Flair/Steamboat...

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

I'll be the first to say Flair/Steamboat from Clash 6 & WrestleWar 89' was great. But, I keep reading they are (WrestleWar 89 more) the best Wrestling Matches in North American History.

 

In the last 6 years alone I think there has been a few matches in the WWF/E that can rival those matches.

 

IMO, these matches hold up and are even better.

 

Bret Hart Vs Austin; Survivor Series 96

 

Bret Vs Austin; WrestleMania 13

 

Austin Vs Benoit; Smackdown 2001

 

HBK Vs Foley; Mind Games 96

 

Close runners up

 

Austin Vs Angle; Summerslam 2001

 

Bret Vs Owen; WrestleMania 10

.

 

I know Flair & Steamboat set the tone for today's Wrestling (Actually, I think Steamboat/Savage WM3 is up there too) But I wouldn't say their matches are the best ever.

[Guest BionicRedneck]

Steamboat Vs Flair is still one of the best. I'm sure some of the wrestlers the WWE has could wrestle an equally as good match if they weren't hampered by the "WWE Style" and therefore the match would have to have a few ref bumps, a couple of run-ins etc.

 

I would say RF V RS is as good, if not better than all of those matches you mentioned

[Guest ManKinnd]

It depends what you're looking for. I personally didn't have an orgasm over the Flair/Steamboat series, but it was mostly technical stuff mixed with highflying and fast paced action. If you're looking for an awesome emotional brawl, HHH vs. Cactus Jack from the Rumble is the best. If you're looking for high energy spots with a ridiculous amount of bumps, TLC will reign supreme. There are too many types of matches to call one the best I think.

[Guest Downhome]

My personal favorite is the Tiger Mask I Vs. The Dynamite Kid series.

[Guest Angle-plex]

The only match I have as much fun watching as Flair vs Steamboat 2 Out of 3 Falls is Sting vs Vader (The Great American Bash '93).

[Guest wolverine]

Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Eddy Guerrero from Halloween Havoc '97 beats every Flair/Steamboat from '89 IMO, and is the best North American match I've ever seen.

[Guest razazteca]

Dean Malenko vs Chris Benoit overtime match at Road Wild?

 

the 98 series of Raven vs DDP vs Benoit matches

 

Booker T as Tv champ

[Guest HartFan86]

I think Bret vs. Austin @ Survivor Series 1996 was the best pure wrestling match in NA I have ever seen. It's *****+. I can watch that match over and over and over.

 

Flair/Steamboat from WrestleWar is way overrated in my opinion. Granted it's *****, but I just don't see why people love it that much. I actually enjoy their Chi-Town Rumble match better.

[Guest BionicRedneck]

Well, There may have been other matches on-par with it wrestling wise, but Flair/Steamboat had it all:

 

Great effort, great wrestling, great selling (Steamboat's sell of the Figure 4 may be the best I have ever seen), Great crowd, even great commentary, and even a great angle with the "Judges" at ringside.

 

Its flawless, until....

 

The finish. Am I the only one who felt it was a bit of an anti-climax. I dunno, its really hard to pick fault with it, and its easily one of the best matches ever.

 

If any new fans need proof that Flair was once the greatest wrestler in the world, look no further than this. Some people are overated in wrestling, but Flair was every bit as good as they say.

[Guest wolverine]

I think Flair vs. Steamboat Wrestlewar and Bret vs. Austin Survivor Series are both ****1/2.

 

I have never seen a ***** North American match. The closest is Rey-Eddy at ****3/4. This would've been 5* with a few more minutes.

[Guest Dames Edna]

Let me guess, you love Japanese wrestling and everything else is insuperior

[Guest godthedog]

i have a few matches that i enjoy more than flair/steamboat, but i have no problem whatsoever with flair/steamboat being the standard. more than any other match, they prove that the only truly important thing in a wrestling match is the drama, & EVERY other element of a match is only useful in how it helps build that drama. if someone were to ask me how to build a great match, wrestlewar 89 would be the match i pointed to. it followed the classic formula so simply & so strongly without having to do anything particularly special or brutal (unless you count all the chopping). while the flair/steamboat series isn't necessarily the greatest set of matches, they are the best EXAMPLES of a great match (if that makes any sense).

 

and why is this in the wwf folder?

[Guest Brian]

I think Flair/Hart Iron Man match is up there as it's the best WWE match I've ever seen and maybe the only one I'd be willing to give ***** no problem.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

I'd have to agree, Rey/Eddy tops it, and is pretty much the best NA match I've ever seen. I would say Austin/Hart (both of them) are about at the same levle of Wrestlewar '89. Hart/Hart is at about the same levle as well, and maybe a bit higher.

 

Keep in mind, I have never seen Flair/Hart. Somehow I doubt '93 Flair would be capable of beating out Rey/Eddy, but I'll have to see to find out for certain.

[Guest BigTim2002]

I just think the fact that such a simple move (the armdrag), was THE key to the psychology of the match, shows what kind of match Steamboat and Flair could do with a limited moveset. Just look at how Flair is immobilized for like 15-20 minutes of that match, and how the rest of the time is Flair just trying to slow Steamer down, eventually to where he injures the knee, and is put in the Figure-Four for three minutes. Then, with his knee being absolutely useless, they bring the ironic finish that happened at WM 3, and Flair rolls up Steamboat. I don't think that finish was anti-climatic at all. I think it was a token to Steamboat's selling, and that another figure-four could have made him tap. It's ***** just because it's Flair and Steamboat, who at 40 and 38 years old respectively showed what two people who know each other well could do in that ring, and I'll be damned if somebody can give a good reason as to why ***** isn't THE rating for that match. If someone can come up with a LOGICAL reasoning behind the fact they'd give it less, I invite them to do so.

[Guest godthedog]

I think Flair/Hart Iron Man match is up there as it's the best WWE match I've ever seen and maybe the only one I'd be willing to give ***** no problem.

i also think flair/hart was a better match, but creatively, they had more to work with (i.e., more falls to build the drama). flair & steamboat only had 1 in wrestlewar, making the match simpler & more of a textbook example of a great match.

 

It's ***** just because it's Flair and Steamboat, who at 40 and 38 years old respectively showed what two people who know each other well could do in that ring, and I'll be damned if somebody can give a good reason as to why ***** isn't THE rating for that match. If someone can come up with a LOGICAL reasoning behind the fact they'd give it less, I invite them to do so.

i wouldn't give it the full ***** for 2 reasons:

 

1) steamboat hurting his leg near the end of the match was kind of forced & contrived. i don't have a problem with flair working the leg the whole match, but i have a problem buying it when a guy just happens to hurt his leg specifically so that flair can apply the figure 4. had steamboat hurt his shoulder or something & flair had put HIM in the chicken wing, that would've been more dramatic.

 

2) the finish didn't make enough logical sense. after the clash match, shouldn't steamboat have learned NOT to try to pick flair up when his knee is bad?

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Flair vs. Steamboat wrestlewar 89 is still my second favorite match too watch.

 

Bret vs. Austin Mania 13 is my favorite...by I don't think it's better.

 

So it still gets my vote.

 

Bret vs. Owen is real good too.

[Guest Mad the Swine]

Flair and Steamboat needed no gimmicks, no huge ppv inspiration/hype, and didn't even need commentary to have a fantastic match.

 

Granted, there was the false Dusty finish at Chi-Town Rumble, but these men... I don't even recall reading about but a couple of cage matches and that was the only gimmick (other than the old school 2/3 falls) they ever used. I can't even remember either blading against each other after the 1970s.

 

Their matches from the 1970s were just as good, though the only videos available are clipped house show matches.

 

The scariest thing is that neither one pulled every move out the hat to pop the fans. They didn't need to.

[Guest thebigjig]

Flair/Steamboat has been and is still my favorite wrestling series... I just can't think of a single series of matches that was that perfect. Everything they did had a purpose, and everything made sense. The psychology was amazing, and so was the story. They didn't need flashy moves... Flair and steamboat could tell a better story using simple suplexes and armdrags, then Rey and Eddie could do with an entire lucha based match.

 

Eddie/Rey was great... but I'll take Steamboat/Flair anyday of the week and twice on Sunday