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[1998-01-24-WCW-Souled Out] Ric Flair vs Bret Hart


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

I loved the way this match was worked. The oneupmanship that had prevailed on the promos carried over into the ring. Hart locks on a figure four 3 minutes in just to prove he can. Tony talks about the paradigm shifts throughout the match and it is spot on analysis. This isn't a my turn, your turn match just because, this had a succinct build that played into that type of match being worked. The announcers also get over how well versed each guy is in winning a match and countering holds. Flair takes the first shortcut of the match, because he is Flair. Bret targets the neck for a bit and then starts locking in on the leg as the match goes to the final stretch. Even Bret is being a little heelish at points as both guys just want to win. Bret goes for the ringpost figure four but instead he gets kicked into the guardrail. Flair now is able to focus in on the leg. Tony is fantastic on commentary for this match hitting all the key beats. Bret gets in some hope spots but gets his leg buckled tremendously when Bret argues with Billy Silverman. Bret is in the figure four selling it well and Flair adds to the insult by slapping him in the face. Bret is able to reverse and then catches Flair off the top rope. Even Flair scaling to the top makes a lot of sense in this match given his cockeyness leading up to it and him being so protective of his spot. Bret pulls down the straps and starts the sequence to the sharpshooter. Bret hits a superplex and locks on the sharpshooter. Flair has no choice but to tap giving Bret a big win coming into WCW. I talked up the stairway to hell match as the quintessential ECW match. This match feels like one of most NWA style matches of the 1990's. I would be surprised if Bret had another match as good as this throughout the rest of his career. (****1/4)

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Soup's praise for this match got me interested in watching it. I knew it had a reputation as being kind of long and boring, but I remembered literally nothing about it other than Bret winning, so I figured it was worth a watch. The promos leading up to it are really good, too.

 

As for the match, ahhhhhhh, I dunno. After the promos I was kind of expecting them to wrestle this like Flair vs. Steamboat, where it feels like each of them is trying to prove something, but this just feels like the typical Flair-Bret match. Move-for-move, this could have been wrestled at a house show in late 1992. Bret even pulls down the straps for the first time in ages. Bret doing the drop toehold into the figure four is the only part of this, other than the super-clear finish, that really goes well with the way that they built this up.

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I liked this a good bit - felt like both guys brought the best they had in the tank for that time. I didn't find it boring, the hold trading and match build was really well done. Thought Bret was good on his feet too - Flair kind of blows the atomic drop and Bret just head butts him down. Really liked the transition with Flair's chop block and Bret arguing with the ref. Bret methodically works in his 5 moves of doom before hitting the superplex (catching Flair again) and getting the clean submission. ***3/4 (so so close to 4 for me, I may re-watch)

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I thought this was a satisfying match - meaning it was good enough to not be a letdown after all the hype, but not really more than that. I do think this was probably the best match Flair could deliver at this point, but by 1998, his stuff is old hat. It's a good match, but it's also very house show-like with both guys rolling out their standard spots and not really creating any special moments or anything.

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This capped off a well booked feud between two legends. They certainly didn't produce a classic here, but it was good enough to satisfy expectations. Flair was obviously past his prime years, of which there were many. The basic structure was decent enough, they had full length and a clean finish. Flair adopted the heel role, although both of them had mixed reactions at this point in time. An old school NWA type of contest. I would've preferred a longer stretch. Certainly not perfect, but I was entertained. A successful WCW debut for Bret.

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A good match to finish up a good, old school program. It showed Flair could still go a little and that Bret gave at least a bit of a shit. I agree with Chad that the focus on one-upsmanship carried the match. The finish felt a little flat, almost too decisive. In the big picture, of course, the Flair feud was a stupid way to debut a red hot Bret, given how much Flair had been devalued in comparison to the NWO. More evidence of a promotion that had lost its way.

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  • 2 months later...

Bret Hart vs Ric Flair - Souled Out 1998

 

The last great Ric Flair match or just the last great Flair match in WCW? I can't think of another great Flair match in WCW after this. Even a year later with Hogan, Flair still had some gas in the tank, but he was not given the opportunities just like Hart was given the opportunities. However, on this night, they made the most of what they were given to have one of the best WCW main eventer vs main eventer matches in the NWO era. What I loved about this match especially in stark comparison today is the the two-spot transition. It is never an abrupt change of control everything is earned. Hart shows Flair up early on the mat and with a figure-4. So Flair regroups and realizes that he ain't winning this one fair and squared. In typical Flair fashion, he takes over in the corner, but Hart still has enough left that Flair needs a back suplex out of a headlock and a well-timed low blow to consolidate control. Then similarly when Flair is chopping away in the corner, Hart fires up with punches, but it is the swinging neckbreaker and an attack on leg. It is a false transition as Flair pushes Hart into the railing and begins working over the knee. Flair worked the leg really well, but also kept up the illegal tactics. Hart busted out a nice enziguri, which I don't remember him using all that often. It was a great hope spot. I have not seen Flair/Hart from 92 in years so does Hart always do the strap down no-sell in these matches because that was a cool touch. I wish he deviated from more from his usual finish run and just beat the shit out of Flair and maybe threw some more cheap shots back in Flair's face. The superplex/Sharpshooter finish is quite decisive and a victory like this should have warranted a WCW World Title shot. But WCW's booking was in such disarray post-Starrcade that they never followed up on it until they turned Bret heel. Bret looked to pick up right way he left off in WWF with crisp offense and selling the knee well. Flair looked inspired, but a little gas. He made up for it with his tried and true tricks and his great verbal selling. It was a great story with Flair looking to prove he could still hang even if it was through cheapshots, but coming up short and thus making Bret Hart look like one of the big hitters if WCW was competent. ****

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  • 1 year later...

This is sort of a textbook good match of the Ric Flair style, without the length. In being textbook there was nothing, for most of the match, particularly unique or exciting, but the whole way through it was two competent wrestlers working an entertaining and satisfying match, fitting for the style of program they ran. The ending moments could have been a little more contentious though, instead Bret just strings together a long run of offense before locking on the Sharpshooter.

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I agree there wasn't much new here, but these two are so good at the basics that they can still craft a compelling match just on stuff we've seen. Both guys have standard, but awesome transition spots to really carry the momentum swings throughout, and Bret finally looks like a fresh new arrival in this setting rather than a third wheel as he's mostly looked like in his WCW run. I do kind of wish they'd changed something up at the finish, but Bret wins decisively after pretty much methodically tearing Flair apart.

 

Incidentally, the sniping between Schiavone and Heenan is really reaching a breaking point with me--it doesn't reflect well on either guy and I'm not going to try to blame one more than the other, the bottom line is we're really reaching the point where they seem to be at each other's throats and not in an in-character heel-and-babyface-banter type of way.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
  • GSR changed the title to [1998-01-24-WCW-Souled Out] Ric Flair vs Bret Hart
  • 4 years later...

Enjoyed the match enough. Two guys clearly familiar with each other trying to make a point. Trading holds, and upping counters. Even had the correct finish. Sadly, I don't think Bret got much out of it. You outclassed Flair, and got the clean victory, but I can't help but feel like nobody really cared that Hart beat Flair. Bret needed to be making a impact beating a top NWO guy, and working his way up the ladder. Not beating old foes, yet again.  

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