Good news and bad news to start off folks, the bad news is that I didn't have time to finish off today's scheduled review, the good news is that all I had to do was finish off the Ric Flair Prime match I promised for this week. So without further ado, here's today's match! Not only is this obviously available on the WWE Network, but also on the Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection DVD.
RIC FLAIR © VS. STING (NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
Ric Flair enters accompanied by J.J. Dillion, and Sting is already in the ring as the match begins. Dillion is locked in a cage suspended in the air for this match. Sting gets a monster pop on his introduction, and Flair gets loud boos, but with a smattering of begrudging respect from the fans. This is Flair's 5th (recognised) World championship reign.
Jim Ross and Tony Schiovane working commentary tonight. Ross tells us this match has a special 45-minute time limit as opposed to the usual 60 due to television time. We have Jason Hervey from “The Wonder Years” judging this match. At this point, he's only approaching his 16th birthday and they're trusting him with the fate of the championship. I mean there are two other judges I didn't see properly and will try to identify throughout the review but still.
The bell rings and Ric rushes to the ropes, stopping himself and “woo”ing for the crowd. The camera pans out in just fantastic production as they lock up and Sting quickly shows his strength advantage backing Flair into the corner. Sting gets a clean break and “woo”'s too, much to the delight of the crowd. We see Patty Mullen, who all I can find after looking her up is she had one movie role at this point in 1987's Doom Asylum. Hopefully someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong. Or why the NWA brought her in for this. Back to the match before my head explodes, and Flair gets the best of the second collar-elbow tie up. Flair gets a wristlock and brings Sting down by his hair. Sting immediately kips up! Flair backs off and Sting tells Tommy Young about the hair pull. They lock up again and Sting grabs a side headlock. Flair reverses it to a top wristlock and “Woo”'s as Ross says Flair's at the apex of his career and Sting is quickly rising to superstardom. Sting rises to his feet (that was handy) then takes Flair down in the wristlock, again showing his power. Flair quickly grabs the rope and Sting breaks for another stalemate.
Flair circles around the ring a little bit, Sting turns on the spot, not taking his eyes off the champion, but not making any sudden movements. Sting challenges for a Grecco-Roman knuckle lock. Flair is hesitant as JR mentions that in a tale of the tape Sting wins everything that matters in that move. Flair doesn't back down though and instantly regrets it, as Sting controls him with one hand. Flair able to swing the momentum, sending Sting into a corner and that breaks it, Flair chops at Sting. Sting just shrugs it off and backs Flair across the ring with no-sell power!! He hip tosses Flair across the ring and hits a dropkick, sending Flair to the outside. Flair takes his time getting back in at 8, although NWA counts were pretty quick, so that helped the flow of the match. Flair wins the tie up as he gets back in the ring and gets a side headlock. Flair transitions into a hammerlock as Sting begins to break free, but Sting reverses it. Flair is really giving Sting a lot here, screaming for the little moves to make them seem that more effective. Flair tries to turn out of the hammerlock but Sting keeps control of the left shoulder. Flair tries to get Sting to the corner, but he can't move him so he uses his free arm to try and create some distance and is able to push Sting back a few times, but Sting keeps it locked in. Flair sees an opening though and uses his full body to push Sting against the ropes, breaking the hold.
The referee makes Sting break and Flair hits him with a forearm to the gut. Right hand by Flair and he quickly grabs another headlock. Sting pushes Flair off but gets knocked down with a shoulder tackle. Flair goes over and under twice before Sting hits a Gorilla slam. Flair gets to his feet in the corner but Sting takes him over with a flying headscissors (remember this is late 1980's) and follows up with an immediate hip toss. Sting takes Flair over in a headlock and Flair's shoulders are down for 2.
Flair shows his intelligence rolling straight over to save his championship at the 5-minute mark. JR predicts this match won't last the remaining 40 of its' time limit. However, the fact that 5 minutes has gone and the overall pace and intensity has been slow tells me differently. Flair makes his way to his feet and sends Sting across the ring, this time the champion's the one that's knocked down and Sting grabs the headlock again before Flair can get to his feet. Flair tries to use Sting's hair to release the hold but the referee catches him. The referee comes around to ask Flair if he can continue and Flair reaches up again, this time Sting tightens the hold. JR mentions Flair's chops have left a laceration on Sting's chest as Flair shoves Sting off again, only to get knocked down. Sting jumps over Flair and blocks a hip toss, hitting one of his own. Sting takes Flair down in a headlock again for another nearfall. Again Flair rolls onto his front, but Sting keeps the headlock in.
We get cuts to J.J. Dillion trying to distract the referee and coach Flair from his cage as Sting rolls Flair over for another cover, but again Flair rolls his shoulder up. Flair grabs Sting's hair but releases as the referee gets over there, he pulls the hair again as Young gets back to position to talk to Flair and rolls Sting over! Sting rolls back through and tells the referee about the hair-pulling again. The referee explains he can't be two places at once. Flair fights to his feet, but Sting still has the lock secured. Flair shoves Sting off but Sting knocks him down again. Flair goes prone and Sting dives on top of him with a headlock! Sting shifts his weight, and rises to his feet, keeping his centre of gravity above Flair. Flair is able to push Sting's chin away again and backs him into the corner. Sting breaks clean but Flair hits him with a forearm and a chop. Sting switches positions with Flair and mounts the second turnbuckle, threatening a right hand, but he doesn't follow through. Flair puts Sting back in the corner, but Sting knocks Naitch across the ring with right hands. Flair sent back out of the corner and Sting hits another dropkick, barely catching Flair, but worthy of a “Flair Flop”.
J.J Dillion is still coaching long-distance and Flair gets to his feet first. He sends Sting out of the ring but Sting lands on his feet and slides straight back in! “Oh well, shit.” - Ric Flair's inner monologue. Sting backs Flair into the corner and mounts the turnbuckle again. He points to Dillion before hitting Flair with right hands and brings him out of the corner with another headlock takedown. Flair rolls to his front after a 1 count, as Sting wears him down. Flair gets a trio of roll-ups, but they only get 1 each also. Flair gets to his feet at the 10-minute mark and backs Sting into the ropes. Forearm to the ribs by Flair when Sting breaks, and he chops at him in the corner. Flair measures up Sting's jaw before socking him with a right. Flair tells the referee it was open-fist and hits another chop. Sting fights out of the corner with clubbing blows and kicks before sending Flair across the ring. Again Sting lifts Flair overhead, roaring for the crowd. The crowd roars back as Flair lands on the mat. Sting sends Flair across the ring again, catching him with a bearhug. Flair threatens a right hand, but his fist is too closed for Tommy Young who knocks it away. Flair screams in pain every time Sting applies pressure, but slowly gets closer to the ropes. Tommy Young positions himself perfectly in the ring. Flair gets close to the ropes, but he fades. Young checks his arm, and that brings the champ back to life. Sting uses his legs and body positioning to keep Flair just out of the way of the ropes. He eventually takes Flair down and his shoulders are down! Flair kicks out just after 2.
Sting keeps the bearhug applied and gets another nearfall. Flair keeps his shoulder up, and Sting adds more pressure, pushing himself into the air and landing on the mat again. Flair audibly screams about his back, famously injured very early in his career. Sting's bearhug gets another nearfall before he hits Flair with a right hand in frustration. Sting gets to his feet and beats his chest. Sting backs into the ropes but misses a jumping elbow drop. Flair gets to his knees in the corner, backing off from Sting. The missed elbow drops didn't even hurt him! Sting sends Flair across the ring, and you can hear him collide with the turnbuckles. Flair avoids a Stinger Splash. It looked like Sting tried to stop himself but he hit his elbow. Both men go down. Flair just beats Sting to the count, using the ropes to get to his feet. Sting's ready for him with a boot to the gut as Flair hits a right hand and even a draw's enough for Flair to back off for Sting. Sting sets up for some mounted punches in the corner, but Flair hits an inverted atomic drop after one. Both men are down, and Flair takes a breather on the outside.
Sting doesn't move during Flair's whole rest period, but Flair knows every second of rest for him is the same for Sting and brings him outside. The front row's like a ½ mile away from the barrier, but I see why as Flair sends Sting into it repeatedly. Each time it gives like it's made of elastic. Not that it stops the impact sounding painful as hell. Flair gets back in the ring before he gets counted out. Sting slowly makes his way to the apron, favouring his back. Flair goes right on the attack and sends Sting into the corner. Flair chops at Sting before sending him across the ring. Sting drops to his knees out of the corner, before falling on his face. Again Flair places him in the corner before sending him off with maximum force. Sting drops out of the corner again and Flair kicks his ribs. Flair like a shark smelling blood now as he hits Sting with a pair of knee drops. Sting rolls over so Naitch rakes his back. The referee tries warning him but no one tells Ric Flair anything! Flair fish-hooks Sting's mouth. Ric Flair gives Sting a second to get to his feet and ignores the referee's every word, before raking his eyes against the top rope.
Sting has a bit of time as the referee warns Flair again, and creates some space, moving his way to the corner. Flair follows him and hits a chop and right hand before being warned about fists again. Flair gives Sting the distance he wants by dumping him out of the ring to the concrete floor. Flair grabs a chair but the referee confiscates it. Flair decides to send Sting into the flimsy barricade and hits him with a kick to the gut. Flair chokes Sting across the top of the barricade before getting back in the ring. Sting isn't too far behind, and the referee's too busy having words with Flair to count Sting out. Flair shoves Tommy Young out of the way to get to Sting and chops him in the corner. Flair continues chopping Sting, and Sting fights back. This doesn't stop Ric Flair but they just seem to piss Sting off. Sting fires up as Flair retreats, but Stinger's with him every step of the way! A pair of right hands by Sting sends Flair over the top rope. Tony Schiovane mentions that can be a disqualification in NWA, but it's Tommy Young's discretion. (Imagine the scenes of that being the finish....)
Sting follows Flair outside and chokes him against the ringpost. Sting backs up but Flair ducks a flying clothesline! The commentators talk about using risky moves like this in big championship matches. Flair back in the ring first, of course, he's not above a count out win to retain his belt. Sting gets back in as Schiovane mentions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard of the Four Horsemen losing the NWA World Tag Team Championships in the last match to Sting's friends Lex Luger and Barry Windham as we see Dillion shouting from his perch. Fair has control of Sting's arm with a wristlock. Sting uses the power of the crowd to get to his feet and clenches a fist, Tommy Young swipes at Sting's arm and the distraction gives Flair a chance to bring Sting down by his hair again. Again Sting instantly kips up, and hits Flair with right hands, sending him to the corner. Sting knees Flair in the gut and hits him with a right hand. Flair climbs to the middle rope again and Tommy Youg slips getting to the apron to count on Sting. HA! That's what you get for stopping his strikes, prick. Instant karma. Sting hits a trifecta of right hands before hip tossing Flair out of the corner. Sting knocks Flair down with a clothesline and covers but only gets 2 ½.
Sting howls and Flair tries to escape under the bottom rope. Sting catches him and brings him to his feet. Flair gets suplexed back in the ring. Sting grabs his legs for the Scorpion Deathlock, Flair struggles but Sting turns him over, Flair quickly gets to the ropes as we hit the 25-minute mark.Sting attacks the right knee, but Flair's under the rope so Tommy Young brings him back. Flair back in the ring in the corner and Sting goes straight for him with the choke. Sting breaks before he's disqualified but goes right back to it. He brings Flair to his feet and Flair switches the momentum, chopping Sting in the corner. Sting's become immune to them by this point and Flair begs on his knees. Sting hits a right hand and Flair flops to the mat. Sting covers but Flair's foot is under the bottom rope. Flair puts it on top of the rope so the referee can see it and he stops counting at 2. Sting hip tosses Flair out of the corner and charges for a clothesline but Flair ducks! Sting goes up and over to the outside, hitting his head on the barricade!
Sting gets back on the apron before Flair's moving again, Flair grabs Sting and snaps his throat off the top rope. Sting gets right back up and climbs straight to the top turnbuckle! Flair gets to his feet, but he hasn't noticed. Ric Flair turns around and Sting launches at him with a FLYING BODY PRESS! Sting covers! 1! 2! NO! Flair barely got his shoulder off the mat. The important thing for the record books though is that he got it off. The longer this goes on the more fired up Sting gets. He goes back to a headlock but Flair scouts it and hits a shinbreaker. Both men are down and the count seems really fast by today's standards. Both men show signs of life at 8. Flair's back to his feet first as Sting is on one knee. Flair kicks the injured leg, sending Sting back down to the mat. Sting using the top rope to get to his feet, but Flair keeps at the knee. Sting tries to get out of the corner, but another chop slows him down. Flair hits another shinbreaker sending Sting outside.
Tommy Young takes a while to tell Ric Flair off for taunting Sting from the inside of the ring before beginning to count Sting out. Sting gets back on the apron at three and these panned out crowd shots are starting to get annoying. Flair grabs Sting as he gets back in the ring and places him in the corner. Another knee to the injured leg of Sting, and he tries to walk it off. Flair's measuring Sting up and he kicks him right in the back of the leg. Sting crawls across the ring and gets to his feet with the assistance of the ropes. Flair hits a back suplex and sets up for the Figure Four. He takes an arrogantly long time to lock it in, emphasised more by the fact we hit the ½ hour mark, but he gets there in the end. Flair grabs the ropes and Sting's shoulders go down for a nearfall as Dillon cheers Flair on holding up the 4 Horsemen symbol. Flair lets go of the rope and Sting's shoulders go back down, this time for 1. Flair grabs it again and Young's just a second too late to catch him. Flair grabs the rope again after a while and Sting grabs the referee trying to tell him. JR talks about this being Ric Flair's strategy against “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, but I barely catch it over the crowd.
Sting uses the power in his legs to drag Ric Flair away from the ropes. The crowd is going crazy right now. Sting turns Flair over, reversing the pressure and turning it into an Indian Deathlock. Flair eventually rolls over enough to release the hold and both men are slow getting back to their feet. Flair is able to strike first limping at Sting and stomping Sting's leg. Sting has to use the ropes to stay on his feet, Flair drags Sting across the ring and climbs out to the apron, he lifts Sting a couple of times but can't get him over for the suplex. Sting is able to get Flair over and back in the ring though! It just took everything out of him. Sting able to get to his feet and he comes off the rope with a running body splash but eats knees! Sting can't breathe and Flair can't capitalise. The referee counts each man down, Sting makes some space, but Flair stirs at 5 and is on his feet at 7. Sting brings Flair to his feet. They struggle in the middle of the ring but Sting locks in an abdominal stretch! Flair tells Tommy Young to watch the tights and hip tosses out of the move as we have 10 minutes left of time limit. Sting rolls out of the way of an elbow drop but Flair keeps control as they get to their feet. We miss what sounded like a chop because they cut to J.J Dillion and Flair goes to the top rope. He gets slammed down (obviously) and sent across the ring. Sting makes the cover as soon as he can but still only gets a nearfall!
Sting gets out of the ring and grabs Flair's ankle, even small things like that on an injured body part can aggravate it. He drags Flair over the corner and crotches him. Tommy Young brings Flair out of the corner. Sting's back in the ring now and he places Flair in the middle of the ring. Sting locks in the Figure Four and Flair sells it like it's broken every bone from hip to toe. Sting gets a couple of nearfalls as Flair is able to slowly (really slowly) make it to the ropes, forcing Sting to have to break. Flair gets to his feet in the corner but Sting beats him down with more mounted right hands. Sting hip tosses Flair across the ring, making him land on his knees. Flair begs off as Sting advances, having the champion right where he wants him. Sting hits Flair on the top of the head with right hands and chokes him with his boot before going back after Flair's knee. Good idea considering he worked the Figure Four for about 8 years. Sting tries to drag Flair out of the corner, but Flair holds on to the ropes. Sting eventually just powers him out and drapes his ankle across the bottom rope. Sting cannonballs on to Flair's leg. Flair gets all the way to his foot and shoves Tommy Young. Young shoves back sending the champion down! Flair's back up in a fit of rage in the corner but Sting sends him across the ring. Flair goes over the turnbuckles to the floor!
JR says he flew over the judges but the angle wasn't great to see. Either way Sting follows Flair out, knowing at this point he can't waste time and sends Flair's head into the barricade, busting him open. Flair's head bounces off the judges' table, collapsing one side, and Sting sends it into the ring post too, just in case. Flair is sent over the barricade into the crowd, and makes his way back under. Sting wants to get the champion back in the ring but Flair fights back, so Sting decides to twat him and just fend for himself. Flair gets to the apron. Flair attacks Sting from the apron but can't get him over for the sunset flip, Sting beats his chest and this crowd would even go crazy for Sting if he found a loophole and shot Flair in the ring to win the title. Flair tries to crawl to the corner, but Sting's right behind him, raking his back. Five minute mark now, as Sting rakes Flair's cut across the top rope. Sting rakes Flair's back again, taking a page out of “The Dirtiest Player in the Game”'s book. Why not? He's a 5-time champion! Flair backs off leading to more mounted punches in the corner from Sting. Flair brings Sting out of the corner, great show of strength against a guy like Sting this long into a match. Sting knocks Flair down with a clothesline! Sting covers, 1, 2, Flair gets his foot on the rope at 2.9!
Flair tries to make some distance but Sting doesn't let him. Sting sends Flair corner to corner, but Flair avoids the Stinger Splash again sending Sting crashing and burning over the top rope to the floor! Sting slowly gets back in the ring, but Flair's there as he gets to his feet. Flair hits a pair of chops but Sting hits back with a right hand. Sting applies a side headlock, trying to grab some breathing room. Flair shoves Sting off the ropes and Sting knocks down Flair with a shoulder tackle. It sent Sting wobbly though, and Flair gets back to his feet. Flair gets a sleeper hold on Sting! Sting charges towards the corner and Flair goes face first into the top turnbuckle! Flair sends Sting out of the ring in desperation but Sting is quickly back to the apron. Sting hits a shoulder block and they struggle on a sunset flip, Flair drops down to cover Sting! Flair has the ropes, the referee notices at 2 and stops counting, telling Flair to break.
Sting rolls through for a nearfall of his own but Flair kicks out. Flair backs into the corner as we have less than 3 minutes now and sends Flair across the ring, Flair goes over to the apron and climbs the top rope. Flair hit the splash! STING ROLLS THROUGH! 1! 2!2.99! Flair gets his shoulder up. Hard chop by Flair has no affect, neither does a kick to the gut. The second chop just pisses Sting off as Flair begs on his knees. Flair back to his feet to receive his beating like a man, and beat him Sting does, Sting again hits some mounted punches in the corner as we get a 60-second warning. You can pretty much tell the basics of the last minute. Some megafans may have it memorised. Guess it before you read, just for fun. Sting sends Flair across the ring and hits a Stinger Splash to an eruptive reaction. Flair flops out of the corner and Sting locks in the Scorpion Deathlock. Ric Flair holds on for the last 30 seconds so we go to the judges after the commercial break.
We return to the judges' decisions. Judge Mullens (the actress) says Ric Flair won, Eddie Jester called it for Sting. The (now not-so) mysterious Sandy Smith called it a draw. (Always one....) wait was Hervey just a guest then?
RESULT: TIME LIMIT DRAW (RIC FLAIR RETAINS NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
Ric Flair gave a lot to Sting in this match. They went a long 45 minutes and (although reading this may make it seem I think differently) it went at a good pace. Sting knew Ric Flair was famous for “Going Broadway” in matches, and this match would only last ¾ the length. Sting used his size and strength to his advantage against the crafty champion, and Flair did what he could to get ahead. I like that they left the leg work till late, with it being a long match (it gave them a reasonable excuse to make things last longer) Flair was the perfect chickenshit heel to face for anyone and I thought the crowd were going to ambush the ring when Flair retained. Besides the fact that I don't like non-finishes, Clash of the Champions was a like a televised supercard, so it gave them a chance to save something bigger for Pay-Per-View. Also either I didn't hear right or that kid didn't get a proper vote... Anyway really awesome match to check out, definitely going in my regular rotation. – Rating: 8.7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment