The odds are very good that if you’re a regular reader of With Spandex, you’ve seen your fair share of Ric Flair matches. Regarded by many as the greatest pro wrestler of all time, there’s no question that he’s one of the three or five most beloved and influential wrestlers in history. His last in-ring run in TNA might not be anything to write home about, but for nearly 20 years he was the measuring stick as a professional wrestler, both in and out of the ring.
One of the regular features on WWE Network are “Collections,” which allow you to basically watch a playlist of iconic moments on a given topic without having to search for events or matches and click around. On Monday, WWE Network will launch a new Collection called “Ric Flair: Stylin’ and Profilin’,” which will feature his greatest matches and promos from the ’80s and just into 1991, then will end with a couple of career retrospectives and the unveiling of his statue at this year’s WrestleMania Axxess.
Basically, it’s just a good excuse to watch a whole bunch of Ric Flair, and although this is just the tip of the iceberg where “good Ric Flair content” is concerned, it features a five-star match, some nice rarities, and some classics that are always worth a re-watch.
Here’s the full Collection chapter listing, courtesy of WWE Network News. It goes without saying that nearly all of these matches are for whatever world title is involved at the given time.
Mid-Atlantic 08/18/1982 – A Worthy Opponent (Vs. Jack Brisco)
WCCW 10/12/1982 – Dispelling the Rumors (A promo about the alleged bounty on Kerry Von Erich)
WCCW Christmas Star Wars 12/28/1982 – Trouble in Texas (Steel Cage Match vs. Kerry Von Erich)
Mid-Atlantic 04/27/1983 – Staying Ahead of the Race (A promo hyping his feud against Harley Race)
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 08/31/1983 – Two Legendary Champions (Flair challenges Race to a title match)
Starrcade 1983 – A Flair for the Gold (Steel Cage Match vs. Harley Race)
Mid-Atlantic 01/25/1984 – Verbally Stylin’ and Profilin’ (One of Flair’s most legendary promos)
NWA The Great American Bash 1985 – An American Champion (Vs. Nikita Koloff)
World Championship Wrestling 08/17/1985 – The Voice of the Elite (A montage of interviews and promos from WCW)
Starrcade 1985 – A Controversial Battle (Vs. Dusty Rhodes)
Mid Atlantic 12/03/1985 & 12/11/85 – Diamonds Are Forever (Another collection of classic promos)
NWA 12/15/1985 – The Horsemen Ride (Flair, Ole and Arn Anderson partner vs. Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA, and Manny Fernandez)
World Championship Wrestling 01/25/1986 – The Ladies Love Ric Flair (A promo outlining his prowess as a ladies’ man)
The Great American Bash 07/05/1986 – An Expressway to Victory (Steel Cage Match vs. Ricky Morton)
World Championship Wrestling 12/20/1986 – We are the Four Horsemen (A Four Horsemen promo, naturally)
Clash of the Champions I – The First of Many (Vs. Sting, with JJ Dillon suspended above the ring)WrestleWar 1989 – Redemption at WrestleWar (The third match in his trilogy against Ricky Steamboat)
The Great American Bash 1989 – Settling a Score (Vs. Terry Funk)
Halloween Havoc 1989 – Welcome to Thunderdome (Thunderdome match, Flair and Sting vs. Great Muta and Terry Funk, special guest referee Bruno Sammartino)
WrestleWar 1990 – A Chance for The Total Package (Vs. Lex Luger)
Clash of the Champions X – The Sting of Betrayal (Vs. Sting, believe it or not)
Starrcade 1990 – An Unnatural Disguise (Black Scorpion vs. Sting)
WCW 01/19/1991 – New and Improved (A promo where Flair refocuses himself for the new decade)
Clash of the Champions XIV – Steiner’s Turn to Walk the Aisle (Vs. pre-Crisis Scott Steiner)
Superbrawl I – A Clash of Cultures (Vs. Tatsumi Fujinami)
Clash of the Champions XV – Battling Beautiful Bobby (2-Out-of-3 Falls Match vs. Bobby Eaton)
WCW 06/29/1991 – Teaming with a Diamond Studd (Flair and the Diamond Studd vs. Bobby Eaton and Yellow Dog)
The Greatest Star of the 1980s (Retrospective on Flair’s work in the 1980s)
Legends of Wrestling: Ric Flair (Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes, and others discuss Flair’s career)
WrestleMania Axxess 03/30/2017 – Immortalized in Bronze (The official ceremony for Flair’s statue unveiling)
The matches that should most catch your interest are the Jack Brisco match, the cage match against Kerry Von Erich, and the unbeatable trilogy of his Clash of the Champions match against Sting, his five-star WrestleWar match against Ricky Steamboat, and his championship match against Terry Funk.
