WrestleMania Rewind #4: The Undertaker vs Ric Flair at X8

[Ruthless-RKO]

Click here for rewind #3 Hogan vs. Andre at III
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My WrestleMania Rewind #4 is..
The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair from WrestleMania X8

Promo
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Match
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The Questions I would like to ask about the match are:

• Was the feud going into the match good?
• Was the match entertaining?
• Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)
• Was there any good spots?
• How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?
• Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

 

[Dimice121976]

It's hard to look at this match due to 'Taker being heel. That whole 3 year run with that character makes it hard to rightfully judge this. With that being said, I will answer your questions.

Was the feud going into the match good?
Yes it was. Flair was the co-owner, and 'Taker wanted revenge for No Way Out. 'Taker laid out Arn Anderson and David Flair leading up to WM. Flair's drive for revenge cost him at the time his "Co-ownership" of the WWE.

Was the match entertaining?
Compared to some of 'Taker's recent WM matches it wasn't, however compared to some of his earlier ones excluding '01 vs HHH, it was. So to be fair it probably falls in the middle. The hardcore no-dq aspect of it made it more entertaining to watch compared to if there was not hardcore aspect to it.

Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)
Yes there was. 'Taker as the bully who could do anything he wanted, worked well with Flair's do anything to survive and win strategy.

Was there any good spots?
All the hardcore blood spots were good however the high light has to be the Arn Anderson spine buster.

How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?
The crowd was hot for just about the entire card. The Toronto reaction was classic as always.

Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)
The match length was just right. Flair and 'Taker did about everything one could expect them to do.
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[Deadman87]

•Was the feud going into the match good?

I Believe it was, Taker had a new Hell persona going, just come off a run with the Hardcore title (not 100% sure on that) and had beat the living hell out of Maven at the Rumble. Also kicked David Flair's ass to get Ric in the ring so plenty of emotion in this one.

•Was the match entertaining?

Yeah i was entertained, thought the crowd was into it, not the most technical match but it was enjoyable.

•Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

Yes there was, as i kinda stated in my first point Taker's heel gimmick was a take no prisoners show me respect attitude. If beating down your son isn't getting in someones head i don't know what is.

•Was there any good spots?

I didn't really think so, i did enjoy Taker trying to last ride Flair, shake his head in disapproval and punished flair with a Tombstone, thought it was a killer Tombstone too.

•How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

I thought the crowd dug it, you could hear the roars when Anderson nailed the Spinebuster, and again with the tombstone

•Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better.

Perfect length, couldn't do anymore once the match was done, Taker counted to ten getting out of the ring as well as knocking out the ref. Personally a very underrated match in my eyes. Gotta love the Deadman

 

[Jason Scene]

Was the feud going into the match good?

- I thought the way they built it was quite good. Ric Flair was having confidence issues at the time, and I believe the match was made for him to feel like he still had it. Undertaker beating up Arn Anderson to me isn't really a motive though, it was David getting the crap beaten into him which was good. And David showed the one thing he was good at, selling!

Was the match entertaining?

- For the most part. It really did live up to it's No disqualification stipulation. It was great knowing that even back in 2002 that Flair looked that good in the ring. Hes changed a lot though.

Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

- The match itself, not all that much. It shows Flair's aggression though, getting right into it from the get go, and when Undertaker took control around 9 minutes in the first video the bully came out. Great spot with Arn Anderson, shows how much of a legend he is. I love seeing that spinbuster!

Was there any good spots?

- Ric's counter with the weapon on the LR attempt.

How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

- They seemed into it, I think at the start with the brawl they were more enthusiastic, but until Undertaker went for Old School and Ric reversed, they didn't seem into it. When Arn came down the pop was great.

Length of match?

- Match length was right, and they really sold Flair IMO, by having Taker end him with the Tombstone, something they really didn't do back then.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

•Was the feud going into the match good?

Yes it was, one of the main reason why I enjoyed this feud for Taker going into Mania was because it wasn't about the streak as most of his feuds are. With this fued being more personal then anything it made me have the idea that Flair may win. If the feud was based off just the streak then it would have been pretty obvious who the victor was going to be.

•Was the match entertaining?

Yeah it was pretty entertaining. Now if you was to compare it to Flair & Takers other matches well then its not there best match, but it was a good one.

•Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

Yeah for the most part, JR help sale the idea of that Flair back was pretty much up against the wall & he had to do the match. Flair & Taker pretty much played that out in the match as well w/Flair seeming to be the retired legend just out there looking for vengence.

•Was there any good spots?

The superplex from the top rop was pretty good, when Flair jerked Taker from the top rope was kool & the best spot of all was Arn Anderson popping up out of nowhere to hit Taker w/the spinebuster.

•How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

Crowd seem pretty into it the whole time. I know friends family & myself was into it watching from home at the time. Good memories !!!

•Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

The match was perfect length, any longer & it could have gotten stale, least IMO.

 

[Miz_Mark]

I was there in the Skydome for Wrestlemania X8, and let me tell you, live and in person, this match was amazing. I would have bet money that it was going to be the match of the night, but then Hogan and the Rock tore the roof off the place.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Was the feud going into the match good?

The feud seemed okay going into the match and at the time is made quite a lot of sense aswell..

Was the match entertaining?

IMO, I liked this match and also think it's a very underrated WrestleMania match because there was Hogan/Rock to look forward to aswell.

Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

Yehh, I liked the way Flair kept taking control of the match at random times and then Taker would quickly get back on it.

Was there any good spots?

The one spot I love the most and I can watch forever is the Arn Anderson spinebuster!! Just perfectly executed!!

How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

I think the crowd was into the match the whole match, it was a hot crowd as well, because Toronto fans never disapoint.

Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

I would have to say the length of the match was good enough, lasted just about the same time as the Hogan/Rock match.. Not much more was needed and Ric Flair was jsut a blooded mess..