Klassic Kombat: The Best of Ric Flair Vol. 3
Posted by Jeff Small on 01.05.2006
13 Matches and Only 1 Clean Finish… Must be a Ric Flair Compilation
Welcome everyone to the 1st edition of Klassic Kombat. For those of you who do not know me, I write the Final Fantasy Heat Report: 411's favorite Heat report™ each week. Much props goes out to Jacob Ziegler who actually hooked me up with this (and two other) tapes. You can read all his excellent work here.
If you are interested in this tape, you can purchase it at Wrestletapes.
Match 1: Ric Flair & Greg Valentine vs. Blackjack Mulligan & Wahoo McDaniel
This match takes place, presumably, in the early 80s before Flair had a robe and before ring barriers were invented. Instead of a guardrail, there is a nice rope that will surely keep the distance between the superstars and the fans.
We are joined in progress with Flair and Wahoo locking up. Wahoo whips Flair into a back body drop and Flair bails. The match is clipped (#1) to a Blackjack atomic drop on Flair. Clipped again (#2) to Flair dropping an elbow on Blackjack and bailing once again. The match is clipped once again (#3) to Wahoo running into a Flair boot. 2 knee drops gives Flair enough time to taunt Blackjack, which distracts the ref. Valentine comes in illegally and drops an elbow on Wahoo. Flair lets the ref know that a tag took place when he was distracted. Always nice of Flair to do that. This match must be only included to show how sportsmanlike Flair really is. Anyway, a large portion of the match is clipped (#4) to get to Blackjack's comeback. Blackjack powers out of a headlock and whips Valentine into the corner. Blackjack runs into a big boot and Valentine drops an elbow for 2. We are now clipped again (#5) to a Valentine sleeper on Blackjack who escapes from it. Another clip (#6) shows Flair getting shoved and tagging out. Blackjack runs off the ropes only to get tripped by Flair. Another Valentine elbow drop before he dumps Blackjack through the second rope. Flair decides to really piss off the fans by hitting Blackjack with a chairshot, while the ref is distracted. In the ring, Valentine drops two more elbows to Blackjack's head. He tags in Flair who punches Blackjack down and spits in his face (that's not cool) for 2. Then the match ends?
Thoughts: I really cannot rate this match fairly as there were 6 clips in the action and the finish was not even shown. The match could have been really good but from what I saw there's nothing here that needs to be seen.
Match 2: Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
Now this is more like it. The match takes place in the same venue as the last match. No guardrails, no entrances, and crappy hairstyles by the audience.
We are joined in progress with Steamboat punching a bloody Flair. For most matches, blood normally indicates that the match is nearing the end. Thankfully, for Flair matches, he tends to bleed at all points of the match. Anyway, Flair decides to bail but Steamboat counters by pantsing Flair. Now I know why this match is really included. Of course, the girls in the audience go crazy at the sight of Flair's bare ass. Me, not so much. Flair comes back with some hard chops and throws Steamboat down face first for 1. Steamboat fights back and executes a top rope double axe handle. Steamboat rakes Flair's head. Flair successfully bails. Punches are exchanged on the outside (won by Steamboat) and Flair rolls in only to try to escape from the other side. Steamboat catches up with Flair and drags him back into the ring by his leg. Steamboat drops a knee. He picks him up to give him another chop. Flair bails again and when Steamboat goes after him, Flair introduces Steamboat's face into the ring apron. Flair takes a powder to end this match (3 minute segment).
Thoughts: Thankfully, this match isn't clipped, though only the last three minutes are shown. With that said, a good portion of the match is Flair trying to escape the ring, which makes Steamboat look really good (who doesn't do much at all). Obviously, this match is used just to build to a bigger rematch, so I can't give this one much of a recommendation.
Match 3: Ric Flair vs. Wahoo McDaniel
Same venue as the previous two matches. We begin with Flair backing into a corner to lure Wahoo into a kick. Flair punches Wahoo in the ropes and elbows him in the head. Wahoo fights back with some chops. He hammers Flair in the head with a hard punch. He chops Flair before whipping Flair into another double chop for 2. A throat thrust sends Flair outside. Flair is thrown into the ring apron. They trade punches on the ring apron before Flair is chopped into the ring. Out of nowhere, the ref awards the match to Ric Flair via DQ or countout. Without any commentary, it is very hard to tell what really happened. Anyway, Wahoo takes Flair's belt and nails Flair with three belt shots. Even though he is a bloody mess, Flair decides to taunt the fans with his belt to end this quick three minute match.
Thoughts: Another very short match that looks to have setup a return match at a later time. For the majority of this match, Flair was getting his ass kicked making Wahoo look like a superstar. I enjoyed this match more than the last two, though the screwy finish was lost on me.
Match 4: "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat for the US Heavyweight Championship
Flair cuts a promo to start saying how all the pretty women only came to see him. He even points out one of them as his woman (for the night). By the way, Andre the Giant is the special guest ref.
Flair chats with Andre to start before locking up with Steamboat. Flair backs Steamboat into the corner. Andre, who must be familiar with Flair matches, stops Flair's cheapshot. This allows Steamboat to cheapshot Flair. They lockup again and Flair takedowns Steamboat who promptly escapes. Flair charges at Steamboat who gorilla press slams him. Flair tries to bail but runs into Andre which freaks Flair out even more. He quickly bails for good. The match is clipped to Flair entering the ring (which is the most useful clip there is). Another lockup that Flair wins infuriating Steamboat who chases Flair out of the ring. The match is clipped again to when Flair enters the ring. Flair decides to strut twice (once for Steamboat and once for Andre). A fourth lockup happens with Steamboat backed into the corner. This time, it's Steamboat, not Andre, who blocks Flair's cheapshot and unloads with the chops. Ricky struts to piss Flair off. Flair charges at Steamboat which backfires as Steamboat gorilla press slams Flair again. Steamboat grabs an armbar which stops Flair's chance of escaping. Good psychology there. We are now clipped to Flair dropping two knees on Steamboat. Steamboat is now busted wide open. Flair works the wound until Steamboat hulks up. He powers back with punches and a chop battle ensures when Steamboat gets to his feet. Flair boots Steamboat into the ropes allowing Steamboat to use the momentum to come back with a shoulderblock. I haven't seen that sequence used in forever. A Steamboat elbow drop misses and Flair comes back with a knee drop and a stomp on the head. Flair suplexes him.
We are clipped again to Flair on the top rope. Andre does not let Flair execute the move. Flair should thank Andre for that as top rope moves never end well for Flair. We are clipped again to another try on the top rope. This time, Flair dives at Andre who catches Flair and body slams him. We are clipped again to Steamboat's comeback. He unloads with some right hands and chops. Flair backs into the corner only to get chopped some more. We are clipped to a flying chop off the top rope. And another clip sees Flair dumping Steamboat to end this match?!!! This match ran for about 10 minutes. *** stars (for what was shown).
Thoughts: Up until a startling 5 clips in the last two minutes, I was thoroughly enjoying the match. I understand the inclusion of the two diving attempts to show humor. However, I do not understand why the end of the match was not shown (unless Flair was DQ'd for throwing Steamboat over the top rope). The first 8 minutes were the makings of a classic which is why I rated the match so highly.
Match 5: Ric Flair vs. Swede Hansen
The lighting on this match is horrible as I can barely make out the wrestlers. If Hansen did not have a big gut, I seriously could not tell these two apart. Lockup to start. Flair shoves Hansen into the turnbuckle. Hansen promptly returns the favor. Flair charges at Hansen and gets scoop slammed. We are clipped to a hard Irish whip on Hansen. Flair goes to work on the back with some punches, a knee, and a bearhug. We are clipped again to another hard Irish whip on Hansen. Flair executes the bearhug again which Hansen fights out of. That's it!
Thoughts: This match is unnecessary. The lighting makes it hard enough to tell the wrestlers apart and only 2 minutes of the match is shown.
Match 6: Ric Flair vs. Blackjack Mulligan in a Lumberjack match
We are joined in progress with a back elbow by Blackjack. Atomic drop follows. Piledriver on Flair looks to end this match but one of the lumberjack pulls Flair out at 2. The ref DQ's Flair. All the lumberjacks enter the ring and a huge brawl erupts. The fans are quite livid for this. Flair takes turns taking a shitkicking from Steamboat and others until Blackjack throws Flair out for good.
Thoughts: Another unnecessary match as it lasted a good 15 seconds. While it was fun watching Flair get his ass kicked, the brawl went on for longer than the last two matches combined.
Match 7: Ric Flair vs. NWA Champion Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World Title
This is the first match on here with commentary. This match takes place on 9/17/1981 and is quite historic as this is Flair's 1st NWA title win. Sorry about ruining the outcome but really, you aren't reading this review just for my match write-ups.
Lou Thesz is the special guest referee. A nice touch with most major NWA matches is the use of a special guest ref to show the importance of the match. We are joined in progress 20 minutes into the match. Rhodes misses a high knee in the corner allowing Flair to slap on the Figure 4 (which is the first appearance of the move in this collection). The commentary on the match is quite good as the commentators delve into the psychology of the match. Rhodes makes it to the ropes after about 2 minutes in the hold. Flair climbs to the top rope and of course, it doesn't work. However, Rhodes's suplex attempt is foiled when his knee gives out. Flair lands on top of him and gets the 3 count to win his first NWA title at 23:54 (only 3 minutes are shown).
Thoughts: I like the inclusion of this match in the collection as it is quite significant. I cannot fairly rate it as only the ending was shown.
Match 8: NWA Champ Ric Flair vs. Austin Idol for the NWA World Title
We are joined in progress with a Figure 4 on Idol. The commentators talk how only Idol and Barry Windham have pinned Flair since Flair became champion. After Idol grabs the ropes, the match is clipped to Idol bringing Flair into the ring and unloading on him with punches. Idol gets 10 punches in the corner before whipping Flair into the other turnbuckle. Flair flip follows. Flair whiffs on a punch and gets knocked to the outside. They fight on the outside before Flair gets back into the ring. In the ring, Flair misses Idol and runs into the ref sending the ref to the outside. Idol gets a small package for nothing. Flair gets a quick thumb to the eye but runs into a back body drop over the top rope. Flair is suplexed into the ring and a second ref counts 3 to give the win to Idol. But wait!!! The first ref comes back in to DQ Flair for hitting him allowing Flair to retain his title. ** (for what is shown)
Thoughts: Fun Dusty finish to the match. The crowd really bought the title change, something that does not happen much anymore. As for the match itself, the five minutes or so that was shown was enjoyable.
Match 9: Ric Flair vs. Genichiro Tenryu
This Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling match takes place in October 1980. Thankfully, we are not joined in progress, as the match begins with a quick lockup and an Irish whip from Flair. After a couple of leapfrogs, Flair gets 2 quick armdrags. Tenryu comes back with a running shouldertackle, hip toss, and a scoop slam for 2. Tenryu goes to work on Flair's knees with a couple of elbow drops to them. Flair crawls into the corner to buy some time but Tenryu follows with some chops. Tenryu whips Flair into the turnbuckle. He grabs Flair's leg but Flair escapes. Flair takes Tenryu down and mounts him for some punches. He picks up Tenryu only to throw him into a turnbuckle. He follows up with some hard right hands to knock Tenryu down. He chokes Tenryu on the ropes for a bit. After being forced to break the hold, Flair picks up Tenryu to execute an atomic drop. Back suplex by Flair gets 2 as Tenryu grabs the ropes. Flair get an elbow across the face and another to the back of the head. He picks up Tenryu again which is a bad idea as Tenryu dumps Flair over the top rope. Of course, this DQ's Tenryu after 3 minutes of action. *.5 stars
Thoughts: I was enjoying this match until the abrupt ending. Of course, 3 minutes is not enough for a Flair match.
Match 10: Ric Flair vs. Jay Youngblood
This match takes place in February 1982 for MACW. We are joined in progress with Youngblood working on Flair's arm. Youngblood gets an armbar which makes Flair grab the nearest ropes to release the hold. They lockup and Youngblood (which is what I will now call him for this match) grabs a headlock. They do the standard whip into a shouldertackle before following up with a hiptoss. Youngblood goes after the arm again. Flair breaks up the hammerlock with an elbow to the head but runs into a drop toe hold. Youngblood now goes to work on the leg until Flair grabs the ropes. They lockup again with Flair getting whipped into a back body drop. Flair gets up only to be dropkicked twice and scoop slammed. They lockup again which Flair wins by shoving Youngblood down. This pisses Youngblood off as he cheapshots Flair when locking up again. Youngblood whips Flair hard into the turnbuckle. Flair flip follows. They lockup again and Flair whips Youngblood into the ropes. Youngblood comes back with a shoulderblock; however, Flair dumps him through the middle rope. Youngblood tries to enter the ring but gets caught on the apron with a forearm to the chest. Flair helps Youngblood into the ring via suplex. Flair drops an elbow before looking for the Figure 4. The submission is countered by a small package for 2. A Youngblood high cross body gets 2. Flair runs into a double chop. Flair retreats into the corner to sucker Youngblood into a toe kick. A Flair suplex is reversed into a rollup for 2. A small package gets 2. The time limit expires allowing Flair to retain his belt. After the match, Flair looks to attack Youngblood but Ricky Steamboat cuts him off. ** stars
Thoughts: Another good match for Flair. What becomes apparent especially after this match is how almost all Flair matches follow the same formula (funny, considering how Flair calls all Bret Hart matches predictable).
Match 11: NWA Champion Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat from 8/4/1982
This match takes place from Japan as we have Japanese commentary. During the introduction, the crowd throws streamers into the ring. So before the match even starts, both Flair and Steamboat can be seen removing the streamers from the ring.
Handshake to start. Lockup. Headlock takedown by Steamboat. Flair rolls over to get a quick 1 count on Steamboat. They both get to their feet and Flair whips Steamboat. Shoulderblock knocks down Flair. Another whip ends with Steamboat hip tossing Flair. Steamboat goes back to the headlock. Another whip/shoulderblock/hip toss sequence occurs. There's at least one in every Flair match. Steamboat gets a back bridge for 2. He goes back to the headlock. Flair tries to atomic drop out of it but Steamboat rolls through. Flair finally escapes and grabs a waistlock which is reversed into another headlock. Flair powers Steamboat into the corner and knees and chops him. Flair sends Steamboat into the other corner and charges at him. Steamboat counters with a victory roll for 2. Steamboat chops Flair until a test of strength is teased. Flair knees out of the hold but Steamboat chops him and dumps him over the top rope. I guess since they are in Japan, there is no DQ for that sort of thing. Flair crawls back in but gets hit with a top rope chop. Turnbuckle smash and chop follows but Flair counters with an elbow to the head. Flair gets a quick forearm smash before Steamboat chops him down for 2. Steamboat grabs a chinlock. Flair tries to back suplex out of it but Steamboat reverses and gets an atomic drop. Steamboat whips Flair into the turnbuckle allowing for a Flair flip. Steamboat meets Flair outside and introduces his head into a chair in the front row. Steamboat taunts back in the ring. Flair gets back in the ring and gets whipped into a back elbow. Piledriver gets 2. Gutwrench suplex gets another 2 for Steamboat. A second piledriver attempt gets reversed into a back body drop. Flair whips Steamboat which backfires as Steamboat comes off the ropes with a flying chop that sends Flair outside. Steamboat introduces Flair's head now into an unused table outside the ring. Steamboat goes back into the ring and waits on Flair.
Before coming into the ring, Flair trips up Steamboat and drags his leg to the corner. He introduces Steamboat's leg into the STEEL post twice. In the ring, Flair jumps on Steamboat's knee. A kneebreaker follows. Steamboat falls out to the ground. Flair helps Steamboat back into the ring via a suplex for 2. Flair follows with a knee drop to the head for 2. 2nd attempt at knee drop is blocked and Steamboat locks on the Figure 4. Flair gets to the ropes. Flair gets a quick knee and a back elbow before unloading on the chops. He whips Steamboat but Steamboat comes back with a crossbody for 2. Note to Flair: stop whipping people. Steamboat gets a vertical suplex for 2. He drops a knee on Flair's head. However, a splash gets knees. Flair's suplex attempt is reversed for 2. Flair gets a quick punch to the gut before dumping Steamboat. Flair unloads on Steamboat with punches when Steamboat returns to the ring. A suplex by Flair is blocked and Steamboat gets one. They exchange blows before Flair runs into a gorilla press slam which gets 2 (as Flair gets to the ropes). Steamboat follows with another gorilla press slam. He gets a double chop before running at Flair with a flying chop. Steamboat climbs the ropes and comes off with a flying cross body which is reversed for the pin at 18 minutes. ***.5 stars
Thoughts: While not as good as any of the classic Flair/Steamboat matches, this match is still awfully good. This marks the first non-clipped match on the compilation (which is sad considering this match is #11). Not surprisingly so far the best match is the only non-clipped match. I wonder why.
Ric Flair and Bob Backland Interview
Gordon Solie is the interviewer for this highly rare appearance to promote a match between the NWA champion Ric Flair and the WWWF champion Bob Backland. Backland gives his good graces to Flair and compares this match to the Super Bowl. Flair corrects him to let him know that unlike the Super Bowl, this is one time only. Backland finishes the interview by letting him know that when the bell rings, their friendship ends.
A second interview has Solie going over hype packages with the two wrestlers. Flair first notes all the who's who he has defeated. The clip for Flair sees him working over a jobber and making him submit to the Figure 4. Of course, in the process, he makes the jobber look like a superstar. In a funny bit, Flair comments on how impressed he is with his own wrestling.
Backland's video is clips of him defeating Superstar Billy Graham with an atomic drop in 1978 at Madison Square Garden (which Backland hypes as the greatest arena in the world). Flair calls Bobby Backland a hell of a man but not Ric Flair. The interview ends with Flair refusing to shake Backland's hand.
Thoughts: Why is this included in the compilation when the actual match is not? This segment got me excited to see the first (and last) Flair/Backland match and to not actually have it is a shame.
Match 12: Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich- 2 out of 3 Falls
We are joined in progress late into the second fall which sees Erich working on Flair's bloody head wound. Flair tries to fight back but it's no use as the Claw pins Flair evening the contest at 1 fall each. By the way, Flair won the first fall via DQ.
To start the 3rd fall, Erich goes back to the wound. Flair comes back with 10 corner punches and a snapmare. He continues to pound away on Erich until a tornado punch turns the tide. Erich now begins to deliver his own punches before the ref gets thrown trying to separate the two. The ref throws this match out as additional refs are needed to break the two up.
Thoughts: Obviously, this match is just used to set up our main event: a steel cage match. The match itself is very short but the pull away brawl is just as intense as it is today.
Match 13: Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich- Steel Cage Match for the NWA Championship
It's Christmas Day 1982. Michael Hayes is our special guest referee (who opts not to wear the ref shirt or even a shirt at all) and Terry Gordy is our special gate keeper to make sure no one interferes or escapes. There is also another ref in the ring to make sure that Hayes does his job correctly.
Lockup to start. Erich grabs Flair's leg and gets 2 quick elbow drops. He grabs a leg lock which Flair escapes. Erich goes back to the leg with a toehold. Flair tries to escape by grabbing the hair; he does escape by grabbing an armbar. Erich counters with an arm drag and a dropkick. Flair chops Erich a bit in the corner before Erich gets a desperation Irish whip. Flair flip follows. Flair gets a quick knee to the guy and then follows with some punches, chops, a snap mare, and a knee drop to the head (in that order). Erich tries to fight back but Flair chops him back down. Erich gets up in the corner but Flair is waiting for him there with some right hands. Hayes forces Flair to break. Erich walks into a chop and a sleeper hold. Erich reverses the hold into a back suplex. Erich is up first. He climbs the cage and jumps off with a knee drop. After two standing knee drops, Erich mounts and punches Flair. The claw is blocked as Flair chops out of the hold.
Flair takes advantage with a back elbow off the ropes. Flair drops Erich's neck onto the ropes. Flair chokes him in the ropes for a bit. He follows with a turnbuckle smash, chop, snap mare, and an elbow drop for 2. Flair is not allowing any chance for an Erich comeback. Erich gets some brief punches in but runs into a big boot. They fight over an abdominal stretch which Erich finally wins. However, Flair quickly hip tosses out of it. Flair's elbow drop attempt misses, which gives Erich time for a comeback. He introduces Flair to the steel cage twice before grinding his head into the steel. Flair is now busted wide open. Flair now meets the other side of the cage. Erich punches flair down. Another attempt at the claw is blocked by a kick to the knee.
Flair, smelling blood (and not just his own), kicks Erich's knee again to knock him down. Flair goes to work by tying Erich's leg in the ropes. Hayes breaks this up. Erich, using the ropes to stand, is attacked in the corner as Flair continues to go after Erich's knee. Snapmare brings Erich down as Flair goes for the Figure 4. Two attempts are blocked by Erich. Erich battles out and sends Flair back into the steel cage. He knocks Flair down. Unfortunately, for Erich, he misses a knee drop.
Flair immediately goes to the figure 4. After a couple minutes in the hold, Erich reverses forcing Flair to break. Erich goes to work on Flair's leg (as he began to do in the early minutes of the match). He torques Flair's leg over the ropes. Flair tries to climb out of the cage but Erich continues punching Flair in the leg. Flair falls from the top rope. Hayes forces Erich to back up. When Flair stands up, Erich throws him back into the cage. He grinds Flair's face into the cage once again. Flair gets a desperation chop after Hayes forces Erich to stop grinding. Flair goes up top and jumps right into the CLAW!!!
Flair looks to be done; however, Hayes says that Flair had his foot under the ropes. Hayes tries to get Erich to break the hold and he won't. Hayes throws Erich off of Flair. Hayes and Erich argue allowing Flair to get a high knee on Erich. Flair blatantly chokes Erich and Hayes forces Flair off of Erich. Instead of arguing, Hayes clocks Flair with a right hand. Hayes tells Erich to cover Flair who doesn't as I guess he wants to win the match himself. Erich and Hayes argue again. Hayes is that pissed off with Erich that he asks Gordy to open the door as he's tired of refereeing this match. This argument allows Flair to get another high knee. This one is more successful as Erich falls into Hayes who falls out of the ring. Hayes has no one to blame but himself for that one. Gordy, who is now mad at Erich, throws the cage door into Erich's face. Flair crawls over for the pin, but it only gets 2. I thought that was it. Hayes argues with the ref over the count (as Hayes thinks it was 3), which leads to Hayes's ejection from the match!
Flair goes on the attack with a couple of right hands. A snapmare gets 2. A second pin attempt gets 2. Flair throws Erich into the cage for redemption of what Erich did earlier. This gets 1. Flair continues his attack as Erich begins to hulk up (hence the 1 count). Erich punches his way to a vertical base before a tornado punch knocks Flair down. Erich collapses after the punch! The ref ends the match due to Erich's condition at 24 minutes to a large chorus of boos. **** stars
Thoughts: If the match had an ending and a little less with the Hayes tomfoolery, this would have been a ***** classic. The first 20 minutes of the match were excellent and only the last 4 minutes dragged it down a bit. It is definitely the MOTCompliation and is worth trying to see.
The 411: It’s very hard for me to do this, but I cannot give a recommendation on this Best of Flair compilation. Only two matches were shown in their entirety (both very good) but there were many unnecessary matches in this collection (the opening tag match, the Swede Hansen match among others) due to how they were clipped. Instead of trying to force 13 matches into a two hour tape, a five match tape would be much more appreciated. As is, skip this tape and pick up the WWE’s Ric Flair Collection instead.
