Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

It's Hayes, Graham, Dusty Rhodes, J.R and Pat Patterson. J.R. introduces us to the "greatest champion of all time" J.R. says that's his oppinion but others may disagree. We then go to a video package on Flair. It's brilliant mixing in some great Flair promos and talking about how Flair symbolized the greed and glitz of the 80s. They talk about Flair being more than just a showman and they talk about Flair's feuds with Harley, Dusty and of course Steamboat.

J.R. goes straight to Dusty, they call them the Celtics and Lakers of wrestling. Hayes out right says Flair is the greatest of all time. Dusty calls him the greatest champion of all time, Pat seems to disagree. Hayes said his work ethic, Graham said he lived the gimmick and Dusty said he had it all. Hayes says he'll never forgive Dusty and Flair for making Luger a star. Bwhahahhahaha, come to think of it I'll second that. Dusty says they needed big stars and then talks about a cereal from the 1950s. Graham talks about him making not just Luger but Sting. They talk about Flair making them millions of dollars and they had no reason to be there. They had no passion and no pride in wrestling but Flair made them stars.

Hayes calls Flair, Rhodes and Crockett being the biggest Political BS in the history of the business. Dusty tells some insane story that I can't follow in the slightest. Graham asks what the hell this has to do with Flair, and how Flair and Dusty had to constantly out do each other, wether its houses, mink coats or gambling. They talk about Flair blowing loads of money. Pat talks about living his character, it wasn't a character it wasn't a character Ric was the nature boy. Pat talks about Ric being perfect and driven in all of his work.

We then go to a classic Flair promo on Nikita Kolloff, Flair talks about enrolling Kolloff in a inhilation therapy because after twenty minutes Kolloff was like a girl in the hotel room after twenty minutes they screamed I can't take it anymore. Bwhahhahaha, awesome, Flair talks about Dusty being mates with Springsteen and Willie Nelson, but Flair going from Pent house to Pent house nailing girl after girl, and he says which girl belongs to each hoursemen. Flair then calls Dusty a turkey for being a Celtic's fan, he's going to take it to Kolloff just like the Lakers took it to the Celtics. Now that's an awesome promo you just can't cut promos like these days.

They talk about Flair's training and how he loved Dusty and wanted to be just like him and carried Rhodes and Murdoch's bag. They talk about that's how Ric gained respect and earned it. Dusty tells a story about how Dusty convinced Ric to be himself not a dusty imitator. Dusty then tells a story about how he tricked Ric into shaving his head. They then tricked Ric being covered in blood and wearing his trunks and Ric being forced to get the beers in Japan.

J.R. says Ric Flair was the only man who could have followed on from Nature Boy Buddy Rhodes and done the gimmick respectfully. They talk about if Flair had been at Wrestlemania I and how Hayes and Dusty thinks Flair would have got buried because he wasn't huge and Hogan would have politiced him to death. Billy Graham talks about the NWA being driven by smaller better wrestler.

J.R. then asks who in an NFL Draft would be the number One pick Hayes and Dusty take Flair and Billy Graham and Pat pick Hogan. Hayes says that Flair could do it anywhere with anyone no matter how big a pussy they were and made them a star. Where as Hogan relied on booking and couldn't have had the longevity, although Graham disagrees saying Hogan is amazing when he wants to be.

We then get a video clip example of this with Flair doing some ammatuer wrestling with a very young Barry Windham and selling and showing arse for this guy, who at the time was a nobody. Now Graham can fuck off Hogan would never do anything like this. Flair of course loses the wrestling warm up and sneak attacks Windham before being killed with a suprise flying closeline for the 1-2-3.

Hayes says that Dory or Funk had the most one hour draws of anyone. Graham talks about Flair giving you the most hour of your life, Dory was a great technician and ground it out. Graham said Flair would be the one he paid to see. Dusty said Race was his greatest rival they faced 2,000 times, Dusty said the most enjoyable run was with Flair. Dusty said he made the most money with Flair. Graham says the money was secondary to the money, the fun, the amazing wrestling and the women. Hayes says the territory day was living your dream and that dream was absolute freedom. Wow, it sounds absolutely amazing, doing what you want to do with no reprecussions. Hayes has ago a Dusty for stealing all his money.

Pat talks about Flair coming to WWE for the first time, in the Royal Rumble and winning the Rumble from number two. Flair was crying his eyes out backstage, he has unrivalled passion. It turns out the Royal Rumble was Pat Patterson creation, way to go Pat.

They then talk about Bill Watts, and Ric Flair's ridiculous drinking and clubbing. Dusty says "when he walked into a room if you didn't know who he was, you knew he was somebody". Dusty tells a story about sitting with Ric Flair and John Cena walks up an asks how to do certain things, and Flair starts crying like mad. Bwhahahahha, actually that really puts over how great Cena's worth ethic is. Dusty then calls Paterson and Stevens the greatest tag team of all time before joking about Paterson and Briscoe.

That ends the Flair portion of the debate, that was really really interesting, very incoherant these guys get side tracked so often but they told some great stories. The two things that really stand out is that Flair lived his gimmick, loved wrestling more than anyone, paid his dues and he cries like someone just shot his dog every five minutes. On a side note Pat Paterson created the Royal Rumble and John Cena really sounds like the ultimate company guy. Really great roundtable fun stories. (9/10)

Now onto Slaughter

We then go to a video package on Slaughter focusing on him switching him from heel to face, going from bloody brawler against Pat Paterson and then his legendary match ups with the Iron Shiek that ran opposite Hogan selling out MSG on their own backs. We go to Slaughter's hall of fame induction and he tells his story about his first WWE performance and the first ever entrance music in WWE. Sarge then tells his story about cutting a promo on Vince and getting the fans to hate him. He then talks about how Pat loved it and Vince Snr. took him aside called it the greatest thing I'd ever seen and gave him a contract right there on the spot.

Pat then talks about how they were best mates from AWA and how he brought him into the WWE and how he convince Vince to bring in Sarge. Pat calls his match with Sarge at MSG as the biggest match in his career. Pat talks about having an alley fight without a referee, and Pat said he legitimately beat the shit out of Slaughter. J.R. calls it one of the top 5 matches in WWE history, J.R. says you could put it on RAW today, he said if he was running a wrestling school that match would be top of the ciriculum.

Dusty talks about having that respect and that passion, he says all the great ones is that they still believe they could sell out any arena any day. Dusty said the only bad thing he has to say against Sarge was that he turned Dusty in for breaking the dress code. Pat says he really loves Slaughter not a just a friend a true friend. J.R. says you can talk about how you can count your true friends on one hand. This is a really great moment, J.R, Pat and Dusty say they'd be lucky if they could count five true friends on one hand in this business. WOW! It's really great to hear them talk so frankly about this stuff.

They then talk about Sarge's Iraq War heel turn and they go a clip of Sarge cutting a promo Iraq clip and being sent a pair of Middle Eastern boots from Saddam Hussain. They then talk about how sensative the Iraq war stuff was and how it hurt business.

Pat then talks about Sarge leaving WWE in 1984 and being overtaken by Hulk Hogan. Pat then talks about the goose bumps when he watched Hogan winning the world title. He said it was one of the most incredible expeirences of his life, its what they work for. J.R. then talks about how Sarge when he's working as an agent doesn't go to the big stars or the main eventers to claim he made someone. Sarge goes up to the greenest of the green and the no talent bums and coaches them and works with them so they can become great. They end by saying he's a true hall of famer and he threw a hell of a golf tournement.

Overall Thoughts: ARGH!!! The knob jockey who choped this DVD cut off the matches!!! Including the Flair-Luger match, what the fuck, what a knob. Anyway a really great roundtable, with some seriously fun stories, and some incredibly emotional insights into the wrestling business. The dog eat dog nature of the industry really comes out and the fact the veterans said that if you could count three good friends in the industry your a lucky man. Two of the all time greatest, lead to a great roundtable. I just wish I had to the great matches to review. I'll try and get hold of the matches if possible. (8.5/10)