Flair and Rhodes tangle on WCW Classics
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Ric Flair takes on Dusty Rhodes at the MoscaMania card in Hamilton, Ontario in 1988. (Toronto Sun)
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By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM! Wrestling
If you are like me and miss that old school style of wrestling or are
looking to add some unique footage to your video tape collection, the
Turner South network has a phenomenal treat for you this Saturday night.
For those lucky enough to be able to tune into this week's edition of WCW
Classics (8 p.m. EDT), the incomparable Ric "Nature Boy" Flair pays host
Dusty "The American Dream" Rhodes an unexpected and very special visit.
Flair's appearance results in the type of wacky verbal "filibustering" that
fans have come to know and love from the squared circle legends. The
vitriol flies fast and furious as Flair styles and profiles along side
Rhodes as they engage in an entertaining war of words that will have you
longing for the days when The Four Horsemen stampeded all over the NWA
(National Wrestling Alliance) -- the renown grappling organization that
evolved into World Championship Wrestling.
The bone of contention is Rhodes' 1986 World Title victory over Flair in
Greensboro, North Carolina. Rhodes is darn proud of his third NWA World
Heavyweight Title reign and savours the opportunity to rub it into his
arch-rival's face. A defiant Flair adamantly maintains that Rhodes has been
hit in the head with so much "plunder" that it has affected his memory.
Flair's remark about being drained because he wrestled AWA World
heavyweight Champion, Rick Martel, in Japan the night before accepting
Rhodes' challenge is a classic comment that will awaken memories in those
old enough to recall it.
Providing the kind of whimsical commentary that hasn't been heard since
Jesse Ventura put down his microphone, Flair and Rhodes debate that match
and two others - one in which Dusty Rhodes takes on Barry Windham and Ric
Flair's World Title defence at the inaugural Great American Bash against
the Russian juggernaut, Nikita Koloff. The verbal jabs will have your (as
Dusty would say) "belly welly" a rocking and a rolling. This episode is one
that wrestling traditionalists or those who appreciate the industry's
colourful history can't afford to miss.
Editor's Note: To read more about the WCW Classic series and download a
cool Ric Flair wallpaper and other goodies, check out the Turner South Web
site at http://alt.turnersouth.com/Home/.
