.
As Flair is announced to the crowd, the crowd just turns on the man, booing him with a tremendous veracity. Dusty immediately gets the crowd behind him by mocking Flair and his strut before the men even lock up. They get into it and end up in the corner where they battle back and forth quickly with Dusty gaining the advantage and putting Flair down with a series of punches. Flair bails to regroup as the fans cheer Dusty on. Flair goes back in and hits a couple of chops, but Dusty battles back with rapid fire elbows and moves at a pace that I�ve NEVER seen him move before. Dusty bounces off the ropes with speed and knocks down Flair several times until the champion once again has to back away and bail.
Flair is now frustrated and tries to outwrestle Dusty, but can�t as Dusty reverses a Flair hammerlock and takes him to the mat. Flair looks to get a hold of Dusty�s ankle, but Dusty backs away immediately. Flair chops away at Dusty in the corner, nailing him with punches and connecting with a knee drop. Flair picks up Dusty and kicks Dusty in the bad ankle, sending Dusty running out of the ring. Dusty actually goes over the steel barrier that separates the fans from the ringside area and regains his focus there.
Dusty comes back in and nails Flair on the apron with several elbows before attacking Flair�s ankle in retribution. He begins working on Flair�s leg, but eventually, Flair gets out of it and attempts to vertical suplex Rhodes. I don�t know whether or not he would have been successful, but his leg gives way as Dusty�s strategy is obviously working. Dusty reverses it and goes after Flair�s leg again. Flair gets up and hooks Dusty with a sleeper, but Dusty rams Flair into the corner to escape. Dusty rams Flair�s bad leg into the steel ring post and continues to work on it with elbow drops. Flair gets up and tries to chop away at Dusty, but he doesn�t have much force behind them because of his weakened leg, so Dusty takes the advantage quickly with right hands in retaliation. Dusty then misses an elbowdrop, leading Flair to go to the top rope and get tossed off (of course) for the first time on this DVD.
Dusty looks to hook on the Figure Four onto Flair�but Flair shoves Rhodes off and in the process, Dusty hurts his ankle again. Flair goes for the Figure Four, but Dusty shoves Flair off several times. Dusty and Flair go into the corner with Dusty knocking Flair over the top and following him out. Dusty rams Flair into the guard rail, opening up the World Champion�s forehead. Flair then tosses Dusty over the top to get some separation, but Dusty immediately jumps back in with an UGLY cross body for a CLOSE two count. Dusty begins to rain down on Flair�s forehead with punches and mounts him in the corner. Dusty continues with the offense but Flair is able to jump off of the top rope�only to get nailed in the midsection on the way down. Dusty goes to kick Flair in the corner, but the champion intelligently moved out of the way, causing Dusty to nail the turnbuckle with his bad leg.
Flair begins to work on Dusty�s leg once again, getting cocky as he does so. Flair nails a knee drop on Dusty�s ankle and QUICKLY follows it up with the Figure Four. Dusty is in TROUBLE, cursing up a storm while in the hold, but gets the strength to reverse the hold. Flair goes after Dusty with punches and chops, but Dusty begins to no sell them and connect with blows of his own in rapid succession and ends up landing a clothesline. Dusty goes for the cover, but Flair kicks out and Dusty lands on the ref, stunning him momentarily. Dusty then pulls Flair by the hair, but he ends up knocking the ref out of the ring in a spot that looked too contrived.
Dusty goes for the Figure Four now and gets it, despite Flair trying to fight back. Dusty lets go of the hold as Arn Anderson tries to run in, but gets kicked by Dusty (with the bad leg). Ole Anderson then comes into the ring and knocks Dusty down with a high knee as Arn Anderson falls out of the ring and onto the referee. A second ref comes in and counts Flair�s cover, but Dusty kicks out at two to a big pop. Flair goes to pick up Dusty now�but Dusty gets a surprise inside cradle on Flair and the match is over!
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Dusty Rhodes
A string of babyfaces come in to congratulate Dusty as he has apparently won the NWA Title for a 3rd time.
My Opinion: This match told a good story early on with Flair trying to out pace Dusty as well as outwrestle him, only for Dusty to beat him at his own game. After regrouping several times, Flair finally realized the direction he had to go in to defeat Dusty after the challenger showed he was afraid of getting his ankle hurt again. Dusty�s selling of it really makes the match as he really puts over the pain his ankle was in. Dusty then goes to work on Flair�s ankle to even the score, which was the smart thing to do. It causes Flair to realize not only what he did to Dusty, but puts his NWA Title in trouble as Dusty works over it repeatedly during the match up. Flair gains the advantage again and immediately looks to end the match with the Figure Four, but Dusty, realizing the damage it would do to his already injured ankle, avoided it like the plague. Despite being cautious towards the Figure Four, Dusty ends up in the hold anyway, but escapes. He�s able to finally score the pinfall and win the World Title�or so we think.
There were some flaws with the match up that really bothered me, such as the pacing. This match was pretty slow at times although Dusty did move faster than I�ve ever seen him before here. Also, the selling on both sides was a bit sporadic, especially towards the end whenever Dusty would land on his bad ankle and not sell it. Also, of course, the interference and ref bump were pretty much unneeded and brought the match down a notch.
Also, although this doesn�t have anything to do with the match itself, the crowd I�m sure was a bit disappointed as there were two steel cage matches earlier in the same show which were a lot better and had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard in their infamous �I Quit� Steel Cage match and The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Andersons, also in a steel cage, took place that night, which are both available on the Bloodbath DVD. **1/2
Back to the extras, baby!
Controversy Explained � Tony Schiavone introduces Tommy Young, the referee for the Dusty Rhodes/Ric Flair match to explain exactly why the NWA Title was returned back to Ric Flair after this match. That�s right�the belt was returned to Flair and Rhodes victory never took place according to the NWA and this is why.
Tommy Young explains how he ended up on the outside of the ring during the match. Young explains that when Arn Anderson was knocked to the outside, he was in the middle of calling for a DQ, but never got the chance to.
This is probably the first disappointing angle on the DVD, although it�s necessary in order to tell this story properly. According to Tommy Young, he called for a DQ because Arn entered the ring and got into a scuffle with Rhodes, but he never got to see Arn hit the man, so the DQ shouldn�t have even taken place. This was nothing more than a way to lead to a rematch between Dusty and Flair on another show and being the main event of the NWA�s biggest card, I can definitely see why lots of fans were disappointed by it.
The Man � Bob Caudle introduces Flair, who is still the NWA Champion and is holding the belt proudly. Flair compares himself to �Dallas�� J.R. Ewing (that�s a dated reference for ya) stating that although J.R. was shot, he got right back up to rule the ranch, just like Flair. He gives props to Tommy Young for making the �right call� and giving him back the NWA Title.
Once again, this was necessary for the story (Flair getting his Title back) but it had nothing of note.
The Legend � Bob Caudle is with Dusty Rhodes, who�s obviously disappointed that the NWA Title was awarded back to Ric Flair. He IS disappointed but he realized after the match that he not only wants the Title, but he wants to �mess ya up� since he still walks with a limp. He vows that it is not over�.
Aftermath: Of course, Dusty was right and it sure wasn�t over. Dusty was able to get another shot against Ric Flair at the Great American Bash of 1987 and won the NWA Title for a third time there, which is on the Bloodbath DVD. However, Flair regained his NWA Title two weeks later and their rivalry continued, leading up to the first War Games match. Dusty incurred the wrath of Flair and his newly formed Horsemen and battled them in tag matches for most of the late 80�s.
Overall Chapter: Coming off of the Race chapter, this was a disappointing chapter for a few reasons. There is a LOT left out in terms of the Flair/Rhodes feud, such as the Great American Bash match and all of the issues leading up to that as well. There seemed to be minimal build up to the Starrcade match and of course, the title was returned to Flair. Also, there were only a few extras, unlike the Race chapter where there were pre- as well as post-match interviews. Not to mention that the match itself wasn�t entirely too great and I�d have to give this chapter **3/4.
We pretty much skip over the rest of 1986 (and Ric Flair losing the NWA Title to Ronnie Garvin and winning it back) before we head to the last chapter on Disc 1.
Barry Windham: Keeping Up With the Champ
The main feature starts off with Flair doing a voice over during some Windham footage and completely putting him over. He claims that Windham never truly got his due (he�s definitely right), especially since he was one of the few men that would keep up with Flair �hold for hold, night after night�.
He talks about wrestling Windham for an hour and compared him to Ricky Steamboat in terms of talent. Flair says that it was easier wrestling Windham for 45 minutes to an hour than it was wrestling certain guys for 10 minutes.
The main feature is over pretty quickly�so it�s time for the extras.
Attacked By The Horsemen � Tony Schiavone introduces the then NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions, Barry Windham and Ron Garvin. Garvin gets on the stick first and immediately proves why the fans didn�t exactly cheer the man, despite being a babyface. He just wasn�t good on the mic and it didn�t hurt that he wasn�t exactly great in the ring and had one of the worst finishers in the 80�s and THAT is saying something.
Windham begins speaking as footage from 1/3/87 begins playing. After Tully Blanchard, member of the Four Horsemen and then NWA TV Champion had just defeated babyface Tim Horner, Barry Windham stood on the apron to talk to Horner. Windham nailed Horner from behind, causing Windham to jump into the ring and attack Blanchard. Unfortunately for Windham, the rest of the Horsemen jumped in and administered a 4 on 1 beatdown. The Horsemen pretty much hold Barry for Tully, who hits him with his signature Slingshot Suplex and gets in his face as the footage comes a close. Windham admits that he pretty much asked for this, jumping a member of the Horsemen, but he vows that a beatdown like that will never happen again to him.
He flat out tells both Tully and Flair that their championships are not safe now that he�s gunning for them.
This segment immediately puts over the Horsemen as a strong stable and is actually the first mention of the Horsemen on this DVD so it gets a thumbs up from me.
�You Cried The Blues� � Another interview with Flair here as he starts out by putting Tully Blanchard over with his comments, which puts over The Horsemen at the same time. Triple H should really pay attention and learn if he wants to emulate Flair so badly. Flair�s comments turn to Barry Windham and the interview he just gave about being jumped by the Horsemen. He talks about the popularity of the Horsemen and how they fill up arenas as he brandishes the World Heavyweight Title, which is now the Big Gold Belt that we�re all accustomed to. His last comment towards Windham is to stop talking about doing something�just go and do it.
Flair vs. Windham 1/13/87 � This segment begins with Tony Schiavone interviewing Barry Windham and going through the events between himself and the Horsemen over the past few weeks. Apparently, Windham came in to save some friends of his from a Horsemen attack and ended up in an impromptu match with Flair. He introduces the footage and we begin with Windham and Flair face to face in the ring.
They begin to brawl with each other with Windham getting the advantage and from that point on, the fans, literally are on their feet and are vocal throughout the ENTIRE match. It�s absolutely incredible how much sustained heat these two men were able to get during this match. The Horsemen are at ringside, so Dusty Rhodes and the Rock & Roll Express come down to second Windham and the crowd heat just raises to another level at this point. Flair sells Windham�s offense SO MUCH that you can practically see him climb into the upper echelon of babyfaces during this segment.
Barry ends up busting Flair open, however, the champion still uses his cheap tactics to take the advantage when he can�but Windham simply keeps fighting back. Windham actually catches Flair�s knee drop before it makes contact with his face and slaps on the Figure Four and the place goes BANANAS. JJ Dillon�s interference breaks the hold and gives Flair the opportunity he needs to take control again. Windham comes back with some high impact offense and even hits a missile dropkick off the top on the champion for a nearfall. Windham finally nails his finisher then, a lariat, and the place goes nuts again! He goes for the cover, but The Horsemen jump into the ring to stop it and the match is over. Dusty and the R&R Express come in and a HUGE melee breaks out with all 8 men brawling in the ring. The babyfaces end up clearing the ring and Windham is declared the winner via DQ. He cuts a post-match interview in the ring and lets Flair know that he�s coming after him!
I still can�t believe just how hot that crowd was for this match. I haven�t seen heat like that since I was in the Skydome for Rock vs. Hogan at Wrestlemania 18. The fans were not quiet AT ALL during this match up and very rarely did you see anyone sitting down at ringside. This match definitely let the fans know that Barry Windham was more than in line for a shot at the World Heavyweight Title and Ric Flair was in trouble. It�s an excellent, excellent extra for this DVD. Off the top of my head, I�d say this match was definitely in the ***+ range if not for the crowd heat alone.
At this juncture, we now go to the featured match on this chapter and we�ll go back to the extras afterward.
Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship � 1/24/87
Match Background: In the beginning of 1987, Barry Windham found himself at odds with the Four Horsemen and ended up on the receiving end of some beat downs by the championship stable. Windham vowed to take the Horsemen down and the leader of the pack, Ric Flair, took exception to this. He practically challenged Windham to bring it on and bring it on he did as the two met in an impromptu match in Columbia, SC. This match ended in a total melee and the crowd heat was absolutely insane and Windham could not be denied his shot at the NWA World Title. On the January 24th, 1987 edition of NWA Worldwide, on free TV, Barry Windham received his shot against Ric Flair.
The Match: The match is announced as having a TV Time Limit, meaning that the match will go to a draw if there isn�t a winner prior to the TV show being over. When was the last time THAT happened in the modern era?
Tony Schiavone and Dusty Rhodes are the announcers for this match. It starts out with a bang as Windham knocks Flair down HARD with a shoulder tackle and the place just EXPLODES for it. Flair takes Windham down and tries to outwrestle him but it is to no avail as Windham counters everything Flair�s got at the outset of the match. Barry begins working on the arm as the fans chant for him but Flair backs him into the corner. After the clean break, Flair gets cocky with a big �WOO� in Windham�s face and you can just feel the intensity of this match growing. Flair nails Windham in the corner with some harsh chops, but Windham comes back with a hiptoss and a body slam and just off of those two moves alone, the crowd is going NUTS. Windham locks on a tight side headlock for a bit, but Flair fights out of it and knocks Windham down. Flair begins to quicken the pace himself to throw Windham off, but Barry connects with a drop toe hold and puts the side headlock back onto Flair to frustrate the champion some more.
Flair gets Windham into the corner and wails on him with chops, but Barry reverses the situation and unleashes a flurry onto the champion, sending the crowd into a frenzy once again until Flair bails. Back in the ring, Flair takes Windham down and begins to show his superiority on the mat, but Windham is able to counter out of it and goes back to the headlock once again to a pop. Flair manages to get up and drop Windham throat first onto the ropes as the match heads towards its first commercial break.
When we come back, Windham has the champion in a head scissors, continuing to work on the head. He goes back to the side headlock, but Flair continues to battle out of it, so Windham rains down on Flair�s head with some mounted punches to a pop. Windham comes off the ropes several times with shoulder tackles, allowing Flair to telegraph one and toss him to the outside where he gives out some punishment via the steel railing.
Flair tosses Windham shoulder first into the ring post and continues the assault on the outside, working on the left arm. Flair leverages himself into a great armbar, neutralizing finally the offense of Barry Windham for the moment. Flair works over Windham in the corner and goes back to the arm, but Barry begins to fight back and the crowd cheers with him until Flair takes him down and goes after the arm again. Flair goes for several covers with his feet on the ropes, but Windham kicks out so Flair unleashes more chops on his chest again. Barry begins to fight back and a slugfest erupts between the two with Barry getting the advantage! Flair tries to roll Barry up with his feet on the ropes in a desperation cover, but Barry fights out of it and knocks Flair to the outside. Barry goes to the outside to follow Flair out as we go to a commercial break.
When we come back, Flair has Windham down and hits a knee drop before nailing a HARD back elbow, sending Windham over the top to the floor. Flair looks to suplex Windham over the top rope back into the ring, but Windham floats over and nails Flair for a nearfall! Windham goes to the side headlock again, but Flair nails a back suplex and its TIME TO GO TO SCHOOL~! as he hooks on the Figure Four to the dismay of everyone in the crowd! Flair uses the ropes for leverage as Barry tries to fight to stay alive! Eventually, referee Tommy Young sees Flair holding onto the ropes and separates Windham from the hold. Flair goes back to the leg and looks to put on the Figure Four again but gets rolled up for two. Flair tosses Windham to the outside, but Windham quickly comes back and hits a sunset flip for a CLOSE two count. Flair hooks on a sleeper, but Windham is able to get out of it and land a 2nd rope clothesline for ONE�TWO�NO! Flair got his feet on the ropes! Windham slams Flair down and goes for a big splash, but Flair gets the knees up. Flair looks to set Windham on the top rope for a superplex, but Windham reverses it and suplexes Flair down in the ring. Windham goes to the top rope and goes for an elbowdrop, but Flair moves out of the way, causing Windham to crash and burn. Flair sets Windham up for a knee drop, but Windham moves out of the way and Flair misses! Windham knocks Flair to the outside and goes to work on Flair�s right leg! Windham sends Flair back in and its TIME TO GO TO SCHOOL~! as Windham puts the hold on Flair! Flair gets to the ropes, but for some reason, the referee kicks his hands away. On a second attempt, Flair gets to the ropes again and the ref separates the hold. They begin to brawl once again as they go to commercial once again.
As we come back, Flair and Windham are going blow for blow in the ring until Flair tries a hiplock. I�m not sure if this was Windham�s intention as the move looked a bit botched, but he turns it into an abdominal stretch and Flair is in trouble. Flair escapes and both men land on the referee. Flair tosses Windham to the outside as the ring announcer lets us know that there is 5 minutes remaining. Windham comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick and goes for the cover, but the ref is slow to count! ONE�TWO�NO!
Windham hooks on a sleeper on Flair as 4 minutes are left, but Flair back suplexes Windham to escape. Windham whips Flair into the corner and Flair flips onto the apron and heads to the top! He comes off of it with a cross body block, but Windham reverses it! ONE�TWO�NO! Windham hooks on a sleeper again as 3 minutes remain, but Flair fights back. Windham rains down punches on Flair in the corner, but the champion will not go down with 2 minutes remaining. Windham nails his flying lariat and the place goes NUTS, but Flair tries to bail. Windham suplexes him back in and hits a knee drop for two as one minute remains! Windham goes for a backslide for another nearfall, but Flair gets out of it and climbs to the top! Windham tosses him off the top and hits a powerslam for ONE�TWO�NO! 15 Seconds remaining! Windham nails the Flying Lariat and the referee goes for the cover�ONE�TWO�The bell rings! The fans are going INSANE�but the ring announcer says that the time limit has expired and therefore, the title stays with Ric Flair!
Result � Draw Due to Time Limit Expiring. STILL World Heavyweight Champion � Ric Flair
Windham asks for the mic immediately after the match and states that while it wasn�t his night tonight, one day, he WILL take the title belt home with him, but not until he gets the pinfall on Flair. He places the title belt on the downed champions chest as he walks away.
My Opinion: This was an absolutely amazing match, especially for free TV, which told a great, great story. Barry Windham had the support of the crowd and all of the tools needed to win the World Title, but Flair fought and scratched and clawed to get any advantage he could in order to keep his belt. Early on, Windham over powered Flair, so the champion resorted to try and outwrestle him, which didn�t work either. At this point, Flair realizes that he doesn�t have the natural strength to go toe to toe with Windham and takes it to the outside to use the environment to pour on the offense. Flair tries to beat Windham, but towards the end of the match, as Windham puts all his energy into trying to win the title, Flair can only try to outlast him and barely does as the time limit expired in his favor.
Mostly everything was pretty crisp here, including the commentary as Dusty gave insightful analysis about why you should target a specific body part and what the advantage is to that. The psychology in this match was great as well as Windham was able to make a small, relatively insignificant move like the side headlock important get the crowd popping over it. This match wasn�t fancy by any means, but it was all about the timing and the importance that each men gave each blow. You can see the desperation in the maneuvers from Windham towards the end, as well as Flair try to just escape with his title at the end. Windham sold the leg and the shoulder well, although there were a few mistimed spots here and there which detract from the match. This was definitely a classic TV match and I�m surprised that I had never really heard of this match until now. ****1/2.
Back to the extras.
Dusty�s Analysis � These are post-match comments by Dusty Rhodes where he completely puts over Barry Windham for that excellent performance he gave in the ring with Flair and states that one day, Windham will be the NWA Champion and it�s pretty much just a matter of when. The fans in the background trying to mug for the camera is a bit distracting, so the cameraman zooms in on Dusty�s face which wasn�t a pretty picture then with tons of scarring and bruising on his forehead. Dusty then turns his comments towards Flair and tells the world from experience that you must be offensively ready to face and defeat Ric Flair, which is not an easy thing to do. Dusty then goes into shill mode and puts over Jim Crockett Promotions (taking subtle shots at the WWF) before the segment comes to a close.
Once again, the post-match comments really gives off a vibe saying �this was something special here tonight� and Dusty, although he isn�t gold on the mic, definitely drives that point across here tonight.
Flair Post-Match Promo � Even though Flair came fractions of a second from defeat several times, he�s still in the back with the Four Horsemen as cocky as ever, declaring Barry Windham a loser for not getting it done. If there�s one thing that will definitely get you heat, it�s talking TONS of trash�and claiming that you backed it up when you barely escaped by the skin of your teeth.
Aftermath: Unfortunately, Windham never won the NWA Title from Flair, but did end up becoming a member of the Four Horsemen a few years later. He won the NWA US Title several times and feuded with Lex Luger for a few years. Windham did end up winning the NWA Title in 1993, but shortly after, WCW separated from the NWA and Windham was never close to the title picture again.
Overall Chapter: This was a good chapter, much better than Dusty�s, although not nearly as good as the Race chapter. Once again, there wasn�t much of a back story between Flair and Windham prior to their big match on Worldwide, but since it wasn�t supposed to be a major supercard match, that�s understandable. Windham wasn�t a great promo guy, but he did have a lot of appeal and it definitely showed in the segments leading up to the match. His in ring charisma was excellent as well and he got the crowd in such a frenzy with his match ups with Flair that I believe the NWA made a mistake by never putting the title on him. The featured match was absolutely excellent and its pretty rare that we see a match that good with that amount of time given to it on free TV. It once again makes me regret not watching the NWA at the time. For it�s presentation, the promo�s and the actual match, I�d give this chapter ****.
Overall DVD � The first disc of the Flair compilation is a treat for those who were never fans of the NWA during the 80�s. The three chapters are definitely produced well, although Race and Windham come across looking better than Rhodes did. It�s definitely clear that this is the tip of the iceberg for Flair and the next two discs should be even better.
It's a thing of beauty.
Next up: Flair�s best year, 1989, is chronicled as his classic matches with Ricky Steamboat and the infamous �I Quit� match with Terry Funk are shown in their entirety on Disc 2.
�Til next time,
The Dames, Damian Gonzalez.
Any questions, comments, hate mail, fan mail, anything�send it all to [email protected].
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