[1990-03-24-NWA-Worldwide] Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Super match! Flair has been on fire this year, but Ricky Morton is the one who shines. These two still have the chemistry they had in 1986. The headlock work in the early stages was fantastic, and the chop/punch slugfests were consistently awesome. There were a few spots where I thought Flair was a little off, but except for those moments, this was great. Even better than the Eaton match in January, and one of the best TV matches you'll ever see. This crowd was very excited to see these two lock up.

[PeteF3]

Very good match but I think the sheer one-sidedness in favor of Morton holds this back from being great. It was almost worked backwards with the heel Flair doing hope spots and then constantly getting cut off by Ricky. It was interesting as a role reversal but still too jarring for me. That said, the energy level was great throughout and Morton did look great taking advantage of a rare opportunity to work on top.

[soup23]

Great match with Flair on defense for about 95% of the match and the crowd going wild. I think a lot of the story could have been done by the announcers saying that Flair was preoccupied with Sting/LUger and that is why he underestimated Morton who is a familiar foe. I love the fact that Flair has wrestled so many different style of matches so far this year. All the punches and exchanges and Flair begging off looked great here.

[shoe]

This was so awesome. It felt like we were building to a 20 plus minute classic. we get the fall like at the 15 minute mark that caught me by surprised. Still great stuff with both guys looking great. Flair is the man.

[Cox]

Great match. Ricky Morton hasn't exactly been pushed hard since his return to the NWA, but the crowd still reacts as if they believe he can beat Ric Flair and win the World heavyweight title, which is a testament to both Morton and Flair. I think I preferred the Eaton match, but it's hard to find fault with either, and I'd rank them both among the best TV matches I've ever seen.

[JerryvonKramer]

I actually had no idea this match happened until just now. March 1990 is a bit of a blank for me for some reason.

 

I love matches like this where Flair is a dominant bully for much of the running time, but his overconfidence leads him to let the underdog get some shit in and tease that he might, just might, get an upset win.

 

Crowd is really into it, despite the fact that Morton is far removed from his peak of overness here. Great match.

[garretta]

We have a new third place in my WCW poll for 1990. Just tremendous action, helped by superior commentary from Crispy and Terry. It's their commentary in part that makes the physical action mean so much; they constantly put over in the early going that Flair, as great as he is, can't possibly be ready for Morton because he's been training exclusively to face Luger. Sure enough, Ricky dominates the first ten minutes, and you begin to think that an upset is possible. But then, the tide turns, as Flair uses his mind games and some well-placed cheating to take the advantage and eventually escape with the fall.

 

Yes, it's Flair making his opponent look perhaps better than he should. particularly since Rock 'n' Roll isn't even being pushed as tag title contenders at this point. But the narrative spun on commentary, plus the idea that every babyface in the company wants revenge for Sting and thus will be more aggressive than ever against Flair and the Horsemen, makes it feel right.

 

I was a bit surprised that JR didn't call this one once I found out that it was being aired on the Mothership, even if it was on voiceover, but as I said, Chris and Terry were tremendous. I especially liked Terry telling the ref again and again to take action against Morton's illegal fists without making it sound like pro-heel whining, which I'm not sure even Jesse Ventura could have pulled off. My favorite line on the subject was: "That's a gross violation, Crispy. That means that (Morton's) broken that rule a hundred and forty-four times!" He sure wasn't exaggerating by many!

 

Tremendous TV bout, the best of the year in any promotion so far.

[drew wardlaw]

Awesome roll reversal. Great use of experimenting with the rolls within a traditional match structure like this. Ricky's scrappy punches are great. There's a great shot at one point where Morton is laying on the mat and his hair is spread out, an it looks like he's laying in a pool of Predator blood.

[JKWebb]

I get the feeling from listening to the Flair podcasts, and probably other various interviews I've heard, that he just loved to wrestle Ricky Morton. I think a lot of him giving so much offense to Ricky was out of sheer respect and love for the man. Of course, the crowd loves Ricky too, and that is part of it as well. I thought Morton was simply perfect here. His selling, per usual, was great. I love the way he sells Flair's chops. Flair delivers some great looking punches. It doesn't get much better than this for a TV match. The crowd sounds super hot. Love this match.

 

#473 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-500-451/2/

[ohtani's jacket]

I could only find a JIP version of Loss' #473 but loved it. There was nothing really special about what Flair or Morton were doing but the crowd were super hot and both guy's characters were so clearly defined that you just enjoyed the fact it was Flair vs. Morton in front of a hot crowd. I swear until my dying day that as soon as Flair cut his hair it was over. It's like Samson and Delilah.

[dawho5]

Loved the match, but thought Flair gave a little too much up to Morton. Even so, great work by both.

[zep81]

 

My favourite spot.