His Best Match?

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

OK so I've decided to do another thread series entitled "His Best Match". Every thread I will give you a superstar from back in the day or maybe even a present one. Then we will discuss his best match. Today let's start with:

The Nature Boy, Ric Flair

Whenever Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat have a match, it was guaranteed for greatness. I know they had other great matches at Clash of the Champions 6 and Chi-Town Rumble in 86, but I thought this was their best match. Plus, unlike the other two matches, they finished it cleanly.

It was easily a five-star classic and also was the match that turned Flair into a face at the time. The near falls were very believable and I believe it was one of the best matches wrestled in WCW history.

Now that you know my pick for Ric Flair's best match, let's hear yours.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It may not be remembered as his ALL TIME BEST, but the greatest match I have seen Flair wrestle since becoming a fan was his "retirement" match against Shawn Michaels at WM. I know he was in there with the best in the business, but Flair managed to roll back the years that night and give us a truly great match.

The 2 of them worked magic in the ring that night, and although you knew what the outcome was going to be, his performance that night made you think "maybe..just maybe Naitch can pull this off"... and the way Shawn mouthed "I love you" at Flair before delivering what was supposed to be a career-ending Sweet Chin Music was perfect and so emotional.

Thats my pick anyway

 

[parkycjp]

iv gotta go with the randy savage match at mania 8. Terrific storystelling, hot crowd, awesome performance all round. Even the spot in the match after the flying elbow when mr perfect pulls away the ref and stopped the 3 count - because it wasn't so common back then, and the brains commentary during that bout was just the best damn performance vrom an announcer ever 2.

 

[Mr. Ass]

I used to tape all the WrestleMania's when i was a kid (what a loser I was, huh), and just for me growing up, my favorite Flair match was with Randy Savage at WrestleMania 8. It had the big event atmosphere, the interference angle with Mr/ Perfect and with Elizabeth running end towards the end, and the out-of-nowhere roll-up pin from Savage. More importantly, though, was the fact that two of the greatest wrestlers of my time put on one outstanding match. Savage will never get the credit he deserves for the work he put in during that era, but I'm a little bias, considering I've always been a face Hogan and all-around Savage mark. Also, the promos Flair cut leading up to that match were awesome, and for me it made the match that much more fulfilling. Now, if this thread was for Flair's greatest promo, it would have to be the Nitro from Chapel Hill, NC in 1999 where Flair was "president" and challenged Hollywood Hogan to a steel cage match for UnCensored of that year. The match was terrible, but the promo was its polar opposite.

 

[Disturbed]

I know this was not his best match but it certainly was my favorite, Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan, Bash at the Beach 94. It is one of my favorite matches of all time. I am not a Hulk Hogan fan at all and I think Flair made him look good in this match. Hogan had just joined WCW and these two have never faced each other before. Hogan was WWE's top guy and Flair was always WCW's top guy, then they faced each other. It was amazing. To top that, Shaq was at ringside and awarded the World Title to Hogan when he won. This was Hogan's first WCW World Title reign.

 

[The Rob]

Again, I think it's fair to say his matches with Ricky Steamboat will top this list. So therefore I'm going to talk about an honorable mention instead.

Triple H v.s Ric Flair on Raw from 2003, the night after Judgement Day. I believe this match was for the World Heavyweight Championship as well, I might be wrong about that, don't quote me. This was just fantastic, Triple H made Flair look like a damn king. For the first time since his comeback, Ric looked like 'The Nature Boy' again. I remember the crowd being red-hot for anything Ric did and I remember Ric actually being in control for the most part. Obviously for storyline purposes it wouldn't of been right for Triple H to lose to him just yet, at a time when they were building him up as a creditable champion on Raw, but Ric didn't need to win. He gained more than Triple H did that night, and that was the unconditional respect of both the live audience and the viewers at home. It was the first time I was really introduced to 'The Nature Boy' at his best.

 

[Strong Style X]

I have to agree with Rob, his matches with Steamboat were great. Technically superior, good storytelling, struggling, etc.

 

[The Brain]

There is a possibility that I haven’t seen Ric Flair’s best match. I was always a WWF guy and there is a lot of NWA/WCW stuff I haven’t seen. There is also a lot I have seen. When I think of Flair’s greatest matches the 1989 trilogy with Ricky Steamboat naturally comes to mind. I’ve seen all of these matches but I can’t honestly say I remember the details of which is which to name a specific favorite of the three. As a WWF guy I’m also tempted to say the match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania VIII was his best. It was a great feud and a great championship match between two of the biggest stars of all time. I don’t really have a match that I feel comfortable calling Flair’s best. I would like to mention a match that hasn’t already been mentioned here.

March 27, 1988. That was a big day in wrestling history. It was the day of WrestleMania IV where Randy Savage won his first world title by defeating four men in the same night in the world title tournament. It was also a big day for the NWA as they put on a show called Clash of Champions to compete with WrestleMania. The main event featured world champion Ric Flair defending his title against an up and coming young wrestler named Sting. Sting had a good look and a charismatic personality but he was going to be put to the test to see if he had what it took in the ring. Sting didn’t win the match but he passed the test. He took Flair to a 45 minute time limit draw in a classic match. While the wrestling world was focused on WrestleMania IV it was Ric Flair and Sting that stole the show that night. Flair made Sting look great that night. That match made Sting a star and it was Ric Flair who put him on the map.

 

[AK2V8]

I have seen alot of Ric Flair, and I saw him win the Rumble on live pay-per-view when I wuz 12. So I have seen alot of Ric Flair matches. But my favourite would have too be Flair/Michaels at Wrestlemania 24. It was so emotional with HBK mouthing "I love you" before the sweet chin music was epic.

Flair/Steamboat and Flair/Savage would be up there in 2nd and 3rd.

 

[Dyno Kid]

To pick one Flair match and say it's his best is nearly impossible in my opinion. It's like trying to pick the Beatle's best song or Babe Ruth's best home run, there's just so many to choose from !

Aside from the classics with Steamboat he had great matches with Windham, Morton, the Von Erich's, Nick Bockwinkel, Wahoo, Nikita Koloff, I could go on and on. The one thing for sure to me would be that if I had to pick one it would be an NWA match and not one froom the WWF !

 

[thunt41]

Great American Bash 1990 v. Sting for the NWA Heavyweight title....He made Sting a main eventer that night...the flow and pace of the match were amazing....

Royal Rumble 92 - I know this isn't your typical match but his hiding in the corner and eye pokes on top of heenen's commentary had you begging for him to win even though he was a heel...

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I doubt whether this question can be answered in any conclusive manner, there is a reason why is he considered by many to be the greatest wrestler of all time. For that reason I'm going to pick his most significant match and I'm not talking about Shawn at WM...

[YOUTUBE]JqievhwLWEI[/YOUTUBE]​

I don't think anybody would ever pick this as Slick Ric's best ever match but it had me bawling like a child at it's conclusion.