Posted January 25, 201411 yr comment_5581873 This starts with the awesome DiBiase/Murdoch match from 12/31/85. NWA World Heavyweight Title: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair © vs. Ricky Steamboat (5/29/84) This is from the big "Night of Champions" show at the Meadowlands which was the first shot by the NWA conglomerate against the WWF. You had JCP, GCW, & WWC all working together for one big supercard. Steamer is fresh from "retirement" and he came back to get a series of matches against Flair plus in real life his gym pretty much folded up. Since we are in New Jersey not in Crockett country, Flair is playing heel and refuses to shake Steamer's hand to start the match. Steamer dominates Flair early on the mat with lots of working on his neck. Steamer starts cranking it up about 15 minutes in using more strikes which sends Flair to the floor to regroup. Flair would eventually get on offense after catching Steamer in the air and dropping him neck first on the top rope where he would follow up by using an abdominal stretch but Steamer would break free and got Flair in a sleeper. Steamer didn't have it for long and as he tried a diving body press he ate all knees in the ribs. We get a black screen and come back to both men fighting before Steamer locked Flair in a sleeper again and getting a schoolboy cradle for a nearfall. The match has now turned into a back and forth slugfest with both men pulling out all the stops trying to put the other one away. Flair would finally get Steamer in the figure-four but Steamer would reverse the hold and then he would start working over Flair's leg before getting his own figure-four on Flair. We then go back to the war of attrition as both men are putting it all on the line with a great series of nearfalls seeing Flair get an O'Connor Roll on Steamer using the trunks to keep the title. Fans pelt the ring with trash afterwards in anger as Hugo Savinovich announces Flair as the winner. Awesome match and a slam dunk nomination.
