WWE - Ric Flair [DVD]

"The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection" is a 3-disc set that celebrates "The Nature Boy's" success in the NWA/WCW and WWE. Now you can discover for yourself why Flair was "The 60-Minute Man" and and why he nearly always stole the show back in his prime.

The majority of this DVD is comprised of NWA/WCW footage. There isn't a whole lot of WWF/E footage to speak of (which makes allot of sense really, as Flair's WCW career was more illustrius). This lengthy profile of "The Nature Boy" gets under way with a fair and bloody match from Starrcade 83', pitting Flair against Harley Race.

Flair's match with Dusty Rhodes at Starrcade 85' isn't very good, especially by today's standards (this is due to Rhode's blubbery frame and his sluggish offence), but things quickly pick up with some absoloutlely scorching 60-Minute Matches pitting Flair against Barry Windham and Ricky Steamboat, respectively (Flair's feuds with both men are covered in great detail).

Flair's feud with Terry Funk was an all-time classic, and now it can be seen on this DVD (the rivalry was set up very well indeed abck in 1989, but I won't spoil it for anyone here). Unfortunately, an infamous "plastic bag" incident that occurred between Flair and has been censored by the BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification), as they thought that such ana action was "easily imitable". Fortunately, the exciting (and shockingly gritty) 1989 "I Quit" Match between Funk and Flair is included.

There are also many archive NWA interviews and matches, some of which are hidden as "Easter Eggs" across all 3 discs. Back in the day, the NWA took itself so seriously, so you may find it hard to resist laughing when you see a phoney "press conference" hosted by the late Gordon Solie, in regards to "which company" could hold the Starrcade 83' match (several early interviews with a babyface Flair and Rick Steamboat are uintentionally hilarious).

As we move onto Flair's WWF career, Ric explains the real reasoning behind his controversial defection from WCW in 91'. There's plenty of early Flair WWF footage to savour, as well as his show-stealing performance in the 1992 Royal Rumble. But somwhat bizarrly, Flair's great feud with Macho Man is ignored, as is his "farewell" match against Mr Perfect in 93'.

Also featured is Flair's Clash Of The Champions match with Sting from 94' (it's nice to hear Flair praise Sting, as well as The Dragon earlier on). Also on the disc is Flair's WWWF debut in rather terrible match against Pete Sanchez.

As Flair's tale continues, you can see him receive a well-deserved award for PWI Wrestler Of The Decade (look out for wrestling journalist Bill Apter). Flair's final WCW appearance is also included and makes for a memorable, emotionally-charged addition to the disc (Flair's comments seem hypocritical now, though).

Finally, Flair's match against HHH from May 2003 is shown in it's entirity. Although it was decent at best, the previously unseen off-air antics are well worth seeing and are a touching way to wrap up Flair's story.

What makes this DVD collection most satisfying is the amount of time and attention it's been given. The extras are seemingly endless and include such interesting pieces such as the plane crash, which almost ended Flair's career before it had even began (this segment also gives a fans persepective by interviewing a life-long Ric Flair fan who recalls going to a wrestling show and hearing that the wrestlers had been involved in a plane crash).

Overall, this is a very entertaining profile of a very entertaining wrestler. Due to a few flaws, it's not the greatest profile DVD of all time, but it's still one of the best. Anyone who's new to wrestling or is an "old-school" fan in need of some nostalgia, should get this DVD and see Ric Flair at his very best.

The first disc starts off with a Cage match against Harley Race from Starrcade 1983. This match was good. Flair gets a good crowd reaction as it is in North Carolina. This is the match where Flair wins his second of SIXTEEN World Heavyweight Championships (he only won two of those in WWE). The next match is a World Championship defense against the father of Goldust, 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes. This time, Flair is the bad guy. Another good match with a strange ending. They explain it in one of the extras. The third and final match of Disc 1 is a match against Barry Windham. This match has some parts missing, since it was on a show with commercial breaks. It is still a good match, with DUSTY RHODES providing commentary.

Disc 2 is next (duh) with the first two matches being matches against Ricky Steamboat. Fans of old school wrestling will love these two encounters, but other fans will too. I can't rememeber different things about the two matches, but they are both classic wrestling matches. Next is the "I Quit" Match between Ric Flair and Terry Funk. This match is a non-title match (huh?)with Flair as the good guy again. Yet another great match from the Nature Boy. Wooo!

The final disc starts with the entire and unedited 1992 Royal Rumble Match where Ric Flair eneters at number 3. Bobby Heenan is not pleased. Ric Flair set the record for the longest amount of time spent in a Royal Rumble match without being eliminated. The final match on this DVD is back in WCW against Sting. The stream of classic wrestlign matches continues and this match has a SURPRISE ENDING.

This DVD isn't lacking in the extras department either. There are three extra matches:
Ric Flair VS. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw
and
Ric Flair and Barry Windham VS. Ricky Steamboat and Eddie Gilbert
and
Ric Flair VS. Pete Sanchez (Flair's World Wide Wrestlign Federation debut)
There are also interviews, press conferences, Flair on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro, an episode of the Funeral Parlor and loads of other stuff. If you are a wrestling fan, and you haven't got this, then you should. Especially if you like old school wrestling. I also have the Mick Foley DVD, so there's a big difference there. Anyway, full marks for this brilliant compilation.

This is a fantastic collection that all Ric Flair fans must own. Three DVDs is not enough to even begin to cover his illustrious career, of course, so every fan will have loads of matches that are not included in this collection. Still, there's a ton of great stuff here, 11 hours worth of wrestling matches, interviews, and classic Flair moments. From his first televised match to his final appearances on Nitro and Raw, this is a wonderful tribute to a man who meant more to his sport than any other athlete ever will. I was fortunate enough to grow up right here in Ric Flair country - I have many wonderful memories of the old NWA days with Ric, Valentine, the Andersons, Steamboat, and all the other greats. Ric Flair was unique, maintaining a core set of fans regardless of whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. When it comes to being bad, of course, he was the best - the dirtiest player in the game. All those fans up north thought Hulk Hogan was the man, but that was only because they didn't get a chance to really see Flair until the advent of cable television. I'll admit Hogan and his kind are big and bad, but they aren't really wrestlers in the true sense of the word. Flair knew how to wrestle, and that made him the ultimate paragon of wrestling tradition.

So what all do you get here? You get Flair's emotional, hard-fought victory over Harley Race at Starrcade '83 (this was back in the day when bleeding was not only allowed, it was encouraged) - this is one of the longest, most physical matches I've ever seen. You get two of Flair's fights against former Four Horseman Barry Windham, as well. Then there's Dusty Rhodes, the American Dream; he and Flair had a heated rivalry back in the '80s. Now you can relive some of that belligerent fun with Flair's matchup against Rhodes in Starrcade '85. Best of all, though, is the footage of the Four Horsemen breaking Dusty's ankle after Dusty came into the steel cage to help Flair after a match. It's one of my favorite wrestling memories of all time, and now I can relive the fun of Dusty's agony over and over again.

Moving on to Disc 2, the main focus is on Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat was right there supporting Ric after he beat Harley Race in '83, but there was no love lost between these two incredible competitors a few short years later. You get two Flair-Steamboat matchups in this collection: Clash of the Champions VI (2 out of 3 falls) and WrestleWar 1989. Flair's fight against the despicable Terry Funk at Clash of the Champions IX closes out the disc. Disc 3 is truly special. First off, you get to watch Flair do the impossible at the WWF 1992 Royal Rumble: outlast the best wrestlers in WWF for an incredible 62 minutes, having been the third man to enter the ring. Bobby Heenan is beside himself throughout the entire match because no one had ever even thought of the third man in a rumble actually winning the group melee. That night, Flair showed WWF what many of us already knew - the Nature Boy was the greatest wrestler the world will ever see. You also get Flair's matchup against Sting, the man he considers his toughest opponent of them all, at Clash of the Champions XXVII. Then, after watching Flair bid farewell to WCW Monday Nitro, you get to see Flair's final moment in the sun as he takes on Triple HHH, live on Raw, for the world championship belt. Flair shows the world what a 54-year-old man can do. After the show went off the air, the crowd got to witness a very special tribute to the Nature Boy - the respect they show this greatest of all champions is incredibly moving, especially for those of us who grew up watching and supporting Ric Flair.

I haven't even mentioned all of the extras and Easter eggs - there are tons of them. Ric talks about the plane crash that almost killed him early in his career, his opponents, and his career; there are a number of vintage interviews with Flair going back all the way to the mid-70s, there are pre- and post-match interviews for most of the matches included in the collection, and there is even the tape of Ric Flair's first televised wrestling match back on March 1, 1976 against Pete Sanchez in Madison Square Garden.

Whatever you think of Vince McMahon and WWE, it is important to know that McMahon allowed Flair to go out in style. Eric Bischoff and WCW treated Flair horribly in the later years of his career, despite the fact that Ric Flair essentially was WCW. We would have none of the tributes included on this collection (heck, we wouldn't even have this Ultimate Ric Flair Collection) were it not for McMahon's efforts to treat the Nature Boy like the champion he was.