Posted January 17, 200817 yr comment_5427235 Ric Flair vs. Brett Sawyer (2/3 falls) (26:30) - The first fall has Flair abusing Sawyer throughout, very similar to the first match but with a little more viciousness. Flair even breaks out a grounded leg stretch (I have no idea what this is called) from the abdominal stretch. After that, he follows up by punching Sawyer square on the bridge of the nose. Sawyer looks dead in the water when he fights back and ends up putting Flair in the small package but it is reversed for a Flair pin. The second fall is much more back and forth with each guy trying in vain to get the win. In something I don't think I have ever seen before, Sawyer gets Flair to submit to a Figure 4!!! Shit, that is huge. Did Dusty ever beat Flair with the Figure 4 and I am just not remembering? Anyone else? In a nice touch, before the third fall, Sawyer is still selling the nose and I can't imagine him not bleeding before this thing is over. Sawyer must be feeling lucky because he goes right back to working on Flair's legs. To his credit, Flair sells the legs the rest of the way. In a nice spot, Flair gets a double knee lift from Sawyer who tries to follow it up with adropkick but Flair gets out of the way. After some back and forth, Flair drops Sawyer with a stungun and gets the clean pin to win the match. Just a great match and an easy nomination. (Lynch Portland Vol. 8.1)
May 6, 201114 yr comment_5470805 Flair beat the crap out of Sawyer for most of the first fall, which made the crowd response that much better when Sawyer rallied. Flair cut off his rally by reversing a small package to take the first fall. But again, it was a clever way to give Flair the fall while leaving the momentum with Sawyer. The second fall had a really competitive feel, with neither guy able to gain a sustained advantage. It felt like a big deal when Sawyer beat Flair with the figure four, and Flair did a nice job of selling the leg as Sawyer went after it in the third fall. Just as Sawyer's attack crested, Flair caught him with the stun gun and put the match away. Great touring champion match that portrayed the young babyface as game but not quite ready to seize the moment. I liked this match a lot the first time I saw it a few years ago, and it holds up as one of the better Flair matches from that era. Easy yes.
February 17, 201312 yr comment_5535742 I am a mark for the amateur ride exchanges and early in this we have one of the better ones I've ever seen. This escalates to something of a strike fest which Sawyer wins and Flair takes a nutty back body drop bump. Then they go to the floor where Flair hits a weak looking rib breaker, but follows it up with a sick stomp. Flair chops him and post his back on the floor and I love the way Sawyer sold Flair's punch to the nose. I love how Sawyer sells the nose from this point forward and the butterfly suplex near fall and crazy Sawyer bump after the atomic drop were great moments. Flair goes to the nose some more, hits a gutwrench suplex and then a modified ab stretch into some weird leg splits spot that looked really sharp. Really great work from both guys so far. Sawyer is on the ropes and turns it into a wild fist fight, with Flair taking one of the better Flair bumps you'll see at this point. Sawyer escapes a suplex attempt, locks on sleeper and goes for a cradle, but Flair reverses and takes the first fall. Great shit. Sawyer was right there with Flair too. I liked Sawyer's big offense in the beginning of the third fall and his selling when Flair was on offense. Still I could live without ever seeing the Flair sunset flip bit again. Loved the way Bret barely got over for the cover on the big delayed vertical. Flair submitting to the figure-four was a pleasant surprise and felt like a huge moment. Before the third fall Sawyer is still selling his nose which is outstanding attention to detail. Sawyer goes right back to the legs of Flair which I liked a lot and I also really enjoyed the way Flair tried to make him pay by cross facing the fuck out of him. Sawyers keeps going for the figure-four, but Flair is determined to stay out of it. I thought the two Sawyer drop kick misses were a bit much, but other than that I really liked the final fall and the finish with the stun gun. Probably one of the better non-Buddy Portland matches you'll see.
