#248: Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair, NWA WrestleWar (5/7/1989).
This is for Steamboat’s NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
This is the final match in the legendary 1989 trilogy between The Dragon and The Nature Boy. It began at Chi-Town Rumble in February, when the two competed in a disturbingly simple match that elevated the basics of professional wrestling to a new level. Steamboat dethroned Flair that night to take the Ten Pounds of Gold. From there, they’d go to Clash of the Champions VI, where Steamboat would best Flair once again in a 2 Out of 3 Falls Match, a battle that I can confidently say is one of the greatest matches to ever take place on American soil.
In that match, however, Flair’s foot was under the bottom rope, which made the finish a not so clean one, and thus, one final match was almost a guarantee. The final battle would take place at WrestleWar, in Nashville, where once and for all, we would find out who The Man was in the NWA. The story of the feud is the same as always: Steamboat is the simple family man, fighting to give them a better life, while Flair is the playboy, with hundreds of women praying for a shot at Space Mountain.
The ring side judges for this match are Lou Thesz, Pat O’Connor, and Terry Funk. They are here, in case this match goes to the one hour time limit. The Clash match went 55 minutes, so it’s not entirely impossible here!
The bell sounds, and we are under way. They lock up quickly, and Flair pushes Steamboat into the ropes. Another collar and elbow tie up, and Steamboat takes Flair down to the mat. Another lock up, and Flair takes the side headlock. Tackle by Flair, and a hip toss by Steamboat, followed by an arm drag, and Steamboat goes for an arm bar. They slap each other in the corner, with Steamboat getting the advantage.
They lock up, and Flair with a cheap shot to the midsection, followed by a hard chop. He lands another, and jabs Steamboat in the jaw. Steamboat with some hard chops as retaliation. They exchange chops, with Flair staying one step ahead for a moment. Back body drop by Steamboat, and Flair rolls to the floor. The challenger takes a breather, and then returns to the ring. They lock up, and Steamboat reverses a wrist lock into one of his own. They both lobby for control here, with the champion forcing Flair to the mat.
Steamboat with an arm bar attempt. He drops a knee right into the shoulder. Flair is back to his feet, but he gets tackled by the Dragon, who then hits an arm drag back into the arm bar. Steamboat hammerlocks the arm of Flair, who counters with a drop toe hold. Steamboat reverses, and goes right back to the hammerlock. He digs his knee directly into the injured arm. Flair attempts to chop his way free of this offense, but Steamboat goes between his legs and trips him. He goes back to the hammerlock.
Flair gets to his feet and grabs Steamboat’s hair in the corner. He elbows Steamboat in the head, and then another. He drops the champion with a forearm, and then a chop. Steamboat with a quick flurry of chops, and Flair falls face first to the mat. The Dragon goes back to the arm bar. He hammerlocks the arm, and flips over for a Front Chancery. Flair with Steamboat in the airplane spin position, and he places Steamboat on the top rope.
Steamboat goes back to the mat, and nails a hip toss and a dropkick that send the Nature Boy to the outside. Back in the ring, Flair kicks Steamboat right in the abdomen. The champion hits an arm drag out of nowhere, and goes back to the arm bar. Shoulder tackle by Steamboat, and then a hip toss by Flair! He turned the tables on him. Flair with an elbow drop, but Steamboat avoids it, and he hits another arm drag into the arm bar. Flair is back to his feet, and he sends Steamboat into the turnbuckle with some shoulder attacks to the ribs. He chops Steamboat against the ropes, and then continues his chop barrage all around the ring.
Steamboat looks to fight back with chops of his own. Flair with a “football tackle” to Steamboat, which sends the champion to the floor. He’s right back in with a chop, and the 10 punches to the head in the turnbuckle. He irish whips Flair to the turnbuckle, and he flips upside down, catching himself in the ropes. Tackle by Steamboat, and he rushes Flair, who sends him flying to the outside. It wasn’t a deliberate move over the ropes, so it’s not a DQ. Because, you know, going over the top rope was a DQ in WCW until 1998.
On the outside, Flair chops Steamboat so hard, he goes over the barricade and into the front row. They exchange hard chops at ringside, with Steamboat chasing Flair back into the ring, and hitting a karate chop from the top rope to the head. He goes upside down in the corner, and gets chopped on the apron by Steamboat. Snap mare by the champion, and Steamboat goes right back to the arm bar. Shoulder tackle by Steamboat, and he misses a dive, sending himself face first to the floor. Flair uses this as a chance to regroup.
Flair brings Steamboat back into the ring, and drops the knee right to the face. Big chop by Flair, and a hard right hand to the jaw. Flair digs his knee right into Steamboat’s throat. Flair with a high back body drop, and Steamboat kicks out at 2. Another hard knee drop to the head by the challenger. He hooks the arms, and hits a double arm suplex to Steamboat. The champion is able to kick out. Standing elbow drop by Flair, and Steamboat kicks out again.
After arguing with the referee, Flair catches Steamboat and drops him throat first onto the top rope. Big chop by Steamboat drops Flair. He goes to the floor, and drags Steamboat out there with him. He hits a nice vertical suplex onto the thing ringside mat. Flair has Steamboat on the apron, and looks for another suplex, but Steamboat reverses it into a roll up for a close 2. More chops by the champion, and Flair rebounds off the ropes to cross body Steamboat and himself over the top rope and onto the floor.
He brings Steamboat into the ring, and goes to the top rope. Steamboat cuts him off and sends him flying to the mat, back first. Flair tries to beg off, but Steamboat is all over him with punches in the corner. Irish whip to the opposite corner, and a back body drop. Flair kicks the gut and looks for a back body drop, but Steamboat reverses into a roll up for 2. Steamboat places Flair on the top rope and chops him. Big super plex by the Dragon to Flair! Jim Ross on commentary mention’s Flair’s back and the plane crash that broke it.
Steamboat looks for the Chicken Wing, but Flair gets to the ropes. He smashes Flair’s head off the turnbuckle, and then goes to the top rope. Diving karate chop to the head by Steamboat connects flush. He’s back on the top rope, but Flair falls into the ropes, sending Steamboat to the floor. He hurt his leg on the way down. Flair quickly recovers, while Steamboat is having a hard time returning to the ring. His leg is fucked.
Flair sees it and zeroes in on it right away. He grabs Steamboat from the apron, and hits a delayed vertical suplex into the ring. Flair pulls at the injured leg, and then locks in the Figure Four Leglock submission! Flair applies all the pressure to the leg, and Steamboat is fighting for his life to survive. Steamboat is giving his all to get to the ropes, or to turn Flair over and transition the pressure. He finally grabs the bottom rope to break the hold. Flair stays on Steamboat, kicking the injured leg in the ropes. Big chop to the chest, and a knee to the bad leg. The champion tries to chop his way free, but Flair won’t let go of the leg. Enziguri by Steamboat knocks Flair out! He grabs Flair, and goes for a powerslam, but Flair takes advantage of the buckled leg and turns it into an inside cradle for the win and the championship! Flair is a 6 time World Champion.
Post match, Flair and Steamboat show respect to each other. Jim Ross is here to interview Flair, who speaks about Steamboat, who he says is the greatest champion he’s ever faced. Out of nowhere, here comes Terry Funk, who congratulates Flair on his win, and he says he would’ve voted for Flair if it had gone the 60 minutes. JR continues his interview, and Funk grabs the mic to say that he wants to be the first one to challenge Flair for the title.
Flair says he’s honored, but he reminds the fans that Funk has been rubbing shoulders with Hollywood for the last few years, and the NWA has a Top 10 Contenders List that Flair is more worried about. Funk takes offense to this, as he thinks Flair is saying that he’s not good enough. Flair rebukes by saying that he’s more worried about the Top 10 contenders, not a guy who’s been in Hollywood for the last five years. Funk then states that he was just kidding around, and he goes to shake hands with Flair.
Then, Funk decks him in the face and beats the holy hell out of him! He throws him all around ringside, and sends him face first into the judge’s table. He brings Flair on top of the table, and gives him a piledriver on the table! He throws the table onto him, then swings a chair onto his injured head. Funk keeps yelling “am I not good enough?”
Wow! Lots to take in. First, let’s look at the match. Fantastic showing! If you can believe it, Flair and Steamboat put on yet another all time classic in the same year as two other all time classics. I’d put this one above Chi-Town Rumble, but it’s still not better than the meca of Clash of the Champions. Both men showcased more incredible examples of the fundamentals of pro wrestling here – limb work, psychology, selling, and simple in ring storytelling.
Steamboat was on Flair’s arm in the beginning like crazy, and that arm work played a key role in the end of this match, as Flair was unable to take the win with his patented Figure Four, despite Steamboat’s leg being badly injured. Flair was his usual great self here, chopping at will and picking his spots like the Dirty Player of the Game that he is. A great piece of storytelling here is the fact that Flair was able to win with the Inside Cradle – the same move that Steamboat used to initially take the championship from him at Chi-Town Rumble.
Everything executed here meant something. The thing about the singles matches these two had in 1989 is that nothing was wasted. Everything had a purpose, and both men sold the importance of this match like it was the biggest thing wrestling had ever seen. The fact they were able to do that three straight times is a testament to the greatness that these two carry with them.
As far as the post match angle goes, it’s absolutely legendary. Flair goes from one all time rivalry with Steamboat to one with Terry Funk, whose brutal post match attack turned Flair face, and set him on course for one of the wildest feuds of the entire decade, as Flair and Funk would beat the holy hell out of each other for the remainder of the year. All in all, you have textbook professional wrestling here in this match. Two masters in their prime, showcasing just how good pro wrestling can be when kept down to the basics.