[2002-01-20-WWF-Royal Rumble] Ric Flair vs Vince McMahon (Street Fight)

[BigVanCrush]

How is there no thread for this match? This is one of the rawest spectacle matches the WWF ever did. Vince tortures Flair in front of his kids, just beats him bloody and takes a goddamn selfie with a bloodied Flair using Flair's daughter's camera. This is just Vince beating the breaks off Flair, disrespecting him in front of his kids and finally getting his comeuppance at the end but you can tell the damage is done and Flair's kids don't respect him anymore after what they just watched Vince do to their dad. Amazing match. ****3/4

[cactus]

We actually get a chance to see how Vince is as a worker here, as barring all the weapon spots and blood, he actually wrestles this a lot straighter than how he did during his matches with Hogan and Shane. There's zero interference here and it's actually worked as a straight street fight. Vince's strikes aren't the prettiest, but he got great psychology and knows how to make the crowd hate him and when to show himself in danger. Flair's kids are at ringside and Vince stealing the future Charlottle Flair's camera to take a photo of her bloody father was hilarious and I love how they played off that by having Flair making Charlottle snap a picture of a busted-up Vince later in the match. Flair still has to take more time to find his footing as a full-time wrestler, but this was a satisfying way to bring him back to the WWF after a nine-year absence. ★★★½

[EnviousStupid]

Early on, Vince McMahon is applying a headlock for a good 20 seconds on Ric Flair.

The match itself is kind of middling till they start introducing weapons and hit gushers, but I keep coming back to a 56yo Vince grabbing onto headlocks against a (recognized) 16-time world champion... in a Street Fight! I have no idea how to feel about it. Very weird.