Ric Flair, Arn & Ole Anderson v Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA & Manny Fernandez (World Wide Wrestling, 12/28/85)
This has to be one of the all-time great wrestling crowds. The heat is completely off the charts from word one and doesn't let up for a second; just nuclear screaming and hooting and everybody popping wildly for everything, booing heels out the building, getting fully behind the babyfaces. The action itself is good because, you know, look at the names, but a hot crowd will make everything feel a little more special and you could see the wrestlers feeding off it. Dusty was gyrating his hips inside three seconds and people were losing their minds. I've never seen a crowd react to a leapfrog like they did for Manny Fernandez hopping over Arn's head and catching him on the rebound with a forearm. And of course they're primed for some Flair v Dusty, going bonkers when it finally happens and even more bonkers when Flair gets put on his backside. You can criticise Flair for plenty of things, but he's a sucker for the pop and he won't deny the people when it's there to be had. It's a shame we miss the transition out of the babyface shine, but Magnum is a fun, brief face in peril, then we get a run of Manny being beaten on which is even better. The Andersons and Flair are just great at making it feel like it's a concerted effort to keep Manny in their own corner, always making sure the guy tagging out grabs hold of some tights so he can't scoot away before the next guy comes in. David Crockett isn't a great commentator, but I find it hard to be too annoyed by him since he's clearly so into everything. It's a bit like when Piper did commentary or even Ranallo now (who I seem to be irritated by way less than the majority). While it can be grating, it's pretty infectious. When Arn whacks Manny in the head with a chair there's something about Crockett shouting "he waffled him...heeeeee WAFFLED him!" that just feels right.
Ric Flair v Ron Garvin (World Championship Wrestling, 12/28/85)
I'd somehow never seen this. I've seen Flair v Garvin as a pairing enough times that it's not exactly fresh anymore, but I was looking forward to this after watching the build up on TV. The previous week as Garvin was doing a post-match interview at the booth, Flair came out doing his usual bit about being the world's heavyweight wrestling champion and that Garvin should know better than to interrupt his interview time (even though it was Flair who interrupted Garvin's). Flair talked up Jim Crockett as being the best wrestling promoter in the world but questioned how great the SuperStation Championship Challenge Series really could be when the world champ wasn't wrestling on TV. Garvin said he'd be up the challenge if Flair really wanted one and so Flair said he'd buy the full hour next week just to beat up Garvin on TV. Then earlier in this show Flair came out in his robe, talking about all the women who want to be with him, saying he's so high on being Ric Flair every day that he might just keep doing this for another twenty years (boy he wasn't kidding, was he?). He's in high spirits and loving life as Jim Crockett Promotions heads into the year 1986, with him as the heavyweight champion of the world. Then we get to this at the end of the show, and what a way to close out the year. I thought it fucking ruled. My favourite Flair is the one who gets pissed off and surly. The one who knows his title's in jeopardy and will fight to keep it. The one who's beyond begging off and ready to scrap with whoever he's up against. Sometimes we'll get brief glimpses of it during those longer title defences where he rolls into town and wrestles the local babyface. Sometimes he'll abuse Ricky Morton and punch him in his broken nose. Sometimes him and Terry Funk will tear each other to ribbons. This was about 90% that Flair and it felt as much like a fight as anything he was ever in. There were a few moments where they'd set up a rope-running spot by grabbing a headlock, Flair took his upside down turnbuckle bump and once he did in fact beg for mercy as he backed into the corner...but for the most part they tore strips off each other. It had a bit of Garvin working a keylock early and there was a little Flair arm work that was inconsequential...but for the most part they lit each other up. Flair was agitated from the start and every strike exchange felt violent; not just the chops and punches but the parts where they were rolling around on the mat clawing at each other's face or tearing hair out. Garvin was throwing some awesome heabutts, Flair threw his knees to the gut, Garvin bit him in the forehead, Flair dropped his shin on Garvin's face. Flair's mounted strikes were great, the way he had his whole weight high across Garvin's chest as he pelted him with these nasty little rabbit punches. At one point Garvin just wrapped his hands around Flair's throat and dragged him to the mat, then slapped him really hard across the face. It was gritty and uncooperative and they never gave each other a second's peace. When Flair shouts that it's time to go to school it doesn't feel like his usual shit-talking. He's had enough of Garvin and now we get to see why he's the world champ. Too often that Flair - the one who looks every bit The Man he says he is on a microphone - will make only fleeting appearances, and it's a shame because he's exceptional when he's beating the brakes off someone. Towards the end he never bothered trying to set up the string of babyface nearfalls, never bothered having Garvin put him in his own figure-four, never bothered getting slammed off the top. They just stuck to the brawling and it was all the better for it. Great little fight.
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