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Entertainment > Movies / TV The Dames' Diatribe on The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection: Disc 2 Posted by The Dames on Feb 1, 2004, 02:37 The Dames� Diatribe on The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD (Disc 2) First off, I would like to give a deep apology to all of my readers who have been patiently awaiting this review. I had all intentions of following Disc 1 up with Disc 2 and subsequently 3, but several impromptu trips out of state, a theft in my home, having to format my hard drive after dealing with viruses and worms, amongst countless other distractions didn�t allow me to get this up until now. I�m going to be moving out of state in about 2 weeks, so the last Dames� Diatribe you�ll get from me (other than part 3 of the Flair DVD) will be the February 9th edition of Raw. I�m moving from New York City to Bristol, Connecticut and I�ll be without internet access for roughly a month or so. This most likely means no No Way Out Diatribe (for now) and possibly no Wrestlemania XX Diatribe, but I will be attending Mania live. I�ll still be working on a few projects in my spare time, so hopefully you guys won�t miss me too long. Anyway, let�s get to the review you guys have been anticipating for the better part of a month now. Flair vs. Steamboat. Steamboat vs. Flair. Either way you say it, just hearing that small phrase elicits thoughts of enjoyment and wrestling bliss to most long term wrestling fans in the United States. Their three match series is usually regarded as the best professional wrestling has to offer and at least one of these matches are on virtually everyone�s favorite match listings. Flair vs. Funk. Although their series isn�t held in the same regard as Flair vs. Steamboat, it�s long term effects are still being felt today. The first real �Hardcore� matches shown on a national level took place between these two and certain staples of wrestling derived from their encounters, such as using a table as an offensive weapon. This was all part of the year that was 1989 and unquestionably, Flair�s in-ring peak as a wrestling performer. Disc 2 - 1989 1989 began as a good year for Ric Flair. He was riding high in the middle of his sixth NWA Title reign and his former rival Barry Windham was now a member of the Four Horsemen. Flair�s world was turned upside down by the return of one Ricky �The Dragon� Steamboat. We�ll start this review once again in chapter order and Steamboat�s series with Flair is so special, it receives two main featurettes, the first being: Chapter: Ricky Steamboat: The Rivalry The feature begins with Ric Flair looking back and remembering when Ricky Steamboat joined Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling in 1976 via a trade with Georgia Championship Wrestling, both under the banner of the National Wrestling Alliance. Mid-Atlantic gave up One Man Gang for Steamboat and there�s no question as to who received the better part of that deal. Flair recalls seeing a young Steamboat work and coming to the realization that he was a hell of a talent, even though he was still new in the business himself. He then approached the booker at the time and asked to work with Steamboat. Flair says that he believe he�s wrestled Ricky Steamboat well over 3,000 times in his career. I�d like to believe that, but something tells me that�s a lie of Wilt Chamberlain proportions. The feature then focuses on Steamboat�s strength�s as a babyface. Flair puts over his ability to be liked by a whole spectrum of people. Flair speaks on the mutual respect that they have for each other, even though they�ve never been the closest of friends because their lifestyles were radically different. Flair would bring women to the ring, wearing lavish suits and riding in limousines while Steamboat would bring his wife and son with him to ringside. Ricky Steamboat: Family Man Flair: �He�s not the best wrestler of all time cuz he didn�t work heel. The best wrestler of all time is me. But he�s the best babyface.� Flair just has to laugh as he finishes that statement up. As footage from their Chi-Town Rumble match is shown, Flair says that it would normally take them 15-20 minutes just to get things really rolling in their matches. Today, we�d be lucky if a match goes that long on a pay per view. Flair equates wrestling Steamboat to wrestling with his eyes closed since it seemed to come natural to them. They didn�t have to plan anything out, they�d just go. Alright, just like Disc 1, we�re going in chronological order so it�s time to go to the extras. Extra: Flair & Windham vs. Steamboat and Gilbert Ric Flair & Barry Windham vs. Ricky Steamboat and Eddie Gilbert Match Background: Eddie Gilbert (the late ex-husband to both Missy Hyatt AND Madusa Micelli) was apparently having problems with the Four Horsemen. He claimed to have a masked man as his tag team partner to face Windham and Flair, but instead�the man was revealed to be Ricky �The Dragon� Steamboat. After several years in the WWF, where he gained the WWF Intercontinental Title in a classic match at Wrestlemania III against the Macho Man Randy Savage, Steamboat was making his return to the NWA. However, he was returning to face the World Champion, Ric Flair and the NWA U.S. Champion, Barry Windham in his first match back� The Match: Flair, Windham and their manager JJ Dillon are immediately flustered at Steamboat�s surprise appearance, which automatically gives off the perception that Steamboat is a threat. Amazingly enough, the fans seem to be more enamored with Eddie �Hot Stuff� Gilbert, chanting his name prior to the match getting started. Windham leads off with Steamboat, who quickly arm drags the U.S. Champ across the ring to the delight of the fans and announcers Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. Steamboat runs circles around Windham, causing Flair to get involved only to get tossed onto his partner and the Horsemen bail to the outside. Jim Ross (when he was still a sane, respectable announcer) is just gushing with compliments for Steamboat, pointing out that the man has it all in terms of speed, strength and technical ability. Flair comes into the ring to face Steamboat and naturally talks trash in his face before locking up with the man. The first lock up ends with a hard Steamboat tackle and Flair retreats into the corner. He connects with a HARSH chop on Steamboat, but The Dragon comes back with a pair of his own, knocking Flair down. Steamboat then hits a press slam on Flair and once again, the champion bails to regroup. Since the arena that the shows were taped in were so small, all Steamboat had to do to get to the interview area was walk a few steps. He walks over and gets on the mic, challenging Flair to stay in the ring with him. Flair doesn�t back down and meets Steamboat in the ring, locking up with him and taking him to the corner where he unleashes some LOUD chops and short punches. Steamboat fights back with chops of his own and the two men exchange blows for a couple of seconds before Windham gets involved�but Steamboat is able to keep him at bay as well. Flair once again connects with some of the loudest chops I�ve EVER heard, but Steamboat takes them like a MAN and retaliates with loud chops of his own. Flair backs away from Steamboat, still talking trash, before going to the outside once again to gather himself. Once again, Steamboat challenges Flair to come back into the ring and he does so. They lock up and Steamboat takes control of Flair before tagging out to Eddie Gilbert. Flair backs him into the corner and nails him with a hard chop but Gilbert fires back with rights and lefts to the midsection. He sends Flair across the ring with an armdrag and hits an old school flying head scissors, causing Flair to tag out to Windham finally. Windham comes in�but this is a Flair DVD, so it�s clipped a bit. Gilbert is now down in the center of the ring and Windham misses with a top rope elbow. Windham tags out to Flair, but Steamboat is tagged in again and the small house crowd roars for him. Steamboat comes in and quickly CLEANS HOUSE, completely dominating both Flair and Windham. Steamboat press slams Flair and heads to the top, hitting his beautiful flying body press to pin the World Heavyweight Champion in seemingly easy fashion. Winners: Ricky Steamboat and Eddie Gilbert My Opinion: It�s incredible when you realize that the beginning to this epic series took place just a few days shy of 15 years ago. This was a case of Steamboat coming in and simply DOMINATING over Flair and Windham, who were practically unstoppable then. The guy became instantly over and with good reason, became the number one contender for the World Title just like that. The fans, who were chanting Eddie Gilbert�s name before the first lock up, left cheering wildly for Ricky Steamboat and his push towards the main event (which he was never close to in the WWF) had finally arrived. I�m disappointed that the match was clipped because I can�t honestly tell you how good the match truly was. I�d never seen Eddie Gilbert in the ring (I didn�t watch much of the NWA back then) and I was looking forward to seeing more than the small 15 second snippet I got to see. As for the match rating, I can only go by what I saw, which was practically Steamboat vs. Flair & Windham. Windham just bumped for the man and Flair spent a majority of the time either on defense or regrouping. However, the work involved was extremely crisp, the selling was supurb and the blows were stiff and realistic. This is nothing more than just a taste of what these two men will provide down the road. ** Steamboat�s Three-Man Workout � Now, Steamboat was in line for a World Title shot against Ric Flair and needed to prepare for his match. To train for the match, Steamboat decided to hold a work out in the middle of the ring against three men who would be using Flair�s maneuvers so Steamboat could study their counters. The first man Steamboat faced is Dustin Rhodes, son of Flair�s long time rival Dusty and the man who would come to be known as Goldust in the future. Dustin snap mares Steamboat to the mat and looks to deliver Flair-esque knee drops in succession, but Steamboat is able to get his hands up and block the move each and every time. Dustin goes for a back suplex, a move that Ric Flair loves to utilize, but Steamboat flips out of it. Dustin then takes Steamboat down and puts on a spinning toe hold, the first step to the Figure Four leglock. Steamboat counters it in different ways before moving onto the next man to step up and prepare Steamboat for Flair. The next man comes in and looks for a vertical suplex, but Steamboat blocks it and delivers one of his own. As Steamboat continues, Flair joins the announcers looking on and immediately talks trash about Steamboat. Steamboat then takes it to the mat with all three men and successfully escaping each predicament he�s in. Steamboat hip tosses all of them as Flair lets Jim Ross know that �you�re making me hot!� for comparing Flair�s execution of maneuvers to any man, let alone the three guys in the ring. The workout ends with Steamboat shaking the hands of all three men, but the segment isn�t over as Ric Flair is still hovering around ringside. When the show apparently came back from commercial break, Jim Ross and the then retired Magnum T.A. speak about what just occurred. The footage is shown as Steamboat was greeting the fans at ringside, only for him to spot Flair and ask him to come into the ring with him, which Flair obliges. Instead of wrestling the man straight up, Flair gives him a thumb to the eye and takes him to the corner, where he delivers some of the HARDEST CHOPS OF ALL TIME. Steamboat actually battles back and quickly takes the advantage, once again dominating Ric Flair inside the squared circle. Steamboat then rips Flair�s shirt off of his back and sends him packing as the build up for their first encounter for the World Title is just getting started. FLAIR.WAS.HERE My Two Cents: This is a perfect example of a segment that adds depth to an upcoming encounter and feud. Instead of just cutting a promo and saying something like �Flair, I know everything you�ve got, I�ve studied tapes, etc�, you can actually SEE Steamboat countering these moves and therefore, it accomplishes a few things. First off, it drives into people�s minds that not only has Steamboat pinned Flair once, but he can take and possibly reverse anything Flair�s going to dish out. Secondly, it allows the fans to anticipate Ricky�s counters and build up anticipation for spots in the Title match, getting the fans more vested in the actual holds and maneuvers going on in the ring. Last but not least, it says to the fans that we have a real shot at seeing Ricky Steamboat walk out with the NWA Title when he faces Ric Flair, so we should buy the pay per view to see that take place. This was a total money segment and just another reason why I regret not watching the NWA when I had the chance as a youngster. Extra: Clash of the Champions V: Flair Calls Out Steamboat � February 15th, 1989 Five days prior to their scheduled World Title encounter to take place at the Chi-Town Rumble, the NWA held a Clash of the Champions event. Clash of the Champions was a card broadcast on national prime time TV (TBS) a couple of times a year and often times featured pay per view quality bouts. Ric Flair comes to the ring wearing a black fur coat and accompanied by a bevy of women in black dresses. Bob Caudle begins to interview Flair in the ring, who boasts about the women and the cars and the lifestyle that Ric Flair is known for. To be honest, the women aren�t that impressive� Flair claims that these are just some of the things that show the difference between himself and Steamboat and why he�s going to retain his World Title. Flair then calls Steamboat out to the ring so he can take his pick of Flair�s mistresses because according to Flair, �you must be bored sitting at home every night.� Steamboat answers the reply and goes nose to nose with Flair in the ring. Flair practically makes fun of the fact that Steamboat isn�t a womanizing lady killer like himself and tells Steamboat to his face that after he defeats him in Chicago, it means even more women and more dollars for him. Steamboat gets on the mic and granted, while he�s not the best talker, he always did get his point across. He lets Flair know that he despises the things Flair represents, which are all of the �evil, materialistic things� in the world. Flair tells the girls to �look at what a loser looks like� before insulting Steamboat�s wife�and then it�s on! Steamboat literally slaps the glasses off of Flair�s face and begins brawling with him in the corner. Steamboat begins ripping at Flair�s clothing once again, tearing his shirt, his sports jacket and his pants off. Flair, looking like a total mess at this point, finally retaliates with some VICIOUS chops in the corner and punches to the back of the head. Steamboat returns fire and ends up ripping off ALL of Flair�s clothing, leaving the World Heavyweight Champion in his underwear! Amazingly enough, Flair continues to battle back wearing his undies and a pair of socks, but Steamboat dominates again and hits a flying cross body off the top rope for a crowd-chanted three count. Flair�s Japanese consultant, Hiro Matsuda, comes in to pull Steamboat off and hold him for Flair. Flair unleashes some STIFF ASS CHOPS all OVER Steamboat, but The Dragon eventually fires back and goes to the floor with him, chopping Flair until he retreats to the back. The Dragon then comes back into the ring and puts on Flair�s torn clothes in a definitive statement. He gets on the mic and states: �So, this is what a $1500 suit feels like?� and spits on it! He tosses the clothes into the crowd to close the segment. "The Nature Boy" Ricky Steamboat? My Two Cents: This was a good segment which got a LOT of heat and continued the build up towards the Chi-Town Rumble. Now Steamboat has seemingly gotten a three count on Flair on two different occasions and Flair�s title definitely looks to be in trouble. The only thing that I didn�t care for in this segment was Steamboat�s mic work. The guy was never super charismatic on the mic and I couldn�t help but notice a few boos from the crowd when he criticized Flair for wanting to be superficial. However, his in ring work and charisma definitely more than makes up for it and the crowd responded accordingly when the World Champion was stripped of his clothes. Unfortunately, one of the biggest omissions from this DVD Set is the actual Chi-Town Rumble match between Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair. One has to wonder why it wasn�t included, since footage of the match was used during the main feature. While many believe that their latter two matches (Clash 6 and WrestleWar) were the better of the three, a lot of people believe that Chi-Town Rumble is the best and its omission is the only downside of the Steamboat chapter�.especially since Ricky Steamboat won the NWA Title from Ric Flair that night in Chicago. Clash of the Champions VI Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Two Out of Three Falls � 60 Minute Time Limit Match Background: At the Chi-Town Rumble, Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World Title in an excellent match. Naturally, being a six-time NWA Champion earned Flair enough respect to allow him a rematch. However, this one would take place on TBS�s Clash of the Champions VI and would be two out of three falls. The Match: 1st Fall � The announcers for this match are Jim Ross and Terry Funk. Flair and Steamboat lock up, but end up in the corner where after a clean break, Flair gives Steamboat a big �WOO� in his face, prompting The Dragon to slap him. They lock up again, exchanging wrestling holds at a quick pace and ending up wrestling amateur style with Dragon on the advantage until Flair gets a rope break. Flair shoves Steamboat away, only to get slapped three times harder than before! The calm before the classic. Flair gets an overhead wrist lock, but Dragon fights out of it, only for Flair to go to the ropes again. The first five minutes go by with each man still trying to feel each other out, but Dragon has the advantage with a side headlock. They go into the corner, getting a rope break, but Flair CRACKS Steamboat�s chest with the first of many vicious, loud chops in this match. Steamboat�s selling is absolutely superb here, pushing Flair away as he clutches his chest, describing the feeling of that chop without any words. Flair rocks him again, but this time, Steamboat retaliates and they go from one corner of the ring to the next battling each other in a war of blows with each chop and each fist resonating a loud sound of flesh smacking each other. Steamboat takes advantage here and rattles Flair with a hiptoss, a flying head scissors and a dropkick to take Flair down in a side headlock once again. Steamboat applies a hard front face lock, which Flair sells like DEATH as The Dragon continues to work on the head. Flair backs into the corner and once again fires off a hard ass chop to Steamboat�s chest and Steamboat retaliates with a chop of his own, knocking Flair down. Steamboat continues to assault Flair with quick maneuvers and goes for the cover, getting a nearfall on the challenger. Flair lures Steamboat into the corner and nails him with a boot to the midsection. Flair whips Steamboat to the ropes, but the champion comes back with a roll up for two. Flair�s kick out sends Steamboat to the ropes again and the Dragon nails Flair on the comeback with a hard clothesline, which is just something you don�t see these days. He takes Flair down with a side headlock once again and wrenches it on as Jim Ross lets us know that a properly applied side headlock is one of the most painful moves in professional wrestling. In the crowd, some fans are shown rallying behind both Steamboat and Flair� Steamboat sends Flair into the corner and connects with some chops of his own. Steamboat once again goes to the headlock, but Flair counters into an inverted atomic drop, which Steamboat sells to perfection. Steamboat takes a moment to recover and then goes after Flair with constant pinfall attempts, but Flair is able to escape them all and takes a dive on the outside to recover himself. Flair comes back into the ring and nails Steamboat with a hard ass chop and Steamboat bumps off of it. Flair continues to batter Steamboat chest with chops until the champion is forced to retaliate in the corner. Steamboat connects with a HARD double chop, knocking Flair down in the corner and going for the cover. The referee, Tommy Young, provides some excellent officiating by dropping down to the floor to get a good look at Flair�s shoulders as he counts to two. Steamboat suplexes Flair from the apron into the ring and goes for a big splash, but Flair gets the knees up. Steamboat hits hard and comes crashing down with one of the most unique sells you�ll ever see. Flair once again sends Steamboat to the corner and nails him with a chop. He snap mares the champion and hits a double stomp to the now weakened midsection of Steamboat. Flair follows it up with a double arm suplex for several two counts as Steamboat uses all of his shoulder strength to kick out. Flair then hooks on a 3/4�s nelson in order to counter act THAT, but Steamboat continues to fight out of it. Now THAT is WRESTLING. Flair literally gets about 10 two counts out of this with Steamboat REFUSING to lose. Steamboat powers out of it and eventually uses his power to take Flair down with a test of strength. It once again breaks down into a war of chops and Steamboat hiptosses Flair across the ring, but misses a dropkick. Flair quickly looks to hook on the Figure Four, but Steamboat cradles him up! The referee quickly counts, but Flair kicks out at two and uses the momentum to take Steamboat over and pin him, winning the first fall of this epic match up! 2nd Fall � After a 60 second rest period, the two men lock up again, although this time, Flair is showing a lot more confidence. Steamboat, looking to tie things up quickly, goes on the offensive, pressing Flair down and heading to the top rope with an overhead chop for two. Terry Funk points out how frustrated Steamboat was with himself for losing the first fall, but he cannot allow himself to make mistakes or Ric Flair will capitalize on it. Steamboat goes back to a side headlock, but Flair is able to pull out a back suplex on the champion and get some separation. He follows it up with a knee drop and looks for a second, but Steamboat moves out of the way, causing Flair to land hard on his knee. Steamboat quickly capitalizes and hits a TON of elbow drops to the leg of Flair, actually going around the ring as he does so before hooking on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring! That�s a perfect example of these two men taking small maneuvers which are often looked past these days and making them as effective as a high spot. The champion now has Flair in trouble and if the Figure Four wasn�t effective enough by its lonesome, imagine what it can do to you after 15+ elbow drops on your leg. Steamboat continues to knock Flair onto the mat as he has the hold applied, causing the referee to count Flair�s shoulders down several times, but he doesn�t get a pinfall. Flair eventually gets to the ropes, but Steamboat looks to put the hold on again, only to get shoved away. Steamboat quickly comes back and puts on a Boston Crab, which Flair didn�t defend against because he didn�t see it coming. Jim Ross reminds us that Ric Flair�s back has always been a weak point because of the Plane Crash he was involved in early in his career. Flair makes it to the ropes and Flair cries out in pain as the hold is released. Steamboat nails Flair with overhead chops in the corner, but Flair begins to fight back and another war of blows begins. Flair takes Steamboat down with a side headlock, but Steamboat gets a head scissors to get out of it (which he WORKED for). Flair rolls on top for a few pinfall attempts, but Steamboat kicks out and bridges up, looking for a backslide. The attention to detail here is absolutely mind boggling when you think about it as Steamboat looks to take Flair over slowly, but Flair tries dragging his feet on the canvas to try and get some friction to counter Steamboat�s momentum. Steamboat is able to power him down though, but doesn�t get the pinfall. Flair goes to the outside and Steamboat follows, only to get thrown into the steel railing and body slammed on the outside. Flair picks up the champion once again and tosses him into the steel railing again before going back into the ring. Steamboat tries to get into the ring, but Flair drops him head first over the top rope. Flair continues the assault on Ricky, nailing a vertical suplex into the ring from the apron and Flair gets a nearfall out of it. Flair then hooks on an abdominal stretch and Steamboat yells as the challenger puts the hold on. Once again, Flair tries to use his technical prowess to take Steamboat down as he rolls him up from the abdominal stretch into several pinning predicaments. Flair puts his feet on the ropes as he continues to try and pin the champion, but Steamboat perseveres. Flair nails Steamboat with several closed right hands and looks for a back suplex, but Steamboat flips over him and goes for a roll up. Steamboat looks for a pinfall, but Flair kicks out. Flair nails The Dragon with a hard kick, followed by a chop for a two count. Flair goes to the top rope, but Dragon catches him up there and connects with a superplex! Flair once again sells the back with total DEVASTATION and Steamboat realizes this, nailing him with chops to the back as Flair crawls around the ring on all fours. Steamboat NAILS Flair with forearms to the kidneys and hooks on a double chickenwing! Flair is YELLING, he doesn�t want to submit�but the pain is too much and he quits, giving Ricky �The Dragon� Steamboat the second fall! The Dreaded Double Arm Chickenwing. When we come back from the commercial break, Flair escapes a Dragon abdominal stretch attempt with a elbow to the eyes and falls straight down to the mat, unable to recover fully from the devastating double chickenwing. With Steamboat blinded in the corner, Flair scurries on all fours and clips Steamboat from behind, looking to start working on his leg like only he can. Steamboat realizes this and chops away at Flair, knocking him down and getting a two count out of it. Steamboat sets Flair in the corner and chops away before going back to Flair�s back. Flair counters with a THUNDEROUS chop and connects with a shin breaker, once again setting Steamboat up to work the leg. Flair hooks on the Figure Four, but Steamboat is too close to the ropes, so the hold is broken. Flair begins kicking Steamboat�s leg in the corner, so the champion backs away from Flair, shoving him away as he drags his left leg with him. Flair wants to hurt that leg though and Steamboat, realizing this, engages Flair in another war of blows, sending Flair into the corner before whipping him to the far side. Flair does his patented Flair Flip over the ropes and looks to run towards the other turnbuckle, but Steamboat nails him with a chop on the apron! Flair gets up and trips Steamboat, looking to pin him with his feet on the ropes, but the champion will not go down. Flair sends Steamboat into the corner and NAILS him with a hard ass chop which almost knocks him over the top rope! Flair sends Steamboat to the far side, but Ricky leaps over Flair, only to charge into Flair�s boot in the corner, giving the challenger the advantage once again. Flair goes back to the left leg and looks to whip Steamboat into the corner, but Steamboat reverses the irish whip. He charges at Flair, but he moves out of the way, causing Steamboat to get his leg caught in the ropes and NOW�he�s in trouble. Flair goes after the leg once again, dropping his body weight on it and following it up with a knee drop to Steamboat�s leg. Flair hooks on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring! As Ricky Steamboat screams in pain, Terry Funk says it best. �Quitting here would be like saying �I give you the World Championship� which is very hard to do�. As Flair wrenches the hold on even harder, Steamboat begins tapping on the mat, which many fans today would equate to tapping out. However, back then, tapping out was not a viable way to submit and Steamboat is only trying to get the fans behind him in order to gain the strength to get out of the hold. He begins swaying back and forth, using the momentum to finally swing towards the ropes, which is more realistic than just powering out of it. With Steamboat lying on the apron, Flair goes to the outside and continues to work on Steamboat�s leg. Steamboat fights back with chops in the corner, but he is just dragging his left leg behind him, the effects of Flair�s work being felt by the champion. Steamboat whips Flair into the corner, but Flair flips over the ropes and goes to the top again, but this time, he actually hits the cross body for a ONE�TWO�NO! Steamboat gets up and looks to slam Flair but his legs give out and Flair lands on top! ONE�TWO�NO! Steamboat comes off the ropes with a headbutt and tries to walk off his leg injury. Steamboat goes to the top rope and hits the flying body press! He beat Flair at the Chi-Town Rumble this way! ONE�TWO�NO! Steamboat looks to follow it up with a running elbow drop but Flair moves out of the way! Flair gets up and connects with several elbows to the top of Steamboat�s head and whips him across the ring, but the champion fires back with a reverse neck breaker for two! Flair tosses Steamboat out of the ring, but Dragon comes back into the ring with a sunset flip on him. Flair tries to fight out of it, but Steamboat holds on and takes him over for a close two count. Steamboat comes off the ropes with a shoulder tackle, but Flair gets up and catches him in a sleeper hold. The referee drops Steamboat�s arm three times and goes to ring the bell, but Steamboat gathers enough strength to get his hand up before Tommy Young can call for the bell. Steamboat gets up and drives Flair face first into the top turnbuckle, causing the challenger to fall out of the ring. Steamboat starts shaking loose, trying to get some adrenaline pumping as Flair comes back into the ring. Flair sneaks up from behind Steamboat and goes back to the leg, clipping him from behind. He pulls Steamboat to the middle of the ring by his bad leg, but Steamboat connects with an enziguiri (called a karate kick by Ross as it wasn�t a commonly used maneuver then). Steamboat goes to the top rope as the ring announcer, Gary Michael Cappetta, announcers that 50 minutes have elapsed in the match. Jim Ross states that �for 50 minutes they have wrestled. I�m not talking about coming out to the ring to music, walking around the ring and posing. I�m talking about wrestling for 50 minutes� in a subtle shot at the WWF. Steamboat leaps off the top for a body splash, but Flair moves out of the way. Flair once again goes after the leg, driving it into the mat several times. He backs Steamboat into the corner once again and Flair goes on the offensive. Flair connects with a hard ass chop to Steamboat�s chest, but Steamboat fires back with a hard one of his own! Steamboat drags himself by the ropes with one leg to connect with another hard ass chop to Flair! They are going blow for blow at this point, with each blow connecting quickly and with power! Steamboat whips Flair into the ropes and connects with a HARD double chop, knocking Flair down! Steamboat poses as he gets the momentum on his side! Absolutely electrifying. Now Steamboat is on the offensive, taking Flair into the corner and pummeling him with overhead chops. Flair goes for an atomic drop but Steamboat blocks it and nails him with a clothesline! Flair gets a break by landing an elbow to the top of Steamboat�s head and connects with a back suplex to shorten Dragon�s momentum. Flair goes to the top rope, but Steamboat catches him and tosses him down, injuring Flair�s back again. Steamboat hooks on the double chickenwing once again near the ropes, but doesn�t have the strength to hold Flair up in the hold so he bridges back to use it for a pinfall. The referee counts to three and the match is over�but it�s unclear as to who won the match! The referee signals that Steamboat did in fact pin Flair and the Steamboat retains the title! Winner: Ricky Steamboat My Opinion: This is unquestionably one of the greatest matches of all time. Even if the announcing wasn�t already top notch, as Jim Ross was in his prime and Terry Funk brought some excellent color commentary to the table, the story these two men told in almost sixty minutes was clear to everyone who watched it and stayed with every blow with their eyes glued to the screen. The first ten minutes of the match up was spent with both men feeling each other out, specifically with Steamboat letting Flair know that he is NOT intimidated by him at all, especially since he was the reigning champion. The end of the first fall was booked to perfection as Flair couldn�t defeat Steamboat with his usual maneuvers, since Steamboat had them all scouted. However, Flair used his technical ability to reverse an inside cradle and use WRESTLING to score his first pinfall on Ricky Steamboat since their rivalry began. The second fall is all about Ricky Steamboat trying to even up the match up as quickly as possible, since he knows what a dangerous situation he�s in. He takes advantage of Flair�s mistake (the knee drop) and looks to tie it up by working the leg over and applying several submission maneuvers. However, Flair is determined to win and uses the outside of the ring to regain the advantage. Once he has that advantage, Flair once again tries to outwrestle Steamboat to try and get the second fall for the World Title, but he isn�t above putting his feet on the ropes to gain the second fall either. Steamboat�s back work eventually pays off as Flair makes a mistake by going to the top rope and a superplex makes him pay for it. Steamboat then hooks on a double chickenwing, causing Flair to submit and tie it all up at one fall a piece while telling the audience that the double chickenwing is a viable finisher for Steamboat. The third fall amazingly enough, is where everything comes to a head as if it wasn�t already an excellent encounter. Flair is able to fend off Steamboat�s back work long enough to hurt his left leg and then goes after it like a shark that smells blood. Steamboat is just trying to hold on as Flair is unleashing hell onto his left leg, fighting to retain his title. Finally, Steamboat is able to gather the necessary strength to fend off Flair�s onslaught and looks to put Flair away to decisively prove that he is worthy of being the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Steamboat finally sees the opportunity to hook on the double chickenwing once again, but his leg is too weak to hold Flair up and he bridges back for the pin, which ultimately costs him even though he retained the title. These two men didn�t do a lot of high spots and they didn�t do any overwhelming acrobatics. They made every single wrestling hold performed and applied mean something and that�s a rarity in this day and age. There weren�t even many punches thrown in this contest. It was the selling of Steamboat and Flair that made this possible. With every knee to the head, Flair yelled out in pain. For every chop, Steamboat let you know with his body movements that he was in a hell of a lot of pain. For every closed fist that Flair delivered, Steamboat conveyed a higher sense of pain than usual. The finish aside, the officiating was excellent here as Tommy Young was very strict with the rules, not allowing either man to obtain an unfair advantage in the corner or on the outside, forcing these men to wrestle in the middle of the ring. When was the last time a World Title main event went longer than 30 minutes without a ref bump? This match had none. This match is absolute art�and it was on free TV. This match deserves every accolade it has ever received and should be a requirement for every wrestling fan to view. ***** However, because Flair�s leg was under the bottom rope when the pinfall was counted, there was an air of controversy surrounding who truly deserved to be the World Heavyweight Champion. Here we go back to the extras to explain what took place then. Controversy Recap Flair�s Lawyer � Jim Ross introduces footage of Ric Flair�s lawyer making a statement on behalf of the former World Champion. Flair�s lawyer breaks down the wrestling rules and proves that Flair deserves a rematch since he was never �legally� pinned, putting the blame on Tommy Young for not �doing his job�. Flair�s lawyer demands a rematch between Flair and Steamboat within 30 days with the following stipulations or the NWA will face legal repercussions. Flair wishes to have representatives of the NWA look on as judges to decide a clear winner, should there not be one. Flair also wishes to have a second referee at ringside to oversee the officiating in the ring. Jim Herd � Jim Ross is with Jim Herd, the then Executive Vice President of WCW (Eric Bischoff�s old position) to comment on the Flair situation. Herd, before making any official decisions regarding Flair and Steamboat�s championship rematch, goes out of his way to tell everyone that Flair�s attorney did not influence their decision with his threats of litigation. Herd then announces that a rematch will take place between Flair and Steamboat on May 7th, 1989 in Nashville, Tennesee and both men have already been notified. There will be special judges (former World Champions) and there will be a conclusive ending with a 60 minute time limit. I like the fact that both men have already been notified of the decision to rematch them. Nowadays, all �announcements� take place in the ring and someone always takes offense to them and the authority figure is then threatened or something. At least now that the decision has been made, we can now concentrate on the real issue�who will come out of WrestleWar as the new World Heavyweight Champion. Ricky Steamboat � Steamboat states that he has also reviewed the footage and he also came to the conclusion that he did not decisively defeat Ric Flair that night in New Orleans. Steamboat states that in Nashville, Tennessee, he is giving Ric Flair his last chance at the World Heavyweight Title, because he needs to move on to other worthy competitors. He�s already proven to the world that he�s not a fluke, but he has yet to do so to Ric Flair. Ric Flair � Flair comments that he was �born to the be the champ� and on five different occasions, he�s done just that. However, now he�s being told that this is his �last chance�? Flair takes offense to that, of course. He�s used to living a certain way, a certain lifestyle�which comes from being the World Champion and therefore, being without it is not an option to him. Therefore, at WrestleWar, he WILL regain the World Title. The fact that they are building this as Flair�s �last chance� is a nice touch as it isn�t just a match to him, it�s a life altering event, which ups the importance of their rematch even more than it already is. WrestleWar Pre-Match Interview � Ric Flair is interviewed during Wrestle War about his upcoming rematch with Ricky Steamboat. Flair begins his promo is his usual, loud style�but gives Steamboat his props, calling him �the greatest wrestler on the face of this earth�. However, he needs to beat Ric Flair just ONE more time to �be the man�. It�s time to go to the next featurette in the Steamboat chapter� The Greatest Match (Main Feature) � Although most fans know what happens, this feature starts out by giving you the result of the Wrestlewar match, so if you don�t want to know, just watch the match first. Flair says that he�s flattered and honored to hear that many people consider his match with Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar�89 to be the Greatest Match of All Time�but Flair says that it�s �sad� that he had about 200-300 matches with Steamboat at house shows that were even better that no one saw. Just think about THAT and then think about the poor state house shows are in today. He and Steamboat never had a bad match according to Flair, but the three matches (Chi-Town Rumble, Clash 6 and WrestleWar) were the pinnacle of pro wrestling at that time. They pushed each other to the limits and their work ethic is what caused them to try and outperform everyone else. WrestleWar �89 � May 7th, 1989 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match Background: Flair and Steamboat wrestled at Chi-Town Rumble where Steamboat took the Title from Flair. At Clash of the Champions 6, Steamboat pinned Flair in controversial fashion in the two out of three falls match, prompting Flair to demand a rematch. NWA officials decided that this would be Flair�s last chance at the title and granted him his wish, having three former NWA Champions sitting at ringside acting as judges for the match, should it go to a time limit draw. The three men are the legendary Lou Thesz, Pat O�Connor and Terry Funk. This match also had special significance for Ric Flair because should he be victorious, he would tie Lou Thesz with 6 NWA World Title reigns which was quite an accomplishment. (Sidenote: For those of you who purchased the �Triple H: The Game� DVD solely for this match, you no longer need to keep that DVD, unless you really want to watch Triple H�s debut match and see him shack up with Stephanie. This match selection on the DVD contains the pre-match introductions and post-match angle, unlike the aforementioned Triple H DVD.) The Match: Gary Michael Cappetta introduces the judges at ringside prior to the match up. The announcers for this match is Jim Ross and Bob Caudle. The two men lock up but end up near the ropes and Flair gives Steamboat a clean break. Steamboat takes Flair down with a quick armdrag and Flair walks around the ring to re-set himself. Flair knocks Steamboat down with a shoulder tackle and things start to get quicker here as Steamboat connects with a hiptoss and a deep armdrag before taking Flair into the corner. Flair slaps Steamboat�but Steamboat returns fire and they do it once again, leaving Flair backing away from the champion. They lock up once again and once again they end up in the corner, but this time, Flair does not give Steamboat a clean break, nailing him with a punch to the midsection and following it up with a chop to the chest. The crowd seems to be pro-Flair in Nashville as they pop for the chops and �WOO� with Flair. Flair connects with a punch to the Dragon�s jaw and a war of blows begins once again with Steamboat chopping Flair to the other corner. Flair gives Steamboat a BIG chop as Jim Ross states that �this is INDEED the NWA!�, but Steamboat retaliates with chops of his own and takes Flair into another corner as he chops away at him. They go 3/4�s of the ring chopping away at each other before Steamboat back body drops Flair, causing Flair to bail out of the ring. As Flair comes back into the ring, the announcers make sure to point out that at that time, Ricky Steamboat is the only man to ever make Ric Flair submit with the double chickenwing at Clash 6. Flair puts on an overhead wrist lock but Dragon powers out of it and takes Flair down, applying an armbar once again. Steamboat works the arm in different ways as he has Flair down and once again, the work of both men make these so called �little things� mean so much more. Flair escapes, but Steamboat takes him down once again with a beautiful deep armdrag and into the armbar. He hooks on a hammerlock, but Flair takes Steamboat down with a drop toe hold and rides him on the mat. Steamboat counters, regaining the hammerlock�and then shoots the half and turns Flair over for a pinfall�still holding onto the hammerlock! The referee counts to two, but Flair kicks out with his grapevined arm! That is wrestling at its peak�and I love it. Flair chops away at Steamboat to get him off of his arm and whips him to the ropes but Steamboat slides underneath Flair, trips him up and goes back to the armbar. Ross tells the audience that Steamboat is looking for the double arm chickenwing again and is working the arm to get it. Flair grabs Steamboat�s hair to go into the corner and get a rope break, but Flair nails Steamboat with a pair of forearms once they�re loose. He knocks Steamboat down with a third forearm and follows it up with a big chop. Steamboat retaliates but Flair answers back with some hard punches to the midsection and rabbit punches. Flair takes him into the corner, but Steamboat answers back with chops of his own, taking Flair across the ring to the other corner once again. Steamboat locks the armbar once again, transitioning it into a bridged hammerlock. Flair stands up with Steamboat, his arm still hammerlocked and places him on the top rope, looking for a break. He gets it, but looks to charge at Steamboat, only for the champion to telegraph it and leap over Flair, following it up with chops in the corner, a hiptoss and a dropkick that sends Flair to the outside. It did look like the dropkick didn�t connect well, however. Steamboat looks to go to the top, but the referee holds him back as Flair recovers on the outside. Flair gets back into the ring and nails Steamboat with some kicks to the abdomen, but Steamboat takes Flair over once again with a deep armdrag, back into the armbar. Flair escapes and quickly takes Steamboat over with a beautiful hiptoss of his own, causing the crowd to react for him. Flair misses with an elbow drop and Steamboat goes back to the arm once again. Flair takes Steamboat into the corner for a rope break again, but this time he nails Steamboat with a big shoulder thrust after the break. Flair then connects with a few chops and a straight punch as the announcers inform us that the judges so far have awarded the match to Steamboat on points. Flair continues to assault Steamboat�s chest with hard chops, but it once again turns into a war of blows as Steamboat fights back, taking Flair across the ring until Flair tosses him to the outside. Steamboat pops right back into the ring and takes Flair into the corner where he mounts him and connects with 10 overhead chops, complete with a crowd assisted 10 count. Steamboat whips Flair to the far corner, but Flair flips and ends up in the Tree of Woe. Steamboat takes the opportunity to nail him with a punch to the midsection. Flair gets loose and uses Steamboat�s momentum against him as he sidesteps Steamboat and the Dragon goes over the top rope to the outside. Back then, in the NWA, tossing someone over the top rope deliberately was cause for a disqualification but referee Tommy Young made the call and stated that Flair didn�t do it on purpose, Steamboat�s momentum caused the big tumble. Flair gets on the apron and stomps Steamboat on the head as he tries to get back into the ring. Flair goes onto the floor and gives Steamboat a THUNDEROUS chop that takes the champion over the steel railing and into the front row! Flair chops Steamboat again and bends him over the steel railing to deliver an elbow to the throat. Flair goes back into the ring to break the count out and goes back outside, but Steamboat is waiting for him and another war of blows begins on the outside! Steamboat knocks Flair down on the outside, causing Flair to get up and run around the ring with Steamboat on his tail. Flair goes back into the ring, but Steamboat climbs the ropes (not the turnbuckles) and jumps on Flair, connecting with an overhead chop! Steamboat whips Flair into the far corner and Flair flips over it once again, but just like in Clash 6, Steamboat nails Flair with a double chop as Flair runs to the other turnbuckle on the apron! The crowd has come alive as the pace has quickened tremendously, but Steamboat goes back into the armbar in the middle of the ring. Steamboat goes off the ropes, looking for a cross body across the ring, but Flair ducks and Steamboat falls to the outside once again! Steamboat gets back on the apron, but Flair is waiting for him and he nails him with an elbow to the head before pulling Steamboat back into the ring the hard way. Flair nails the knee drop on Steamboat and follows it up with a BIG chop that takes the champion to the mat. Steamboat bumps off of some more chops (I LOVE IT) and Flair takes the time out to insult someone at ringside, like a great heel. Steamboat begins to retaliate but Flair has more stamina at this point and takes him down with rabbit punches. Flair takes Steamboat down with a back suplex and goes for the cover with a 3/4 nelson grip and Steamboat BARELY kicks out at the count of 3! Flair continues to work for the pinfall, but Steamboat will not falter. Flair connects with another knee drop to the head as the crowd is getting antsy watching Flair beat down on the champion. Flair takes Steamboat over with a double arm suplex and gets a close two count once again. Flair comes down on Steamboat with a HARD elbow drop and gets a two count out of it, which displeases him. Flair chops away at Steamboat again, but Steamboat leaps onto Flair�only to get caught and dumped on the top rope throat first! He goes for the cover, but Steamboat�s arm is underneath the bottom rope, so the ref won�t count it. Flair chokes Steamboat with his knee as he argues with the ref, but Steamboat gets up and connects with a big chop as the judges are done with their second evaluation after the 30 minute mark. Flair takes Steamboat to the floor and suplexes him on the outside! Funk and O�Connor believe that Flair is up on points now, but Thesz has voted for Steamboat. With the unanimous vote for Steamboat in the first 15 minutes of the contest, Steamboat is up on points 4 to 2. Flair puts Steamboat on the apron and looks to suplex him back in but Steamboat flips over and rolls Flair over for a ONE�TWO�NO! Steamboat goes after Flair with some chops now as the pace has quickened again, but Flair ducks a chop and leaps onto Steamboat, taking both men over the top rope to the outside! Flair tosses Steamboat in and goes to the top rope, but naturally, gets tossed off. Now Steamboat has the momentum and the crowd is roaring as the champion nails Flair in the corner with double chops and overhead chops again! Steamboat is FIRED UP~!, but Flair gives him a cheap shot and looks for a back suplex. Ricky flips over him and rolls him up with a school boy for ONE�TWO�NO! Steamboat sets Flair up on the top rope and gives him a big chop! Steamboat connects with a superplex and once again, Flair sells it like DEATH! Steamboat realizes Flair�s back is wounded and picks him up with the double arm chickenwing to the roar of the crowd! Flair gets his feet tangled in the ropes ASAP and is able to get a rope break before Steamboat is able to get the move in! Steamboat goes to the top rope and comes off with a big overhead chop once again and the champion is in control! Steamboat goes back to the top rope, but Flair dives onto the middle rope, causing Steamboat to lose his balance, fall to the outside�and injure his knee. Steamboat is limping as he gets up and Flair moves in on that knee as only Flair can. Flair suplexes Steamboat back into the ring and begins yanking on his bad leg before putting on the Figure Four! The fans begin to stir as Steamboat looks to be in the worst possible predicament of his career! Flair puts as much pressure as possible on it, but Steamboat won�t quit. Steamboat lays his shoulders on the mat a few times and Flair gets a few two counts out of the hold. Steamboat is able to get to the ropes and break the hold, but can barely stand and uses the ropes to drag himself into the corner. Flair continues the assault on the leg, nailing Steamboat with a chop to keep the advantage. Steamboat tries to fight back as Flair beats on his leg�but Steamboat lands a desperation enziguiri! Steamboat can barely stand! He picks Flair up for a body slam but Flair rolls Steamboat up with his bad leg and falls over for the pinfall�ONE�TWO�THREE! Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair The fans pop as the referee declares Ric Flair the winner of the match and the NWA World Title is awarded to him for a sixth time! Ricky Steamboat gets up on his feet and is the first man to congratulate Ric Flair with a hand shake and a hug before raising Flair�s hand in victory. Jim Ross goes into the ring and grabs the microphone, declaring this to be one of the greatest matches of all time. Ric Flair gives Ricky Steamboat his props immediately, calling Steamboat �the greatest champion I�ve ever faced.� Terry Funk goes into the ring, interrupting Flair and tells him that he wants to congratulate him on winning the World Title again. Funk then tells Flair that if it had gone to the time limit draw, he would have wanted to vote for Flair because he feels he�s the best wrestler alive today. Flair thanks him and Ross tries to continue the interview, but Funk won�t leave and interrupts again. Funk then says that he�d like to be the first guy to face Ric Flair for his new World Title. Flair tells Funk that while he�s honored, Funk has been in �Hollywood, rubbing shoulders with Sylvester Stallone� while he�s been wrestling and since the NWA Champion is required to defend the title against one of the �Top 10� contenders, Funk isn�t going to get a shot. Funk politely asks Flair if he�s trying to tell him that he�s not a �contender�, worthy of a title shot. Flair tells him that he�s not in the Top 10, so Funk takes that as Flair telling him that he�s not good enough. Flair tries to conclude the interview by thanking all of the fans that supported him, but Funk won�t let him leave. He tells him that he was only kidding about the title shot anyway and offers him a handshake. Flair shakes Funk�s hand�but Funk WALLOPS him with a left hand! Funk tosses him to the outside and starts kicking Flair in the head! He tosses him over the steel railing and rains lefts onto Flair! Funk is ENRAGED at Flair and pulls him towards the ring again and slams him face first into a table. Funk gets on the table and piledrives Flair on it (which was UNHEARD of at the time)�and the table does NOT GIVE! Flair falls to the floor holding his head before Funk connects with a VILE chairshot to the head! Funk starts arguing with some fans at ringside before going over to Jim Ross and almost crying about not �being a contender� and debuts his favorite Flair insult over the years. �Look at the horse-toothed, banana-nosed jerk!� as the AWESOME segment comes to a close. Terry Funk - Hardcore long before ECW. My Opinion: Wow. I�m just spent here. First off, the match is a classic, no doubt about it. This was the final chapter in the storied Flair/Steamboat series and it was as good of a contest as you will ever see. Some people believe that this match is the Greatest of All Time, with it�s excellent psychology, quick pace and crisp maneuvers. The judges added more depth to the match as I�m sure some were expecting it to come down to a time limit draw and not have the unexpected clean finish that it did. It also gave a reason for Terry Funk to be at ringside, but I�ll speak about that in a second. Aside from everything that�s good in the match, which would be redundant after my glowing review of the Clash 6 match, let me address the problems that I felt were in this match. Steamboat worked on Flair�s arm for a good 20 minutes in the contest and it seemed as if Flair no sold all of the work done to it in the later portions of the match. Also, the dropkick that Steamboat delivered to Flair whiffed a bit and Flair went over anyway. I can�t help but notice those things. With that being said, this is still an EXCLELLENT match, although I wouldn�t call it better than the Clash 6 match or go as far as say that it�s the Greatest Ever. ****3/4. The post-match angle with Terry Funk is AWESOME and seamlessly transitions Flair from a program with Steamboat into a program with Funk. Personally, the first time I witnessed this on video, I was amazed as I had only known Funk as the deteriorating legend that wouldn�t retire and never knew just how much of a badass he was. The piledriver on the table (IN 1989) was CRAZY, especially given the fact that Flair had just wrestled a close to 40 minute contest and the fact that the table didn�t give whatsoever. This is one of those angles that just stays with you after you watch it as you�re ALREADY exhausted from watching the Flair/Steamboat encounter, only to have a major event take place seconds later. This is a ***** angle if I�ve ever seen one. Overall Chapter: This chapter alone is worth the price of the entire set. The Flair/Steamboat matches in excellent video quality and sound are treasures that you should hold dear in your wrestling collection. The extras are really just bonuses here as the matches more than make up for what appears to be a quick build to them. The only true gripe that I have with this chapter is the fact that it�s missing their first encounter at the Chi-Town Rumble where Steamboat won the NWA Title from Flair to begin with. It is because of that that I�d say that this chapter gets ****1/2. Terry Funk: Hardcore (Main Feature) � Funk�s main feature was pretty short as Flair simply talks about how tough Terry Funk is and how he could wrestle any style. Press Conference � June 22, 1989 Jim Herd introduces Ric Flair, who is making an announcement on his future after being viciously attacked by Terry Funk on the night he won the NWA Heavyweight Title. Flair, sporting a shorter hair cut, announces that he will not be retiring from pro wrestling due to his neck injury. He then states that he asked Jim Herd and WCW (a division of the NWA at this point) to book a match between himself and Terry Funk on July 23rd. He also states that he will not wrestle until the 23rd of July, with the permission of WCW, so his title will not be stripped from him. He makes sure to point out that he wants this to be a Title match between himself and Funk on July 23rd. At this point, the extras skip all the way to September. Funk and Flair wrestled at NWA/WCW The Great American Bash �89 and Flair was able to retain his title. Unfortunately, that match is not included on this disc as well, but the feud did continue from there. Bagged � Clash of the Champions VIII � September 12, 1989 Ric Flair and Sting were in a tag team match against �Dirty� Dick Slater and the Great Muta when all of a sudden, Terry Funk comes into the ring. Sting had already been blinded by Muta�s mist and Flair was at the mercy of both men by the time Funk came in. Funk comes in and takes a plastic bag and wraps it around Flair�s head, tying it at the neck�trying to suffocate the World Champion! Flair falls to the floor as Sting fights back against Slater and Muta finally, but Terry Funk�s manager, Gary Hart, tosses Funk�s famous branding iron into the ring. Slater grabs it and while Muta holds Sting�s leg, they smash it across Sting� shin bone, bending the steel branding iron. Flair still has the bag around his head at ringside, but is able to get it off of himself as Sting crawls over to help him out. This angle was never shown on national TV again because of it�s graphic nature and many fans complained to TBS about it. Funk using an everyday household item to seriously injure Flair really soured a lot of fans, but it paved the way for the hardcore style that Funk influenced, which is why ECW always treated Terry Funk as a legend. �I�ll Shake His Hand� � Jim Ross is with Terry Funk, hyping up their scheduled match at Clash of the Champions IX on November 15th. The main event for that contest will be a non-title match between Terry Funk and Ric Flair�with �I Quit� rules, emanating from Troy, NY. Funk states that the NWA is not big enough for himself and Ric Flair, which is why he asked for the I Quit match. Funk wants to make sure that this is the final confrontation between himself and Flair. He states that if Flair defeats him in the I Quit match, he will walk over to him, shake his hand and call Ric Flair the better man. However, should Funk defeat Flair, then Flair must do the same�call him the better man and shake his hand. Flair�s Rebuttal � Jim Ross is now with Ric Flair, looking for a response to Terry Funk�s desire for an extra stipulation in the I Quit Match. �The last time I shook his hand, I spent seven days in the hospital and two and a half months out of this sport!� Flair lets him know that it�s I Quit rules�no title on the line, just integrity, pride and manhood. Flair gets all riled up about it and tells Funk that he will defeat him in Troy, NY. He actually says Troy, NY about 5 times in 30 seconds and actually says �bright lights, big city, pretty women� in reference to it. Take it from me. I went to school in Troy for 3 years�none of that exists there and if there are pretty women somewhere in that city, I�d say about 95% of them are imported. �You�re Gonna Say �I Quit�� � A few days prior to the Clash of Champions event, Jim Ross is once again with Ric Flair, hyping up the match between himself and Terry Funk. Jim Ross tells him that he�s got big matches in several cities (including Funk�s hometown of Amarillo, Texas) leading up to the Clash match and wants to know if he�ll be in shape for Funk at the Clash. Flair says that he has to be as he�s wearing the �flagship belt in all of professional wrestling�. Flair is just in the mood to put everything and everyone over in this promo, putting over TBS, putting over the NWA Title, Terry Funk and Troy, NY once again. He says that everyone thinks he�s crazy for taking this match with Flair, but if he turned it down, he�d be a coward. �We�re the National Wrestling Alliance and we base ourselves on being the best!� New York Knock-0ut Promos � This is a quick clip of comments by Funk and Flair regarding their match to take place later on tonight. Funk lets Flair know that he doesn�t want his World Title�he wants his pride. Flair says that tonight isn�t about women or cars or titles, it�s about pride, integrity and guts�two things both of them have held in the highest regard throughout their careers. Pre Match Interviews: Terry Funk � Jim Ross is in the arena in Troy, NY joined by Terry Funk and his manager Gary Hart. Funk says that he and Flair don�t have much in common, but they both love the sport of professional wrestling and because of that, he doesn�t expect to say I Quit tonight. Gary Hart gives Terry Funk a pep talk, reminding him that he has a legacy to live up to. Terry and his brother Dory Funk, Jr. are the only two brothers in history to hold the NWA Title, so he can�t embarrass the great state of Texas tonight. Funk tells him that he won�t let anyone down�but he doesn�t want his help at all tonight. Ric Flair � Flair�s pre-match interview is pre-taped. He continues to put over Troy, NY as he brags about the National Wrestling Alliance being the premiere wrestling organization in the world. He then reiterates to Terry Funk that tonight, someone will say I Quit in front of millions watching. He calls it humiliating and disgraceful, really driving home the stakes here. Clash of the Champions IX Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (w/Gary Hart) in an �I Quit� Match Match Background: After defeating Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar, Terry Funk was the first to congratulate him on his victory and offered a challenge. As per the rules of the NWA, Flair had to defend against the top 10 and turned Funk�s challenge away, which he took as saying that he wasn�t good enough for the World Champ to face. So, he walloped Flair with a right hand, giving him a beating just minutes after Flair endured a grueling athletic contest with Steamboat. It ended when Funk gave Flair a piledriver on a wooden table which had no give, giving Flair a bad neck injury which took him out of wrestling for several months. Flair made his return against Terry Funk at The Great American Bash �89, giving Funk a shot at the World Title at Flair�s request. Flair defeated Funk, but the rivalry continued with Funk constantly being a thorn in the World Champion�s side. Finally, Terry Funk decided that this rivalry should end the way it started�with a hand shake. He challenged Flair to an I Quit match, non-title, with the added stipulation being that the loser of the match must shake the hand of the winner and declare him the better man. The Match: This match took place at the Houston Field House, in Troy, NY. The stadium of my former alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a school that I attended for about 3 years. Before the match officially begins, Terry Funk (who is IN SHAPE here) grabs the microphone and tells Flair to quit now or have to endure Funk�s wrath and give up anyway. Of course, Flair doesn�t or else this match wouldn�t have been included on the DVD. They lock up in the corner as the announcers for this one are Jim Ross and Gordon Solie. Funk goes for a chop against the ropes but Flair ducks and nails him with one of his own, sending Funk to the outside and causing the Texan to rile himself up into a frenzy. Funk comes back in, only to EAT three hard ass chops in the corner before getting whipped back and forth across the ring and taking one last chop, causing Funk to bail to the outside again. Flair quickly follows and you can hear the flesh SMACKING as Flair attacks Funk with hard punches to the midsection, followed by LOUD ass chops. Funk escapes from Flair and takes the time to recover before coming back into the ring. Funk knocks Flair down with a shoulder tackle, but that doesn�t stop the World Champ who lunges at him with a blatant choke in front of the ref. Funk thumbs Flair in the eye and finally goes on the assault with hard left hands to Flair�s head, followed by stomps on the apron. He nails Flair with a big left on the apron and Flair bumps on the apron, which just isn�t seen today. Funk is in complete control now, nailing Flair with punches and headbutts. He takes Flair back into the ring and nails him in the back of the head, only for Flair to come back with a THUNDEROUS chop. Funk stands there�and TAKES IT LIKE A MAN before coming back with a hard left hand! He nails Flair in the head with an elbow and tosses him to the outside. Funk tosses Flair into the steel guard rail, raining left hands down on the World Champion�s skull. Funk finally goes for the microphone to ask Flair if he submits, but Flair retaliates with a big chops. This sends Funk back into the ring and the crowd is solidly behind Flair. Flair nails Funk with a chop, but Funk answers back with a left hand that puts Flair on the mat. Funk mounts Flair in the corner as he asks for the microphone, raining down punches as he waits for it. He puts the mic in Flair�s face and asks him for a submission, but the match continues. He continues to beat on Flair�s head with rights in the corner, but Flair will not give up. Flair hits Funk with an atomic drop to escape and follows it up with a big chop. He whips Funk to the ropes, but gets caught in a swinging neckbreaker, allowing Funk to take the advantage again. Funk gets up and shows us that the HATRED IS THERE by slapping Flair repeatedly in the face, almost to mock the World Champion. Flair gets up and SNATCHES Funk by the THROAT before connecting with three big ass chops, sending Funk to the outside once again. Flair gives chase again and nails Funk with a big chop on the outside before ramming him into the steel guard rail. Flair once again connects with a brutal chop to Funk�s chest and the acoustics of this place make these chops sound SO PAINFUL! Funk goes around the ring to get away from Flair but he�s pulled back to the outside, only to take another HARSH chop to the chest! The chop onslaught won�t stop as Flair is CAVING Funk�s chest in with them and Funk�s chest is now a deep, deep red with some purple. Back in the ring, Flair is now confident and the crowd reacts to him. He grabs the microphone and wants Funk to quit as he chokes Funk with his other hand. Gary Hart distracts Flair, causing him to get off of Funk and stand on the apron an Funk takes advantage with a HARD blow to Flair�s neck. Funk pulls him back into the ring and hits another neckbreaker, working on the injured neck of Flair. With Flair on his knees, Funk tells Flair to remember his time in the hospital with a broken neck�and asks him to quit now before he has to put him back there. Funk places Flair between his legs for a piledriver and asks the Flair to quit now before he drops it. Flair denies the submission and Funk drops him on his head. Funk follows it up with a big legdrop as he yells �SAY YES!� Funk begins to drive Flair�s head into the canvas before tossing him to the outside. Funk piledrives Flair on the outside but he still won�t quit! Flair is in BIG, BIG Trouble as Funk grabs the microphone and beats him with it as he asks him to quit. Funk tosses Flair back into the ring and begins clubbing blows to the neck. Funk once again tosses Flair to the outside, slamming Flair on the announce table. Funk goes to ringside and props a table up on the apron. When Funk goes back towards Flair, Flair finally fights back with hard blows to the midsection and BIG chops! Flair then drives Funk�s head into the table before propping the table up himself by the guardrail. Funk walks away from the situation�only for Flair to DIVE onto Funk�s back and continue the assault on Funk�s chest! He then tosses Funk onto the table�but Funk slides down and collides with a chair at ringside! Gary Hart tries to intervene, but gets an elbow to the top of the head by Flair�which he doesn�t really sell. Flair HAMMERS Funk�s chest with a big chop and crotches him onto the steel guardrail. He WALLOPS Funk with another chop and I CAN�T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I�d quit if I was Funk! They go back into the ring and Flair drops the knee to a pop! Funk immediately bails out, only to come back in and get planted with a hard ass atomic drop. Flair then looks to work on the knee and the crowd COMES ALIVE! He puts his weight on the leg and Funk can barely stand now! Flair picks Funk up by the hair and begins dissecting the man�s body, alternating between kicks to the knee and vicious chops! Flair hits Funk with the LOUDEST CHOP OF ALL TIME (!!!) but Funk won�t go down!! Flair stomps on the knee and that takes Funk down! Funk looks to escape, limping on one leg but Flair gives chase and tackles him on the floor! Flair connects with a shin breaker on the floor and brings Funk back in with a suplex from the apron. Flair looks for the Figure Four, but Funk knows that would be the end and nails him with a left hand. Funk looks to suplex Flair on the apron now, but Flair reverses it and Funk lands on the apron alongside him! Flair begins to work on the leg again and just KILLS Funk with VICIOUS chops to the chest!! He nails Funk in the leg one more time and the Texan goes down! Flair applies the Figure Four to a huge pop! The referee puts the microphone in Funk�s face�wanting to know if he quits! Funk screams �NEVER!!!� as Flair applies more and more pressure! Funk begins SCREAMING as he says that he can feel his leg breaking! �AHHH�AHHH�YES, I QUIT!� The crowd pops as Flair is declared the winner and Gary Hart jumps in the ring, extremely upset at Funk. Funk, using the ropes to hold him up, still selling the leg, grabs the microphone. He pushes Gary Hart aside and tells Flair �You�re a hell of man Ric Flair�you�re better than me.� He shakes Flair�s hand and in doing so, the feud is decisively over. Winner: Ric Flair My Opinion: If you can watch this match without CRINGING or clutching at your chest by the time its over, then you�re a better person than I. This match was absolutely brutal with Flair beating Funk�s chest to a pulp, wearing him down physically before looking for the Figure Four. Funk was excellent at mind games in this match, beating Flair to a certain point before asking Flair if he wants to really risk serious injury. I still can�t believe how brutal the shots were in this match. I never watched much of Funk and never understood why he was considered to be a hardcore legend like Foley�but DAMN. He took some of the hardest chops EVER for twenty minutes and kept on going. His selling was excellent and the finish really put over Flair strong�but in doing so, he did as well. At first glance, I had this match pegged at a perfect five stars. However, after speaking with someone about this, I realized one thing. This was an �I Quit� match without any blood. While it certainly isn�t necessary, these two men have been known for their bloody battles and this just seems like it could have been topped slightly if Flair had tapped an artery. It would have added to the drama and suspense and the finishing sequence would have been even hotter. It is only because of that that I�ve decided to drop this match down to about ****3/4, which is still better than every I Quit match that isn�t this one. Overall Chapter: With the seemless transition from Steamboat to Funk in 1989, this DVD captures that very well. The �I Quit� match is absolutely excellent and doesn�t drag down the rest of the disc whatsoever. However, there is a glaring omission once again as their The Great American Bash match from July of �89 isn�t shown. For someone who has never seen those matches, it would have made this a more pleasurable experience. With that aside, it gave me a better appreciation for Terry Funk and this definitely gets a thumbs up from me. ****1/2 The following �chapters� are simply relevant WWE featurettes taken from their Confidential program and put on the Flair DVD. We start out with the moment that almost ended Ric Flair�s career before it ever truly began. The Plane Crash (Featurette) � On October 4th, 1975, the winds were absolutely still and provided seemingly perfect airplane weather. Flair recalls wanting to take the flight because he had been working long shows for consecutive days including two shows that Saturday. A fan, Shawn Hudson, talks about being at ringside every month for Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling starting in 1975. The card on that fateful night was supposed to have been Tim Woods (Mr. Wrestling) vs. Johnny Valiant and a new kid by the name of Ric Flair vs. Wahoo McDaniels. David Crockett talks about the seating arrangement on the doomed plane. The small 6 seater had himself, Flair, Tim Woods, Bob Brothers, Johnny Valentine in the co-pilot seat and the pilot. Nothing seemed wrong with the flight, according to Flair, but he did notice that the gas tanks were low and joked with Valentine about it. The right engine stopped and that�s when a few of the passengers began to worry. Flair doesn�t remember anyone really speaking as the plane was coming down, which he claims is just him repressing his memory, but he�s sure they were all mortified and terrified. David Crockett was thinking about his son as the plane went down and regulated his breathing by using Lamazz breathing techniques. Flair absolutely cannot remember the impact, so he can�t describe it, but according to the facts, the speedometer read 225mph. However, the trees were breaking the fall somewhat, meaning that they were actually headed at about closer to 300mph when the plane nosed down. Shawn Hudson remembers the ring announcer coming to the ring that night and making an announcement about the plane crash and everyone in the arena was stunned silent. The plane that almost ended Flair's career. No one remembers the actual impact, but Flair�s first memory of the aftermath is being carried away with the others on a stretcher. The headline in the papers read �Promoter, 3 Wrestlers injured in Plane Crash�. David Crockett left with a dislocated shoulder, a broken ankle and facial lacerations. Everyone else suffered injuries to the back. Flair reminds us of the injury that always causes Jim Ross to speak about the plane crash, his back. Flair broke his back in three places. Bob Brothers and Johnny Valentine also suffered similar injuries. The pilot went into a coma and never recovered, passing away about a year later. Tim Woods had some injuries, but was well enough to leave the hospital the following day. Flair, with a regretful, tearful look in his eye states that he wishes it had humbled him, but it didn�t at the time. While he feels thankful now for being a survivor, he was so eager to get back into the ring and perform that he didn�t allow himself to be consumed with it. From there, he became the cocky Nature Boy that we�ll all come to know over the years, purchasing his first Cadillac with his insurance settlement. David Crockett talks about being absolutely scared to death when he was on a plane again after that. Flair states that he thinks about the plane crash anytime he travels overseas and when there is a lot of turbulence. Other than that, he doesn�t think about it. The boys in the back joke around with him a lot, saying that they feel safe with Flair on a place because it can�t possibly happen twice. Sidebar: A couple of months ago, WWE went on an overseas trip to the West. On a flight to North Korea, the plane experienced a lot of turbulence and Ric Flair�s repressed memories came back to the surface. He reportedly seriously freaked out, thinking he would perish in a plane crash after all. Thankfully, they all landed safely, but Flair�s fears almost becoming a reality for him must have been an awfully traumatic experience. History of the Horsemen (Featurette) � Arn Anderson begins this segment by giving us the line up of the original Four Horsemen. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon as their collective manager. Arn says that people like to call them the best, simply because they were the first. Arn equates it to great movies and their sequels, which don�t tend to be as successful. (Video games are an exception. They seem to get better with every sequel.) We get thoughts from Tully Blanchard, who looks pretty different today with grey hair and a grey goatee. Tully claims the idea of the Horsemen worked because it wasn�t created by a booker or a writer. The fans picked up on Arn Anderson calling themselves �The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse� during an interview and it started from there. According to Blanchard, all of them were already established, so putting a stable like that together in wrestling was something that hadn�t been done at the time. Clips of the Horsemen striking are shown as Arn breaks down the roles in the group. Flair was the centerpiece, the World Champion. Tully Blanchard was the �ring technician� according to Arn. Ole was the hard nosed bad ass of the group who mentored him and taught him all about tag team wrestling. Arn talks about being the rookie (or the Randy Orton of the group), learning the ropes with these established men. JJ Dillon was the brains of the group, the organizer. The point of the Horsemen was a commitment to excellence. Arn states that when you�re the best in the company and you have all the gold, its hard to be humble. Tully breaks it down in terms of wrestling business: They were irritating because they were so good and so unstoppable�and if you were irritated enough, you�d buy a ticket to see them get their ass beat. The Horsemen had their share of fans because it was either love them or hate them. There was no in between. When Tully and Arn left the NWA to head to the WWF (becoming Bobby Heenan�s team of the Brain Busters), they were replaced in the Horsemen. They had Sting as a horsemen, Lex Luger, Barry Windham, Brian Pillman, etc. Arn Anderson even admits that some of the choices weren�t exactly great, like Paul Roma. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko were Horsemen along with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson at one point�but before that, we had to deal with Steve �Mongo� McMichael as a member of the group. Tully recalls his last night in the NWA before leaving to the WWF, telling JJ Dillon that it was the end of an era when the original Horsemen broke up. The Original Four Horsemen. My Two Cents: I know this was taken from Confidential, but I really would have appreciated it if they had made this segment a lot longer. For a group that lasted over a decade, they only spent 10 minutes on them and only briefly talked about any of the other combinations of the Horsemen besides the original. They have Benoit and Malenko on their roster, they could have spoken about this as well. Also, they left out all of the major angles the Horsemen were in, focusing only on the members and not their actions. I really expected more out of this segment so I�ve got to say that I�m disappointed with it. A Day In The Life of the Horsemen (Featurette) � Arn once again starts it off by talking about how they were drawing a lot of money to the company and purchased fancy cars all at once. They�d get in their cars, drive up to a private jet and fly to a big city for a show. They get out into limo�s, drive to the arena, �kick some major league ass� and then go out for a night on the town. Flair and Tully talk about living the life of a champion all the time, not just in front of the people during the shows. They always tried to be as �GQ� as possible because they earned it. Flair would brandish his rolex, so Tully would have to go out and get a better watch and there was constant upstaging going on. At this point, Tully jokes about his infamous reputation for being an asshole. When you think you�re a star, you expect to be treated like one�which was the reason for the attitude. According to Tully, the Horsemen preached a way to live with their lavish lifestyle. Arn states that they�d take that private jet and park it in Las Vegas, partying the night away before hitting several towns on the West Coast and coming right back for some more partying. If he wasn�t 25, it would have killed him, says Arn. Tully states the Horsemen were able to get away with talking the talk that they did�because they actually did all of those things. Overall: I don�t know what you�re thinking if you�re a wrestling fan that hasn�t purchased this DVD set yet. Some of the greatest matches of ALL TIME are included on the second disc alone with more to come! You will not be able to find the Steamboat/Flair matches in better quality anywhere else. The �I Quit� match is excellent as well and I�m ecstatic that this was all put on DVD. The Confidential segments, while not necessary to the story being told on this set, are good bonus features. There is no way that I wouldn�t recommend this DVD to any wrestling fan out there. However, if you are a completist, you�ll be slightly disappointed in the fact that Chi-Town Rumble and The Great American Bash �89 aren�t included here. Even so, this is probably the best WRESTLING DVD that you�ll find in a long time. Stay tuned to TSM and I will be back with Disc 3 (soon, I promise) which covers Flair�s first WWF stint and the 1992 Royal Rumble as well as a chapter on Flair�s most popular opponent, Sting. �Til next time, The Dames, Damian Gonzalez Please send ALL feedback to [email protected]. IMPORTANT: If you�re an AOL user, send your feedback to [email protected]. Because of the big virus going around, AOL is treating TSM e-mails as hostile and won�t allow it to come through. With this e-mail addy, I�ll be able to respond to you quickly. My apologies for those of you I haven�t been able to contact in recent weeks. Print this article - Email this article

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