[1998-01-12-WCW-Nitro] Jim Neidhart and Ric Flair

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[soup23]

Fresh off getting embarrassed by DX, Neidhart arrives in WCW. Neidhart says he was disturbed to hear Flair say he was the best last week. This of course draws out Flair. Flair gives a handshake and says his opinion is skewed because he is married to Bret's sister. Flair again wants him to say it to his face and Neidhart drops the shades and obliges. Flair calls himself the king of the wild frontier in WCW. Neidhart about blows an artery and challenges Flair to a match. Ric is shocked at the nerve that Jim has to offer this challenge. Flair says he is going to the back to get his gear on. Flair steps back into the ring with his suit and loafers on. He wallops Neidhart with a foreign object and takes out the referee to a big pop from the crowd. Flair starts working over the leg and then locks on the figure four on the ring post. Bret comes out and we get a heated ringside brawl with Falir retreating. Awesome stuff again.

[stomperspc]

Relative to the rest of his work, this was a solid promo by Neidhart. While Bret is too laid back to let Flair get to him, Neidhart is wound just as tight as Flair so there is no surprise that these two get physical. I loved the added touch of Flair going to the back to get the object before heading to the ring. It made a lot more sense than the idea that Flair just happened to be walking around with a pair of brass knuckles (or whatever it was he used) in his pocket all day. Flair taking down Neidhart is enough for Bret to react physically for the first time in the feud. You can't beat this build so far for simple, logical progression.

[Kevin Ridge]

Neidhart has joined up in WCW and was disturbed by Flair’s comments about Bret. Both Ric and Anvil are ready to settle things in the ring. Flair makes easy work out of Neidhart and puts on the ring post figure four! Flair should have spray painted WWF on Anvil and sent him back. They way Bret runs it looks like he could easy hurt himself. Flair is the one that trips though outside the ring when doing a retreat.

[bradhindsight]

Loved Ric breaking out Bret's figure-four on the ringpost move. Neidhart barely makes it through the interview with Gene but does a decent enough job to draw out Flair. Loved Flair dropping a Davey Crockett reference. He was just on fire in the lead-up to Souled Out.

[Loss]

Jim Neidhart gets a decent pop coming out. Neidhart takes exception to what Flair said about Bret last week. Flair offers a handshake and welcomes him to WCW, but tells him if he's going to say Bret is better just because he's married to Bret's sister, then Flair has a problem with that. Flair is so great here. Flair steps away for a second, comes back and ends up socking Neidhart with a pair of brass knucks. The referee tries to stop him and gets leveled too. Flair goes right for the knee and ends up doing a ringpost figure four! Tenay of course spoiled it by calling it before it actually happened. Bret runs out for the save and Flair takes off and they end up in a fun brawl that lasts a few seconds before Ric takes off. Wow can 49-year-old Flair run fast. I loved this segment.

[Zenjo]

From what I remember this was the only good thing WCW ever did with Neidhart. The Anvil starts off a bit shaky on the mic but gets into it later. It's a logical idea behind the segment and it's well executed, progressing the Bret vs Flair rivalry.

[PeteF3]

Neidhart isn't really well-built for Pure Sports Build talking segments, but Flair once again is out to save a segment. I'M DAVY CROCKETT, JACK--KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER! Flair and Neidhart end up making an impromptu match, but Flair makes sure to go retrieve something from the back first. As soon as he gets in, he clocks Neidhart with brass knuckles and gives Billy Silverman a shot for good measure. Ric applies the ringpost figure four and Bret finally is out to run him off. Another awesome segment thanks almost entirely to Flair--they did a good job of building this up from friendly disagreement to rivalry to finally a physical assault over the span of a few weeks.

[TravJ1979]

Somewhat of a rehash of the small angle from when Flair arrived in the WWF in the summer of 1991. Instead of applying the Figure Four multiple times to injure the knee, he uses the ring post version to further the feud with Bret even more. Bret runs in and chases Flair for the save. That makes twice, the first being the run in at the Nitro after Starrcade he did during the Sting/Hogan match that I've noticed Bret runs awkwardly - It's like he runs as if he is being forced to do so while straddling a coffee table.

 

RATING: Enjoying Ric while I can in 1998.