Ric Flair’s WCW Masterpieces… and Disasters

Wrestling fans loved the epic rivalry of Sting and Ric Flair battling over the top spot in WCW . Both stars had the strongest reputations in company history for helping establish an identity in the early years and having long stints on top.

Most of their best matches came outside of WCW PPV since they faced off on television and various television specials. However, the Great American Bash 1990 provided their greatest PPV match. Sting defeated Flair in a strong match to become NWA Heavyweight Champion in a special moment for fans by taking down his enemy.

Worst: Hulk Hogan

Uncensored 2000

Hulk Hogan coming to WCW did help set up a legendary feud against Ric Flair in the early years, but the promotion kept going back to this a bit too often. Uncensored 2000 featured the last big PPV match between the two legends on a grand stage.

WCW used the ridiculous Yappapi Strap Match stipulation to add some juice, but it just fell apart from the start. Hogan and Flair struggled to carry the match and helped prove why WCW reached the point of no return in 2000 thanks to big matches disappointing.

Best: Lex Luger

Starrcade 1988

Lex Luger had one of the fastest rises in wrestling during the 1990s, as he debuted in 1985 and became a top star within a couple of years. WCW loving the look and potential of Luger gave him a huge push as the Jim Crockett Promotions became the WCW name and identity.

Starrcade 1988 showed how much faith WCW had in Luger by having him challenge top star Ric Flair for the NWA Heavyweight Championship at the biggest annual event. Luger looked great, but Flair received more credit for leading the inexperienced star to a great match that cemented his status in WCW.

Worst: Eric Bischoff

Starrcade 1998

The real-life issues between Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff led to them making it part of television. WCW management eventually stepped in to end Bischoff’s suspension of Flair for missing an episode of Thunder to attend his young son’s amateur wrestling match.

The worked shoot promos made fans care enough to warrant a match. Unfortunately, WCW set them up for failure by having Flair and Bischoff in the semi-main event of the biggest PPV of the year. Bischoff winning a bad match upset fans, but WCW did have Flair win a rematch the following night to gain an authority figure position.

Best: Randy Savage

Great American Bash 1995

Ric Flair and Randy Savage had the best overall rivalry that existed in both WWE and WCW. The first Flair WWE stint featured Savage as by far his biggest rival, but the feud had a longer run in WCW once Macho Man made the move.

Savage instantly felt like a top star upon joining in 1995 by having strong matches against top heel Flair in a personal feud. Great American Bash 1995 had their best match come in the main event, as Flair cheated the victory to continue the rivalry throughout that year.

Worst: Roddy Piper

Great American Bash 1999

Roddy Piper and Ric Flair had excitement about working together in WCW as close real-life friends. Unfortunately, both men being older and WCW’s booking falling apart in 1999 set them up for some of the worst moments of their respective careers.

Great American Bash 1999 hosted a match full of bad comedy and terrible interference before ending in a DQ. The match felt like the end of the road for Piper, as WCW stopped putting him in many big matches for the rest of his tenure.

Best: Vader

Starrcade 1993

One of the greatest storylines of Ric Flair’s career came when he returned to WCW after his WWE stint in 1993. Flair received an unexpected world title program against Vader to end the year after the previous challenger, Sid Vicious, got fired for a backstage fight.

The new plan featured Flair putting his entire career on the line against Vader to have one more chance at the WCW Championship. An emotional match took place, but it was the finish of Flair winning as a beloved face and the audience erupting that made it an iconic bout.

Worst: David Flair

Great American Bash 2000

The late years of WCW made Ric Flair lose all confidence before he started to feel like himself again in the last WWE run. One of the main reasons for this was Flair getting put in one horrible storyline after another in the final year.

Ric’s son, David Flair, joining the company should have been a good thing in theory, but it led to him being rushed into a top spot and flopping badly. Great American Bash 2000 paid off a horrible feud of David vs Ric with a terrible match that fans still mock today.

Best: Ricky Steamboat

Chi-Town Rumble 1989

The positive side of this list could feature all Ricky Steamboat matches as Ric Flair’s greatest rival. Both men had magical chemistry together that led to a handful of classic matches almost every time they had a high-profile match.

Chi-Town Rumble 1989 stands out for having the strongest back and forth match with a winner at the end. Steamboat scoring the victory as the ultimate babyface made him a bigger star. Flair considers this rivalry the peak of his illustrious career for great reason.

Worst: Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage

Uncensored 1996

Hulk Hogan’s early WCW years as a top face hurt the promotion as it felt like everything revolved around him at the expense of others. Uncensored 1996 featured a low point thanks to the infamous double decker doomsday cage match.

Randy Savage and Hogan overcame the odds of defeating eight heels from the Four Horsemen and Dungeon of Doom trying to end Hulkamania. The match felt like a joke just to make Hogan and Savage look strong in ridiculous fashion.