Well, we've reached February already. As has pretty much become tradition, I've changed things up slightly. Just to make it public knowledge I am announcing that any and all affiliate links will be in bold green letters to differentiate them between my personal links on the blog. I wanted to start this month off with a bang so I looked back through time at past big matches that have happened in the month. Instantly this one caught my eye for obvious reasons. It was the first in the 5-star masterclass trilogy between these two rivals, all happening in one twelve-month period! Ric Flair was the NWA World Heavyweight champion, going into the year having beaten Lex Luger at Starrcade before 1988 was up, Ricky Steamboat returned to WCW as Eddie Graham's surprise tag team partner against Flair and co-Horsemen, Barry Windam. Steamboat got the fall over Flair and demanded this championship match. Jim Ross and Magnum TA are on commentary, the latter calls Flair the greatest champion ever, but if anyone can beat him on any night, it's Ricky Steamboat tonight. We see a video of Steamboat getting the pin on Flair in his Superstation TBS debut, and the brawl between them on the 5th February at Clash of the Champions V: St. Valentine's Day Massacre. This runs so long we don't get to see Steamboat enter the ring. Ric Flair is accompanied by Hiro Matsuda due to JJ Dillion taking an office job for WWF at the time, with the “Horsemen” stable renaming themselves the “Yamasaki Corporation for this time period. Nature Boy takes his time getting ready as Jim Ross tells us the match has an hour's time limit. The championship has only changed hands twice in Chicago since 1905. Once in the 60's, a former Nature Boy, Buddy Roberts beating Lou Thesz in an upset, and our current Nature Boy himself beating Ronnie Garvin to regain the championship. Magnum TA puts that over as a big night.
RIC FLAIR © VS. R ICKY STEAMBOAT (NWA World Heavyweight Championship)
NWA Chi-Town Rumble 1989 (20th February 1989)
They lock up as referee, Tommy Young watches on. Flair takes Steamboat to the ropes, it must be the 7 lbs weight advantage... Steamboat quickly brings Flair back to the center and gets a side headlock. Steamboat is sent across the ring but stands tall with a shoulder tackle. Ricky Steamboat gets a nearfall in the opening minute before a standoff. They lock up again with Flair in the corner and Steamboat is quick to return to the headlock. Flair shoves Steamboat off, getting knocked down with a second shoulder tackle. Flair stays on the mat, but Steamboat slides into a headlock on the mat instead of jumping Flair. Flair makes his way to his feet, but Steamboat lands on his feet from a back suplex attempt. Ricky Steamboat grabs a waistlock, Flair runs to the ropes but can't hold on getting rolled up for a nearfall before pushing Steamboat away and taking a wander at ringside. We see (at the time) Chicago's last #1 draft pick Brad Muster, who plays half-back for the Chicago Bears (smiles and pretends he knows what half of that means as a Brit.) he's apparently a big Ric Flair fan.
Chicago Bears Offensive Guardsman, Code Becker is also enjoying the show tonight as Ric Flair makes his way back to the ring. A collar-elbow tie up leaves Steamboat sandwiched in the corner, Flair is slow to break and drives his forearm into Steamboat's ribs. Ric Flair lights up Steamboat's chest with a knife-edged chop. Steamboat fires back, backing Flair across the ring with his own. Rif Flair is sent across the ring and walks out of the corner into a back body drop. Ric Flair begs off, he tries to get a cheap kick to Steamboat but his leg gets caught. Ric grabs at the hair and puts Steamboat in the corner. He chops Steamboat again but Steamboat puts him on his arse with the reply. Ric Flair warns Steamboat from the mat before getting to his feet. Ric Flair is the one to apply a headlock this time, transitioning to a hammerlock as Jim Ross reminisces about these two facing off for the World title in 1983. Steamboat trips Flair, dropping into another headlock on the mat. Flair makes it to his feet, sending Steamboat off the ropes but Steamboat evades all harm with a baseball slide. Ricky Steamboat drops Flair with a standing dropkick as Jim Ross talks about Steamboat's speed.
Ricky Steamboat takes Flair down with a headlock, getting another close nearfall, but Ric Flair rolls to his front. Flair rolls Steamboat over, using the tights getting a nearfall. He tries again with the same result so Steamboat gets to his feet to stop all those shenanigans. Steamboat keeps the headlock on, walking up the ropes to bulldog Flair back down to the mat, still not releasing. Flair immediately rolls Steamboat over for another nearfall. They sit in a headlock so Jim Ross can go over their school history, then Flair forces Steamboat towards the ropes. Flair gets to his feet as they move to the corner and hits another forearm to the midsection. Flair hits a chop so Steamboat retaliates. Flair clubs at Steamboat's back but Steamboat has some momentum going but still ends up in the corner. He reverses an irish whip. Flair hits the turnbuckles, stumbling out into a hard chop by Steamboat. Ricky Steamboat quickly covers but only gets 2. Ric Flair scrambles out of the ring and makes the most of the 10 count.
Eventually, he gets back in the ring, a collar-elbow ti up goes nowhere for a while until Steamboat goes back to a headlock. Flair backs Steamboat into the corner, getting cheap shots in out of Tommy Young's sight. Flair hits a chop then goes to his own headlock. He gets sent across the ring but sends Steamboat down with a shoulder tackle. Steamboat stays on the mat, leapfrogging Flair on the return journey. Flair runs into another chop sending him out to the floor. The challenger decides against going high risk so the Big Gold Belt fills our screens as Flair gets back in the ring. They cautiously lock knuckles before Flair releases, telling Steamboat to come back to the center of the ring. They lock up and Flair forces Steamboat into the corner. Flair changes tactic, using his knee against Steamboat's midsection before hitting a chop. Steamboat is sent across the ring but catches himself on the top turnbuckle. He leaps over Flair and brings him out of the corner with a hip toss. Ric Flair gets sent back across the ring with a headscissors takedown! Flair gets back to his feet but eats a dropkick. Steamboat sends Flair over with a headlock and gets a 2 before Flair rolls his shoulder up.
Steamboat keeps hold of the headlock on the mat and I can't blame him for wanting to catch his breath. Ric Flair makes it back to his knees, but Steamboat's got his weight over Flair. Ric Flair has to use Steamboat's hair to get to his feet and drives his elbow into Steamboat's head. Jim Ross says Flair has controlled 80's wrestling as he hits Steamboat with another chop. Flair hits more elbows to the top of the head but Steamboat gets some rights in. Steamboat gets sent across the ring from another headlock but sends Flair down with the tackle. Ricky Steamboat's momentum turns against him as he runs into a back elbow but he gets to his feet and sends Flair into the ropes with a chop. Steamboat hits a right hand to Flair and chops him over the top rope to the floor. Ricky Steamboat climbs to the middle rope in the ring and Tommy Young counts right in his face. What a dick. Ric Flair stumbles back to the ring apron, but he doesn't look like he knows where he is. He was playing possum! He grabs Steamboat's ankle and drags him outside. Flair hits Steamboat on what 1980's NWA called a guard rail and hits him with chops. Flair looks to grab a chair from the crowd but comes back empty-handed.
Ric Flair sends Steamboat's head into the railing again before getting back in the ring. A member of the audience throws some rubbish at Flair, keeping the Arena cleaners employed for another week. Flair brings Steamboat to his feet on the apron and bends his neck over the top rope. Flair drives the point of his elbow into Steamboat's nose and knees him in the kidneys. Ricky Steamboat's brought back in the ring getting snapmared into the middle. Flair exposes his knee, dropping it onto Steamboat's head before covering. Ricky Steamboat kicks out after 1. Ric Flair forces Steamboat back down for a pair of nearfalls. Ric Flair hits a butterfly suplex and hooks Steamboat's leg, but still only gets 1. Magnum TA covers for Steamboat's WWF stint saying he'll have ring rust from not having a match of this magnitude in some time. Flair hits a chop and a right hand on Steamboat, leaving him dazed on his knees. Another chop wakes Steamboat back up, chopping Flair right back. Flair clubs at Steamboat's neck but Steamboat strings three chops together, sending Flair into the corner. He sends Flair across the ring, sending him out to the apron. Flair runs to the other side and hits a cross body from the top but Steamboat rolls through! 1, 2, no!
Flair backs off into the corner and Steamboat mounts the second rope, Flair hits an inverted atomic drop setting up for a Figure 4. Flair keeps using the ropes for leverage as Magnum TA says that does massive amounts of damage to your knee, especially the longer you're in it. The fans are rabidly chanting for Steamboat (except one guy the camera focuses on, going nuts for Flair in his aisleway) Flair keeps using the ropes for added pressure, getting a nearfall on Steamboat. Steamboat slams the mat but doesn't quit, so Flair tightens his hold. Flair gets another nearfall, but tries using the ropes once too often and gets caught. Tommy Young forces Flair to release the submission, but that doesn't help Steamboat get to his feet much quicker. Flair targets Steamboat's left knee, but Steamboat is able to fight back with chops. Steamboat uses the top rope to stay on his feet as they fight across the ring. Steamboat is backed to the corner, chopping and striking his way out with right hands. Ric Flair is sent across the ring but ducks a back elbow.
Ric Flair hits a running crossbody sending them both tumbling out in front of the State Athletic Commission. They exchange chops, Steamboat grabs a headlock but gets sent into the post. Ric Flair slides under the bottom rope, happy for a count out retention. Steamboat is back to the apron at 7, so Flair brings him back in the ring with a delayed vertical suplex. Ric Flair covers but Steamboat kicks out at 2 ½! Ric Flair tries to force Steamboat's shoulders down but gets 2 more nearfalls. Flair hits a back suplex for another nearfall and takes his frustrations out on Tommy Young. Flair shoves Young but gets one back. Young won't be intimidated like the rest! Flair goes back to Steamboat, hitting a backbreaker and covering again. He gets his feet on the ropes, getting a succession of nearfalls as the crowd tells Tommy Young of his cheating ways. Flair tells the fans to shut up allowing Steamboat to roll him up! 1, 2, 2.9999! Ric Flair takes Steamboat back to the corner. He uses a chop to soften him up and sends him across the ring, Steamboat catches himself again, flying from the middle rope with a cross body but he hits the mat!
Ric Flair takes his time bringing Steamboat to his feet and brings him back down with the headlock. Steamboat reverses with a headscissors but Flair rolls through to a jackknife cover, Steamboat gets to his feet and hits a butterfly suplex. Ricky Steamboat covers, but Flair drapes his foot on the bottom rope at the last second. Flair fights to his feet, Steamboat blocks a hip toss, leaving them to struggle for a backslide, Steamboat gets it, but Flair still gets his shoulder up at the last second. Flair fights to his feet again but gets chopped by Steamboat, sending him back to the corner. Ric Flair reverses an irish whip but charges into a clothesline by Steamboat. Steamboat hits The Worm without all the fancy stuff and climbs to the top turnbuckle. He hits another judo chop to the top of Flair's head, coming off the corner a second time with a crossbody! Steamboat connects but Tommy Young goes down too. Steamboat tries to wake him up, giving Flair a chance for a visual victory. He brings Steamboat to his feet and dumps him over the top rope. Ricky Steamboat lands on the apron, running to the top rope. Steamboat eats shit on a cross body attempt! Ric Flair signals for the Figure 4 but is rolled up in a small package, Teddy Long appears from nowhere and Steamboat wins the title!
WINNER: RICKY STEAMBOAT (NEW NWA World Heavyweight Champion)
Hiro Matsuda tells Tommy Young that the decision shouldn't stand since Teddy Long wasn't the referee. Tommy Young sides with Long, happily raising Steamboat's hand in victory before we see highlights. Ricky Steamboat celebrates with the championship to the back as Ric Flair looks distraught at defeat. Jim Ross and Magnum TA congratulate Steamboat before going to Bob Caudle. Steamboat says he can't believe he's champion after all these years as some of the locker room show up with champagne. They shower Steamboat and Caudle with the champagne which is a first for both of them. The boys want a speech and Steamboat completely no-sells the champagne blinding him so he can say he's going to be a fighting champion. He finally puts over Ric Flair, offering him the first championship shot. Jim Ross and Magnum TA sign us out.
This match is an absolute classic and it's not hard to see why. Jim Ross's enthusiasm can make people by paint drying on Pay-Per-View and Magnum TA did a good job at the desk adding in his personal experience, generally in the ring and with these two men personally. I want to get one negative out of the way before I essentially copy and paste everything ever said about the match. Ricky Steamboat forgot about the work on the leg fairly suddenly, standing on it fine and having no issue going to the top rope. After the first missed splash attempt Steamboat turned more to exhaustion and disorientation selling, making the legwork earlier seem pointless. Ric Flair losing the championship the way he did, helped allow for a rematch, with Matsuda and Flair technically having a legitimate gripe that the wrong man counted the fall. – WORKRATE: 4.755/5 PERSONAL ENJOYMENT 4.5/5 OVERALL 9.25/10
This match is available on WWE's Ric Flair: The Ultimate Collection DVD release.
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