Ric Flairs Best Match ever!!

[Ruthless-RKO]

The Nature Boy Ric Flair...

He dominated half of the 70's and all of the 80's. He is recognised by the WWE as a 16-time world champion, although he counts more. He is one of the best wrestlers to ever step foot in the squared circle. PWI gave him match of the year awards 4 times in the 80's, as well as wrestler of the year 5 times in the 80's. He is also known for his promo skills, argubly the best ever at promos. He is also one of the best wrestlers from NWA.

Okay that was the trivia, what I want to know is out of the lot, what has to be your favourite match of Ric Flairs...Pick just one!!

Mine would have to be from the very first Starrcade 1983. Ric Flair vs Harley Race in a steel cage match. It was an amazing torch-passing moment as it gave Flair his 3rd NWA World Champion...although Race returned after 4 months to regain the title...The cage match was a bloody mess for Ric Flair and because of this match, Flair is an all-time great when it comes to cage matches....

Honourable Mention
1986 - Great American Bash - Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes in a cage match

1989 - WrestleWar - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat

2008 - Wrestlemania XXIV - Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels in a retirement match

So what has to be your all-time favourite match of Ric Flair???

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

My favorite Ric Flair match is probably the 1992 Royal Rumble. I still look at it in amazement of what Ric Flair did that night. For an hour, he was in the ring with 28 other men (Ted DiBiase was eliminated before Flair entered), and he performed at a very high level. He didn't sit in a corner and wait it out; nor did he spend most of his time outside of the ring. He was performing every single minute he was out there, facing off against several future WWE Hall of Famers.

In a singles match, it's hard to argue against most Ric Flair matches as the man was one of the all-time greatest wrestlers. But in terms of overall presentation and individual performance, I have to give the 1992 Royal Rumble the nod as my favorite Ric Flair match.

 

[WorldHeavyweightChampion]

Only ONE? lol

Well, in the poll I picked Harley Race as the person who helped Ric Flair get to the top. Sure, he won his first World Heavyweight Title in 1981 against Dusty Rhodes - and winning the NWA World Heavyweight Title was the BIGGEST accomplishment in the business - but beating Race in 1983 was bigger. Why? Because, (1) back then winning the World Heavyweight Title in the NWA more than once was almost unheard of, and (2) Harley Race was THE MAN in the "sport" at the time, and had won the gold more times than anyone else (besides Lou Thesz). The torch was passed from Race to Flair.

NOW..... as far as what I feel was the best Ric Flair MATCH? Simple:

Clash of the Champions 1 in 1988: Sting challenges Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Title in a 45-minute match (draw).


Honorable mention:

Ric Flair (World Champ) vs. Terry Funk (Clash of the Champions 9 - NY Knockout: I Quit Match)

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WrestleWar 1989: World Heavyweight Title)

Ric Flair def. Harley Race for the World Heavyweight Title (Starrcade 1983: A Flair for the Gold)

Ric Flair (World Champ) vs. Dusty Rhodes ($1million match w/ Joe Louis as referee)

Ric Flair def. Vader for the World Heavyweight Title (Starrcade 1993)

almost any match against either Sting ('87-'01), Barry Windham (in the 80's), or Ricky Steamboat (70's or 80's)

 

[Tully Blanchard]

Agree about the Starrcade '83 match, but I've always like the psychology in the Rhodes/Flair match from Starrcade '85. This was just a few months after the Andersons and Flair "broke" Dusty's leg and he was wearing the protective boot.

The 3 matches with Steamboat from '89 were all great, but I think I most enjoyed the 2nd match from Clash of the Champions.

 

[Disturbed]

i would have to say bash at the beach 94 vs hogan.it isnt is best match but my favorite because hogan was the big name in the big company and ric flair was the big name in the other company it was a dream match.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Wow, tough call. The 1992 Rumble was great, Flair was on and he went toe to toe with virtually every big name in the business at the time, Piper, Hogan, Savage, Sid, HBK, Taker, lotta HOF'ers in there, plus the spectacle of Mr NWA going against everyone in the WWF at a time in which big name main event stars did not randomly switch companies was huge.

Starrcade 85 is an example of a good match made better by the set up and the fued going in. You can't argue Dusty worked his @#$ off against Flair and they had tremendous charisma against each other, more so than Flair had with Hogan, Savage, or Steamboat I think.

Clash Of Champions 88 vs Sting was a good match and has historical value as the first time Sting sucessfully competed at the main event level. It may be the best individual match between them although the 1990 Great American Bash where Sting finally wins the title and the 1993 bout on WCW Saturday Night that ends in a near 40 minute DQ were also very good.

Flair had awesome matches against Ricky Morton in 1986 and Barry Whyndam in 1987. Flair/Whyndam was nearly as good in 87 as anything he did with with Steamboat in 1989.

There's a lot of things that go into a match that we as viewers dont see right away. Looking back at the drug problems and performance related issues Kerry Von Erich had makes their Texas Stadium Match in 1984 seem that much more impressive as Flair holds Von Erich together and leads him through a huge match with a title switch in front of 45,000 fans in near 90 degree heat outside.

In his later years, Flair lacked the speed and mobility he had in his prime but still could work a crowd as well as anyone. Everyone remembers his final WWE match with HBK but don't overlook his TLC Match with Edge in 2006 or his Flair For The Gold Moment vs HHH on RAW in 2003, very good matches showing that even well past his prime Flair could still captivate a crowd and hold them from start to finish. His Extreme Rules "I Quit" Match with Mick Foley in 2006 was short but brutal, showing Flair could still mix it up in a violent bloody style bout even though his days of trading technical holds with cruiserweights may have been over.

Some of Flair's vintage Cage Matches from his heyday hold up very well, especially the 1986 Title Switch with Rhodes from The Great American Bash. That may have been Flair's best storyline, forced to defend his title against every ranked contender in the NWA, fighting 6 times per week, different opponenents in different cities each night, during the month long Bash Tour. Flair vowed that NWA boss Jim Crockett Jr would have to "kiss my ass" on TV at the tours conclusion after he essentially defeated everyone the company had to offer, and each week Flair showed up on TV bragging about the different guys he beat last week and who he was beating up this week. It wasn't until the next to last show when Rhodes upset him in the Cage, one show away from completing the most daunting run of title defenses anyone ever did undefeated. Great set up letting his arch rival be the one to upend him at the finish line, and a great match to seal the deal.

The Steamboat matches speak for themselves, everyone recognizes them as classics. Picking one over another in the 1989 Trilogy is tough.

Still, given the historical significance, the number of hugely famous stars involved, and a little extra cred since it's a victory, I go with Rumble 92, just over Rhodes in 86, Whyndam in 87, or Steamboat in 89. That TLC Match with Edge was probably his best from his later years, just ahead of WM24 vs HBK or his Hell In A Cell Match vs HHH in 2005.

 

[Nova Secura]

Shawn vs Ric at Wrestlemaina 24, there is a easy reason this gets my vote. The EMOTION when shawn was about to go for Sweet Chin Music and mouthed i love you i just lost it.