Ric Flair vs. Tommy Gilbert (9/4/82)

[El Boricua]

Ric Flair vs. Tommy Gilbert (9/4/82)

[Grimmas]

This felt like a fun Flair title defense against an unworthy challenger. Loved Gilbert's little comeback with the dropkick and some nice fire. Flair was Flair and wins with the figure four.

 

** 1/4

[AJS]

I figured this would be Flair bumping like crazy for Gilbert for most of the match before getting the cheap win. I was wrong. Flair was in control for a good bit of this and I thought he looked superb on offence. He's great taking and selling a beating, but I do love watching him attack an opponent when the opportunity arises. And he won the match clean, and with the figure four no less! I was not expecting that. Enjoyable match.

[elliott]

Ric (or RICK, which I always love) Flair on 80s Sets tradition continues. Short and a pretty non-descript match. Flair hits a really sweet side back breaker. Ric’s begging off spot is fun and the punches leading up to it are awesome with Ric selling them great. This is actually a pretty decent example of a match where Ric has spots “playing the bitch” while still looking like a World Champ and even winning with the figure 4 (sorry I recently re-read the Bret vs Flair thread and couldn’t resist that last line). Pretty forgettable match overall though.

[WingedEagle]

I also expected Ric to work underneath here before pulling out a win, but was pleasantly surprised that he was in fact The Man most of the way. Not to say that there weren't moments where Flair begged off or gave some credibility to Gilbert as his challenger of the moment, but those were the wrinkles rather than the story here. The chops were solid, the finish decisive and as simple as this was nothing looked preposterous and just about everything as sold. I'm sure the match by match comps will stop as I get deeper into the set, but its natural to think in terms of what came before it at this early stage. I enjoyed this a hair more than our the first Abby/Colon outing, primarily because it was much tighter with no wasted time or motion. Just love the way Flair paces things -- long, short, his tempo is always outstanding. Let's things breathe but never too much. Fun TV match. Was this a studio taping? It appeared so but the crowd also looked large enough that I'd believe it if you told me otherwise.

 

***1/4

[KB8]

Well I loved this. Fuck it, I said it, I meant it, I'm here to represent it. Old, balding, two-years-shy-of-retiring-into-a-refereeing-gig Tommy Gilbert isn't the first candidate I'd put forward to play plucky underdog in a studio match against the World Champ, but hell if it doesn't work. Maybe this is the kind of setting in which I'll get the most out of Flair at this point. Short, to the point, pretty much a sprint. Thought he struck a really nice balance between being the aggressor and begging off. Like, I know for a fact I'd be fawning over Rose or Bockwinkel if they worked the match this exact way. Actually, and maybe this is just because I haven't watched a Flair studio match in ages, Flair seemed more aggressive and intent on working on top in this compared to a LOT of Flair matches I can think of, studio or otherwise. He of course gives Tommy plenty, but he'd let loose with body shots, AWESOME elbow drops, kicks to the kneecap, rabbit punches to the nose, a great delayed vertical suplex, etc. He cut a no-nonsense promo before it about how he was the best athlete in the world, and he generally worked this like a guy who could live up to that hype (with the begging off highlighting the hubris in such a statement at the same time). And how about the figure four? Wasn't reversed, wasn't applied to Flair as a revenge spot, didn't feel tacked on for some mid-match heat. It was the figure four leglock in all its glory. Praise the Puerto Rico.

[Migs]

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

[fishbaugh]

RICK Flair with a translator is just fantastic -- he looks so pissed at having to change up his cadence. Nice showcase TV match, but nothing special for the first bit. Picks up some after about 5 minutes, but never gets out of 2nd gear. 2nd gear early 80s Flair is still pretty fun though.

 

Rating: 5