[1982-09-04-WWC] Ric Flair vs Tommy Gilbert

[shoe]

You look at this match and you'd guess oh a Memphis match or maybe Kansas City. Nope It's Puerto Rico and it's your World Champ studio match. We've seen Flair have this type of match many times and he's very good at it. Both guys really hit hard here. I loved Gilbert fighting back when Flair was going for the Figure 4. 3*

[Migs]

Classic Flair studio match. Good pace, fun work from both. ***

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWA World Champion Ric Flair vs Tommy Gilbert - WWC 9/4/82

I watching a match with four of my top 50 favorite wrestlers in Japan and having a hard time getting into it. I think I may be burnt out. I threw in a curveball. I was going to watch some Flair in Portland but the matches were too long and this one at around ten minutes was perfect. Looking forward to Flair vs Colon. 

Typical Flair by the numbers TV Match. If youre a Flair fan like me, youll love it and it is Chicken Soup for your soul. If you dont like Flair you can skip. I thought the Wendell Cooley Mid-South TV match from 1985 that I watched recently was even better but you cant wrong with this. The shine was Flair losing a Test of Strength and taking a hiptoss. He chops Gilbert a good bunch, throws him out of the ring, nice delayed vertical. Gilbert's only highspot seemed to be the dropkick. Flair hit the Belly to Back Suplex for two. Gilbert got in a dropkick, missed the second which wrenched his knee in a tree of woe. Figure-4->tapout. Before the match Flair cuts a promo on the Invader with a Spanish translator that was good shit. It is Flair touring TV studio wrestling and its in Puerto Rico, pretty cool. ***1/4 

[Superstar Sleeze]

lol I have already watched this match. I watched this morning and really liked all the same things. I am upping it to **** 1/2. I will say I liked it in the context of watching it after seeing Flair against Tony Colon and Jerry Finley. Against Tony, he is in complete control it is just chops and a suplex Figure 4 win. Finley is able to get a toehold and kick out of the gutwrench suplex But the butterfly -> Figure-4 win it. Here Tommy Gilbert gets more like a typical Flair opponent winning tests of strength. Coming back from multiple suplexes. He gets a fun blast with the dropkicks. I loved the misses dropkick leading to his dropkick. Really fun studio match looking forward to Flair vs Colon.