Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Yes I'm back to top woooh ten woooh format wooooh okay enough of that, if your wondering whose causing all this it's Ric Flair, they limosine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, wheeling dealing, NWA world heavyweight champion woooh! Space Mountain himself Ric Flair. So you can learn to love it, learn to live with it, because diamonds are forever and so is Ric Flair. Judging by this weeks RAW that statement remains truer than ever.

Alla Shawn Michaels a top five simply would not suffice for the Nature Boy and I had to extend to the top ten, my top ten, not the top ten best in ring matches, but my favorite matches, for a wide range of reason from influence, importance...oh you know the deal by now. Onto the very honourable mentions.

Honourable Mentions: Flair-Luger Starrcade (Proof that Ric Flair could carry anybody), Flair-Kerry Von Erich (Steel Cage Match), Flair-Gibson (steel Cage Match), Flair, Orton & Batista vs. The Rock and Mick Foley (Wrestlemania a hell of a lot of fun), Flair-Vader (Starrcade), All of the War Games matches that Flair was involved in (I'll do a seperate countdown), Flair-Triple (Taboo Tuesday & Flair Tribute Raw), Flair-Anderson, Flair vs. Big Show (extreme Rules), Flair-Foley (I Quit), Flair-Edge (TLC), Flair-Savage (Wrestlemania), Flair-Undertaker (Wrestlemania, Flair-Austin (no punching match) and many many more.


10. Ric Flair vs. Sting
(NWA World Heavyweight Title - Clash Of The Champions 27/03/88)

It was a really tough call over which match should take tenth place, I had it down to two matches Flair-Sting or Flair-Luger, both matches had the same quality, Flair showing arse, working his arse off to put over these two muscle bound super heroes. Flair gave Luger arguably his best match and Luger made Sting a superstar in this match. Interestingly both match had similar flaws long rest holds early on as the muscle men paced themselves and some sloppy moments however I opted for the Sting match because of it's iconic stature and its famous finale. It's famously said that people forgot that Sting didn't win the match it was a draw but Flair did such a great job of making Sting appear to be the greatest thing since sliced bread that he literally be came the biggest star in the NWA right there and then. This match while not his best is the architypal Flair match, Flair took a guy who wasn't particularly great, wrestled him for 45 minutes and made him a star. Sting would never look this good again, and it would become patently obvious that Hulk Hogan was not Ric Flair and Sting was always a limmitted worker to be carried at Starrcade 1997. (****)


9. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich
(NWA World Heavyweight Title Two Out Of Three Falls Match - WCCW 1982)

This was a match that had it all, it started off as a back and forth technical wrestling conest but soon degenerated in a brutal intense and bloody brawl. This was a match of non stop drama, with hometown Hero Kerry Von Erich being willed by each and every member of his audience to finally win the NWA World Title. The first fall was brilliant, the two wrestled until a wild brawl broke out with Kerry accidently discus punching the referee. The intense back and forth brawl ensued with Kerry locking on a sleeper and Ric fading the bell rings as Flair's hand flops to the mat. The referees argue before Ric Flair is declare the winner to monster crowd heat. From then on it's no holds barred top gear match up with both men pulling out all the stops and Flair producing a gory blade job to top it off. The finish can be help against the match as the referee threw the match out when the brawl got to wild and the match had to be thrown out. The judges then declared the match a draw. However this finished didn't make you feel ripped off it left you begging for more and would make Kerry's eventual title win all the sweeter. (****1/4)


8. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
(NWA World Heavyweight Title Best Two Out of Three Falls Match - 1989)

This feel almost sacreligious to put this match this low down but I am. It's hard to criticise the match other than to say that it is inplace overly methodical and slowly paced but the psyschology, intensity and storytelling is just off the charts with so many great back and forth sequences. These guys managed to get seemingly never ending bursts of energy tearing it up seemingly at will having the crowd on the edge of their seats. This match when 54 minutes and total blows the HBK-Hart Iron man match out of the water and is right up their with the greatest hour long match ups. The best way to describe this match is grueling and stiff. They really created the feeling that you were watching the two best at watch they do and there was absolutely no way in hell that either man would give in to the other. This built perfectly to one of the most paradoxical finishes in wrestling history, it's brilliant because it plays into the story of the match and naturally leads into the rematches but it also leaves you thinking in real time what the fuck? That was it? The finish itself saw Ricky lock Ric in the double chicken wing but when he lifted Flair the leg that Flair had destroyed when Ricky refused to submit earlier in the match buckled and Ric fell ontop of Steamboat with the hold still applied, the referee counts three. The referee couldn't see Ric's foot under the rope, and the slow motion replay was inconclusive as Ricky's shoulder appeared to be up but it was very hard to tell. Whatever your feelings this was drama of the absolute highest order, an all time classic and one of those matches that every aspiring wrestler has to see. (****1/2)


7. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
(Career Threatening Match - Wrestlemania XVI)

I already spoke about this match in the Shawn Michaels list and this match is a great tribute to HBK's abilities to have such a great match with Ric Flair at his age but this was Flair's moment. It was the greatest send off in the history of the wrestling industry, we will never see a send off like this again, and no one deserved it more than Ric. Ric Flair is the greatest of all time and he deserved the greatest goodbye that wrestling could give him on the greatest stage of the all, with an all time classic match with tears in his eyes. The psychology of the match was spot on for the occasion with Shawn Michaels uttering "I'm Sorry, I love You" before ending Ric Flair's career. This was the moment that wrestling fans world wide got to say thank you and good bye and express their love to the greatest of all time. While Flair has had many great matches, many great moments this will always be remembered as THE moment, a sublime immortal half an hour, greatest ending for the greatest ever. (****3/4)


6. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk
(NWA World Heavyweight Title "I Quit" Match - Clash of The Champions IX)

Again I'm sure there will be people who if they read this would be ripping their hair out at the order of this list but here goes another sure fire top five match on most people's list sitting in the bottom half of my top ten but this is no insult to the match it's a tribute to the quality of Ric Flair's work. This is THE "I Quit" match everything that an I quit match should be, not like that abortion that Jeff and Matt put on. This was a wild, crazy, out of control brawl that was intesne as hell and sloppy as fuck but that's exactly how it needed to be. At the time this match was a senstation recieving five stars from Dave Meltzer but it hasn't aged quite so well it's still an astounding match and an absolute classic. Funk was superb threatening to break Flair's neck with repeated piledrivers unless Flair gave up. Flair refused to give in and in the end destroyed Funk's leg forcing him to submit to the Figure Four. It was that kind of nice irony that after an all out brawl it took some classic wrestling to force Terry to give in. In my opinion this remains the greatest "I quit" match of all time, a classic, a template, that Jeff, Matt and every young wrestler should watch before they attempt an "I quit" match. (****1/4)


5. Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham
(NWA World Heavyweight Title - World Wide Wrestling 1987)

This is possibly the greatest free TV non event match up of all time, there's some stiff competition HBK-HHH, HBK-Cena, Angle-Lesnar, Flair-Kerry and I'd have to give it some really thought but off the top of my head this is my absolute favorite. This was a thrity minute match that felt like it went five minutes. It was so totally engrossing, the pacing was tremdous, the action was superb, this was simply superb. It's amazing to think that matches of this kind of quality were being given away on free TV in the eighties, the scary thing is Flair used to do this each an every week. Barry Windham was on great form here himself and didn't need to be carried but Flair still sold like a trooper and made Windham look like a force of nature. Another one of Flair's classic time limmit draws with Windham hitting his finisher with five seconds to go and Ric kicking out at the very last moment at the peak of the drama. It's amazing that Flair is still able to walk wrestling matches this hard, this long, this good almost everyday of the week and then going out and partying all night. I guess Cocaine is a hell of a drug. (****1/2)


4. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk
(NWA World Heavyweight Title - The Great American Bash 1989)

Now some would call me crazy for putting this match ahead of the "I Quit" match and they'd in many respects be right, the I quit match was an incredible Iconic brawl and a simply brilliant match but this was a great match too and simply put one of my personal favorites. Flair and Funk had incredibly chemistry, there were none of Flair's great fast paced technical exchanges or classic wrestling sequences this was a wild brawl from the word go. Starting on the outside and went all over the place, with crazy bumps, intense brawling, pile drivers, branding irons and oh yes a healthy dose of blood. The post match brawl added to the drama with the Great Muta coming to Funk's aid and Sting making the save for Flair giving us the great visual image of the two long time rivals standing together. This match clocked at just over sixteen minutes but it was non stop action and a hell of alot of fun. The perfect prelude to the epic "I Quit" match, one of my favorite mathches to rewatch a match that started in top gear and never let up. (****1/4)


3. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
(NWA World Heavyweight Title - Wrestlewar 1989)

Another all time classic match up and the final chapter in the greatest three match series in American Wrestling history. This was a faster paced variant of the classic two out of three falls epic, with crisper action and brilliant action. Flair and Steamboat played into the action and finishes of the first two encounters and had some stunning moments most notably the double crossbody stop with both men bumping over the top rope. The finish of this match was sublime and was the reverse of the finish of their first encounter. Flair had again worked over Steamboat's leg destroying it throughly but Ricky again wouldn't quit however when Steamboat went for a body slam Steamboats leg buckle and he fell on top of Flair but this time Flair rolled through into an inside craddle for the win. One of the really nice touches featured in this match was the judges scorecard and the one hour time limit which had two effects. It made you assume the match was going an hour and therefore suprised you when the finish occured and it also made you think bloody hell there going fast.

This match also has the great post match encounter between Flair-Funk to kick off there feud and Ric's babyface turn, with all of this going for it this was not just one of the greatest matches of all time, it was then end of the great three match series and the start of another of the all time great feuds, seriously what more could you ask for. This was a match of great pacing, brilliant action and superb subtly an all time classic. (*****)


2. The Royal Rumble Match
(WWE World Title - Royal Rumble 1992)

Much like in the Chris Benoit top five the Royal Rumble provided us with one of those great moments where hardcore wrestling fans world wide said "fuck yeah". When Ric Flair came to the WWE he cut some great promos but we were denied the dream match with Hogan and instead saw Ric fueding with Roddy Piper, we wanted to see the Nature at the top being the sixty minute man and putting on great matches. Well our frustrations were ended at the Royal Rumble when Ric Flair entered in at number three and went over sixty minutes putting on a great performance taking signature spots from just about every wrestler in the rumble, selling moves from Skinner with as much vigour as he sold for Hogan. The rumble had some many great moments with Flair begging off from Piper when he had finally managed to clear the ring, Flair going all out against the British Bulldog and of course finally having his showdown with Hulk Hogan. This is the one and only time that the WWE Title was ever decided by the Royal Rumble match and this match featured all of the top stars in the WWE. Flair proved to himself and the world that he was the greatest not just in the NWA but on the grandest stage of them all in the WWE on PPV, I'd have loved his Mania match with Savage to have been the pinnacle but they had to play second fiddle Hogan. The first truly great Rumble the one that all the others aspire to equal. (****3/4)


1. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
(NWA World Heavyweight Title - Chi-Town Rumble 1989)

Now the astute reader may have noticed that I have the three Flair-Steamboat matches in what most would consider reverse order, most list Chi-Town rumble as the weakest the fast paced all action taster, then Wrestlewar second as the finale with a bit of everything and a nod to the two earlier matches but put the two out of three falls matches at the top as the iconic pitch perfect psychologic wrestling match. However this is my list and while I wouldn't argue to hard against anyone who expressed that view point this remains my favorite Flair match. I love the pacing of this match and the way Flair and Steamboat can suddenly kick up through the gears seemingly at will, I love the way they go from working a headlock one second to suddenly both men tumbling over the top rope with a crossbody. The match is full of awesome spots of this nature Steamboat chopping Flair over the top rope, Ric hitting the Flair Flip and the flying crossbody only for Flair to reverse as the crowd went bananas with Ric's last second kick out, then there was Steamboat finally hitting the flying crossbody but killing the referee in the process.

The thing that tips this match over the edge into greatest, and the one factor that puts it ahead of the other two in my list is the finish. It's the best of the three matches, Steamboat hits the flying cross body taking out Flair and the referee but no one is there to count the pin fall, Flair then gets the tights no referee, Flair tosses Steamboat over the top rope and goes to wake the referee up, but Ric doesn't see the Dragon hang on and climb to the top rope, the crowd come to their feet going mental and The Dragon flies with the flying crossbody but Ric cooly side steps and the Dragon crashes and burns sucking the life out of the crowd. Ric quickly goes to slap on the figure four but Ricky suprises Ric with the roll up counter for the 1-2-3. That finished played out perfectly, taking the crowd from highs to lows in split seconds and when Steamboat missed the crossbody you could tell the crowd thought it was all over and a formality, this was just a superbly worked finish.

Does this match have the psychology of the others? No. Does it take you on a long, grueling and intense ride? No. But what this match does is pack as much drama and top notch wrestling as possible into twenty minutes as possible without ever being in danger of turning into a meaningless spot fest. This was also when Ricky Steamboat won his first ever World Title with tears in his eyes, in a fantastic match, and its always great to see the great workers get there just deserts. This is a match that you can pop on anytime when you want a fun 18 minutes of TV and its that replay value that makes it my number one, anyway you may decide for yourself. (*****)

Part One: http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ric+flair+ricky+steamboat+chi-town+rumble/video/x241tv_ric-flair-vs-ricky-steamboat-chitow_sport?hmz=707265766e657874
Part Two: http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ric+flair+ricky+steamboat+chi-town+rumble/video/x24297_ric-flair-vs-ricky-steamboat-chitow_sport?hmz=707265766e657874

Okay I'm once again open for suggestions for a top fives, I'm not sure, I'm looking for one that doesn't cross over I'm think maybe Edge or Mick Foley