UnWrest Focus- Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat Part III- WRESTLE WAR '89 (Plus Overall Thoughts on the 1989 Trilogy)

Follow these two links for the earlier editions of UnWrest Focus that looked at the first two matches in the 1989 series:
Chi-Town Rumble 89
Clash of the Champions VI (2 out of 3 Falls)

And so, it has come down to this. In our previous match, which was the near-hour long 2/3 Falls Match, Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair 2-1 falls to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Here's the problem: Ric Flair's leg was under the bottom rope when the ref counted his shoulders down. Ricky Steamboat even admitted that Ric Flair deserved the rematch after the controversial call, and Flair got his rematch. This time, it would be one fall to a finish. And in the event of a tie, three judges were at ringside to determine the winner once and for all (should they be needed at all). It's also Ric Flair's final opportunity to regain his coveted championship. With the stakes so high, could this match do the impossible and shine above the awesomeness that they had already created? Let's find out.



This show features one of the greatest Ric Flair promos of all time. Check this one out.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is interviewed by Bob Caudle backstage. Ricky states that this is Flair's last shot. There are no excuses now for Flair or himself. Whomever wins, Ricky promises to shake Ric Flair's hand after the match.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (c) vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

Here comes Ric Flair dressed in an absolutely amazing blue robes accompanied by 40 women! Folks, I'll let your imagination go from there. Steamboat comes out with his family again. The Little Dragon comes down on a frigging pony! It looks like Tommy Young is our referee again. Jim Ross and Bob Caudle on commentary.  The three judges at ringside are Terry Funk, Lou Thesz, and Pat O'Connor.

The bell rings.

Tie-up in the center of the ring. Ropes cause a break. Another tie-up. Steamboat sends Flair back. Flair complaining about hair pulling. Tie up again. Side headlock by Flair. Shoulder tackle by Flair. High hip toss by Steamboat. Deep arm drag by Steamboat. Slaps exchanged by both men in the corner. Flair gets rocked and falls to his knees. (WOOO!) Another tie up. Flair gets Steamboat in the corner. Punch to the stomach. CHOP by Flair! Another big one by Flair. Right hand to Steamboat. Chops exchanged by both men. They are going all over the ring chopping each other. BIG BACK BODYDROP by Steamboat! Flair rolls out of the ring!
Flair gets back in the ring. Headlock by Flair. Steamboat trying to power out. And he does, getting Flair in an armbar. Knees to the shoulder of Flair. Elbows to the arm of Flair while holding the arm. Flair gets Steamboat off of him, but he gets met with a shoulder tackle, an arm drag, and a reapplication of the armbar. Hammerlock now by Steamboat. Flair gets a drop toe hold on Steamboat, but Steamboat gets the hammerlock back on. Half-nelson attempt by Steamboat to pin Flair. Steamboat with a standing armbar. Chops by Flair. Steamboat runs under Flair and gets him down for a wristlock. Flair gets Steamboat in the corner. Forearm to the face by Flair x2. A third one knocks Steamboat down. HUGE CHOP by Flair. Steamboat fires back. Body blows by Flair to the stomach and back. Steamboat returns to the chops. Flair FLOPS!
Armbar reapplied by Steamboat. Hammerlock now with Steamboat floating over to bridge in the hammerlock! Flair gets Steamboat up on his shoulders and on the top turnbuckle. Steamboat jumps over Flair, hits the hip toss, and dropkicks Flair over the top rope to the outside! 10 minutes have passed already! Steamboat is on the top rope, but Tommy Young gets him down off of it.
Flair eventually gets back in. He kicks Steamboat in the gut. Deep arm drag takeover by Steamboat. He's back to work on the arm. Flair goes after Steamboat's face to break the hold. Steamboat wrenches the arm some more. Shoulder tackle by Steamboat. But Flair catches Steamboat with a big hip toss. Elbow drop misses though. Another arm drag by Steamboat gets Flair down. Flair gets Steamboat to the corner. Shoulder into the abdomen by Flair x2. Big chops now by Flair. 15 minutes have passed!
Flair continues the attack. Flair is vicious with the chops. Dang. Those are loud on headphones, folks! Steamboat starts fighting back!!!! Shoulder tackle by Flair. Steamboat goes after Flair. Standing chops in the corner by Steamboat. Flair sent upside down on the corner! He's in the Tree of Woe, and Steamboat kicks him down. Shoulder tackle by Steamboat, and Flair sends Steamboat over the top rope to the floor! Flair is on the apron and kicks Steamboat directly on the top of the head. HUGE CHOP sends Steamboat back over the top of the rail to the floor. Flair tries to get a chair, but Young stops him. Steamboat is being assaulted by Flair now in front of the fans at ringside. Flair gets back in the ring. The count is on. Steamboat catches Flair coming back after him. Huge chops. He chases Flair with blows around ringside. Flair rolls in. Steamboat climbs the ropes and delivers a HUGE Judo chop off the top rope. FLAIR FLOPS!!!!! Face plant by Steamboat. Flair sent into the corner, and Steamboat catches him running on the apron with a clothesline. THIS CROWD IS GOING NUTS!
More Judo chops by Steamboat. Snap mare by Steamboat. He's back on the armbar on Flair. Good God, this is awesome wrestling. Arm twist by Steamboat. Shoulder tackle by Steamboat. He goes for a dive on Flair, but he ducks, sending Steamboat back over the top rope to the floor! This is amazing work by both men. Flair attacks Steamboat on the apron. Flair catapults Steamboat back into the ring. BIG KNEE DROP by Flair. Flair gets Steamboat with MULTIPLE CHOPS dropping him back down. Flair puts his knees and foot on Steamboat's throat. CHOPS exchanged by both men! Flair gets the advantage. Big Back Suplex on Steamboat. 2.9 count on Steamboat. Multiple pin attempts again by Flair at the 20 minute mark. (Again, great wrestling and psychology being displayed here.)
Big knee drop by Flair on Steamboat. Butterfly Suplex by Flair. 1-2-Kickout by Steamboat. Elbow drop by Flair only gets a 2. Flair gets in Young's face about the count. Chop. The Dragon dives at Flair, but Flair Stun Guns him on the top rope! Steamboat is in the ropes, saving his championship. Flair chokes Steamboat with his knee against the throat. CHOP by Steamboat on a running Flair. Flair drags Steamboat to the outside. SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR!
(Again, this is just amazing work by both men. Steamboat has made a couple key errors which Flair is capitalizing on. Steamboat continues to show great heart against Flair, even when it seems like momentum has shifted to Flair's side. And the wrestling again is logical with Flair doing everything technically and as underhanded as he can in order to get the win. )
Flair gets Steamboat on the apron. He goes to do the vertical suplex, but Steamboat counters into a rollup. 1-2-Kickout! Chops by Steamboat to Flair! FLAIR DIVES AT STEAMBOAT RUNNING WITH A CROSSBODY, SENDING BOTH MEN OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR! WOW!!!!! Flair rolls Steamboat back into the ring. Flair climbs up the corner and WOOOs, but Steamboat catches him and throws him down to the mat! 25 minutes have passed.
Steamboat is getting psyched up! Chops by Steamboat! Standing punches by Steamboat! BIG BACK BODY DROP by Steamboat! Flair is begging. Steamboat gets caught with a kick. Steamboat lands on his feet from another back suplex attempt. Rollup only gets a 2.8! (The crowd is worked up into a frenzy at this point, by the way.) Thumb to the eye by Flair. Steamboat puts Flair on the top of the corner. Chop. Steamboat climbs up and delivers a middle rope suplex from the corner!
Flair is screaming! Chicken Wing attempt is blocked by Flair. Steamboat climbs to the top rope and delivers a HUGE chop to Flair! He climbs back up again. Flair jerks the ropes by accident, and he sends Steamboat down to the floor!!!! Steamboat's knee is hurt.
Steamboat barely gets back on the apron as he is limping. Flair attacks while Steamboat is on the apron, kicking at the knee. Standing vertical suplex connects!!!! Steamboat continues to hold the knee. Flair pulls the leg repeatedly. FIGURE 4!!!! Steamboat is in agony. Flai flops back and forth trying to apply more and more pressure. Tommy Young almost counts Steamboat down. Steamboat continues to yell in pain. 30 minutes have passed! Steamboat gets to the ropes finally.
Steamboat gets to the corner. Flair continues to work on the knee. Chop by Flair. Chops by Steamboat. Flair responds by going after the leg. WOOOO! by Flair, but Steamboat hits a DESPERATE ENZIGURI to get Flair down. Steamboat tries to slam Ric Flair, but Flair reverses it into a pinfall attempt! 1-2-3!!!

Winner: Ric Flair (new NWA World Heavyweight Champion)
Match Grade: A+ They did it. Three matches in a row. This was indeed a classic. Flair fighting tooth and nail trying to get back the championship. Steamboat fighting Flair off, but he ultimately got caught making one too many mistakes. The injury cost him in the end, and Flair proves that he is still The Man.

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So, let's answer the questions I asked in the first Focus on this trilogy of matches.

1) Does this series live up to the hype?
Hell yes it does. You can put these matches up against some of the other all-time great wrestling matches of all time (Bret vs. Owen, Angle vs. HBK, Omega vs. Okada, Punk vs. Cena), and it would fit right in and shine along with them. The style of wrestling is ageless as they incorporated both fast-paced and methodical, technical wrestling into their matches. Most of all, they told a great story through each and every action they had in the ring. They engaged that audience from bell to bell with their every move, and it reaped 3 tremendous all-time classic encounters.

2) Does this series hold up 30 years later?
See #1. But yes. It is still one of the greatest, if not the greatest, wrestling series in wrestling history.

3) Which one of these matches were the best?
Now, this is the hard part. I do think each of these three matches could justifiably be considered the best. But, I'm going to be honest: the least favorite of the three was the 2/3 Falls match at Clash of the Champions VI in New Orleans. And it's still a five star classic. But if I had to say which one was the worst, that would be my pick.
Now, it comes down to Chi-Town Rumble 89 and Wrestle War 89. And this comes down to just personal taste. For me, I personally feel that Chi-Town Rumble was the best of the three matches. And it's not a "well, it's the first" thing. I just loved the initial feel of the match where Steamboat is trying desperately to get the pin on Flair to become champion, but Flair is doing everything in his power to keep the championship. Add in the drama of the referee bump (one of the most effective ref bumps I've ever seen by the way), and this put it over the top for me. Again, if anyone said "Wrestle War is the best, bruh," I'd tip my hat (if I was wearing one) and concede that they may be right.

The bottom line is that this series of matches is iconic. Flair and Steamboat just kept upping the ante again and again with their athleticism. If ever the phrase "Fight Forever" was in need of being used, this is it. Thank you Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat for a series of matches (here and around the world before and after) that will never be forgotten.
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I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I have. Have another rivalry you would like me to watch and examine? Write it down in the comments section below or vote on a poll which will be coming up shortly and pinned on my Twitter at cdub1898.
Until next time, take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.