[2000-05-17-WCW-Thunder] Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs David Flair & Crowbar

[soup23]

Flair comes out for his promo and gives credit to Jarrett reminding him that he came from the old school mentality. Flair then moves onto Russo. He talks about Russo growing up admiring Bruno Sammartino as a kid. Flair does a great promo and he still has it when he can sink his teeth into something. Jarrett has had enough and comes out to brawl with Flair along with Crowbar and David Flair. This brings out Arn with a lead pipe to scurry off the David/Crowbar/Jarrett contingent. Arn challenges them to a match. We come back to Flair’s entrance and Arn gets laid out by Crowbar and David in the back. Flair gets jumped by Jarrett on the aisle. A 3-1 attack happens to Flair. I know I harp on it every time and I do like Hulk’s FUNB gear and see the merit in making them look different but Flair in his golf attire wrestling just strikes me as odd every time. Nash comes out and he continues to get big pops every time he saves the old guys and clean houses. Flair puts the figure four on Daphney and Nash no sells a chair shot from Jarrett. They tease that Flair has something physically wrong with them. New Blood loads up into their bus and Millionaires Club tips the bus over as the Goldberg monster truck screeches through the parking lot. Silliness there aside for 2000 WCW tv standards, this week was good for them. NR

[GSR]

Ric Flair is out and they replay clips from Nitro of him winning the World title. The crowd chants “15 times” at him, before Flair puts over Jeff Jarrett as a great wrestler, a great champion and says that he just got lucky. Jeff Jarrett comes from the old school, he respects that, but right now he doesn’t have the World title. He says that now he’s got to get his home life back together because he’s got a son that’s confused and been brainwashed by Vince Russo. Flair tells a tale of how when Russo was a child he saw the ‘Nature Boy’ on cable and from that moment on he wanted to be him (even referencing Bruno Sammartino in this). He never could though, because he was just a skinny kid. He got older, got power, got a cheque book, but he still could never be Ric Flair. He couldn’t control Sting, Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan, and he doesn’t even have the World title anymore, the old generation have it! Now Vince Russo is trying to live his life vicariously through his son and he tells him that isn’t going to happen. Jarrett’s music plays and he makes his way to the ring while Tony Schiavone says that Russo isn’t here tonight. ‘Double J’ has heard enough, claims Flair is a notorious dead beat Dad, that he has his stolen property and he’s going to step into this ring and pull it out of his ass! The two of them go at it until David Flair and Crowbar are out to help Jeff and the three of them triple team the Naitch. Arn Anderson, carrying a lead pipe, jogs out for the save and the three of them exit the ring. Arn tells them that it’s not that easy and they’re going to clear a few things up. He’s old school too and Vince Russo took an old sleeping dog and woke him up last week. He was considered retired, he even though so, and was content to walk around the back and help out where he could because he still wanted to be around the business. The reality is though that he’s a wrestler, that’s not what he does. He says to David that if he ever wants to be a wrestler he’s got to quit letting that snake up in New York City control him, before telling Jarrett that later tonight he’s getting a dose of Anderson and Flair, Horseman style!

 

Ric is out first and tape plays on the big screen of David and Crowbar assaulting Arn while Daffney cheers them on. Flair heads backstage to help out, only to be jumped by Jeff Jarrett before he gets there. The Naitch starts to fire back but very quickly David and Crowbar are out to make it three on one, whilst a bell also rings to signify the start (?) of the match. David puts the Figure Four on his dad, although it looks like Ric has to help him apply it. Kevin Nash’s music plays and he has a slow walk to the ring. In the meantime Ric cradles Daffney (whilst still locked in the Figure Four) and gets the three count on her. Nash takes care of Crowbar and David and Ric puts the Figure Four on Daffney. Jarrett clocks Nash over the head with a chair, which he doesn’t sell, and quickly hightails it out of there with Nash in pursuit. Flair then collapses on the rampway and it looks like they’re doing a heart attack angle. Jarrett escapes to the ‘New Blood’ bus, but Nash has some back up and the Millionaire’s Club and M.I.A. tip it over just as Goldberg’s monster truck speeds by.

 

I wondered why I had no recollection of Arn Anderson wrestling in 2000, it’s because it never happened. Despite the bell ringing and the pinfall, this is primarily one long angle highlighted by two great promos from Flair and Double A. Quick note for Daffney who I’m warming to in what we’ve seen, with all her enthusiasm and energy when she’s with David and Crowbar.