Ric Flair vs Rick Martel NWA vs AWA Title 1985 10 21

[@hymansahak181]

Japan always brought the best out of wrestlers. What a match!

[@HepCatJack]

The WWF / WWE restricted the number of bumps because of the travel schedule. Getting injured could result in a talent losing his spot. This meant less dangerous fancy moves and more focus on telling the story.

[@JuliusC1973]

Japan had more emphasis on Wrestling Holds, Wrestling Moves, Kicks, Strikes and Submissions and less on Entertainment. You'll notice for example that Hulk Hogan did a lot more actual Wrestling Moves in his Matches in Japan when he worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling than he did when he worked for The WWF/WWE.

[@acemulligan7010]

The next day, Flair & Martel were tag team partners vs Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta. Only in Japan.

[@_ad4971]

yes

[@Grassyknolldallas]

I remember when Martel showed up in WCW in 98 and he got hurt, I was always a fan of his

[@A_YouTube_Commenter]

He was good in 98. Won the TV title before he got hurt.

[@Magus1213]

What an incredible work. The fans got their money’s worth.

[@bikeyoshiro]

Baba was the person that was able to make this match come true. You can hear him speak as a commentator by the ringside.

[@ricg.4435]

Awesome match! Love the 80's!

[@toddhawk9921]

Martel has really never received proper recognition for his ring work. I first saw him on Wrestling at the Chase. Always technically sound and a great competitor.

[@johnthegreat]

One of the best technical wrestler every

[@JuliusC1973]

I couldn't agree more. He was outstanding and if anything should have had a longer AWA Title run and should have had at the very least a WWF Intercontinental Championship Run. This was a Dream Match if there ever was one.

[@johnthegreat]

@@JuliusC1973 he couldn't do interviews, his English was lacking, u have to be able to talk trash and have personality, he was a nice guy,flair wasn't much of a wrestler but was unbelievable showman

[@ssssssstssssssss]

@@johnthegreat He had lots of personality and did good interviews in the WWF, despite his English ability. Just watch his WWF vignettes. I think it was more because he was a comedy act in the WWF after his heel turn and because Vince likes people who are less agreeable. He was possibly the best looking wrestler they've had and probably could have got a large female fanbase for the WWF. He should have done much better, but was still rather successful there.

[@ikerichardson8510]

I agree he should have had an IC Run and should be in the WWF Hall of Fame!!!

[@nkotbfreak2983]

This was was played on my local territory tv to promote the match they had here, best match i have ever seen live

[@TheFlamingPike]

Awesome footage. Ric Flair in his prime. Martel as the promising rising star. Two of the best wrestlers of all time. Great pre-match build-up. Lightning fast technical work. Fantastic story building. Pro wrestlers from North America are totally different when they go to Japan. Flair put Martel super over and Martel got the fire going. The crowd really got into it as time went by.

[@stevedevice1866]

Rising star? His debut was less than one year after Ric.. And Martel had been on top as AWA champion for a year at this point... This is Martel's prime as well.

[@TheFlamingPike]

@@stevedevice1866 Just because you read a wikipedia article doesn't mean it's really what you think it is. They did start around the same years but as you certainly know success does not always come at the same time. And yes AWA champion but that was post-Hogan AWA when it was on a decline and losing its biggest stars so Rick Martel back then was the equivalent of a Bron Breakker (WWE ) or Hook (AEW) in today's world in terms of popularity, whilst Ric was as popular as MJF is right now. Ric was a very early bloomer and was already a famous star. Rick Martel's prime is late 80's.

[@brooklynjim2099]

@@TheFlamingPike just from a wrestling fan standpoint, I was a WWF fan from the late 70's on... and in the early 80's, Tony Garea & Rick Martel were Tag Team Champions and were definitely popular fan favorites for a while... I won't say that Rick Martel had reached the level of popularity that Ric Flair was at in the early to mid 80's... but I think he was little more than just a rising star... just saying that he did have some other accomplishments before becoming the post Hogan AWA champ.

[@TheFlamingPike]

@@brooklynjim2099 Was he bigger than he was back in the WWF? If the answer is no, you can backtrack...

[@brooklynjim2099]

The answer to that question is no.. but what am I back tracking ? I just said he did have some success and notoriety before becoming the AWA champ

[@Trucker-John-B]

This is so awesome. Rick Martel was underrated. LOVE THIS Match.

[@EliteSavageKing]

This is why Nature Boy Ric Flair will always be the greatest professional wrestler of All-Time because he wrestled everywhere and wrestled everybody in all promotions. 21 time World Champion and no matter if anyone reaches 21 title reigns they will never have the background or the opportunity to be better than the Nature Boy.

[@JuliusC1973]

The last of The True NWA World Heavyweight Champions who did travel to and defend his Title against The Top Wrestlers in other Professional Wrestling every single week. A Champions Champion!

[@clintsaines9274]

Flair would give the belt to someone else because they would agree to give it back.

[@TheFlamingPike]

That's what makes the difference between Ric and 99.9% of the others. He gravitated between the NWA/WCW and WWE for decades, allowing him to face pretty much all of the top superstars of the promotions through about three or maybe even four generations, toured around the planet due to his promotions trying to reach out to the rest of the world, and since he was a household name for his promotions when they did that, he wrestled with the best the rest of the world had to offer too. Hulk Hogan had a very solid career too. Hogan in AWA was already a huge deal and then he had the Hulkamania which lasted many years which is a feat in itself, not talking about how he became a cultural icon and how his persona transcended pro wrestling - something even Ric Flair couldn't do - then he had the genius of turning heel, probably did the best heel turn promo of all time when that happened, went to Japan also and delivered seriously solid performances.

[@THEREALLORDJ]

😆

[@THEREALLORDJ]

​@@JuliusC1973🤦🏿‍♂️

[@greggfeingold5629]

What a classic!! Fans today cannot get behind the more methodical approach that a match like this took.

[@kd17Burger]

Because many wrestling fans now have ZERO Patience

[@mrveritas700]

What a match ! two legends in the ring.

[@kevinhill2160]

I thought these two never faced each other. You learn something new every day.

[@JuliusC1973]

You would be pretty hard pressed to name any Wrestler during The 1970's 1980's 1990's and 2000's whom Flair had not crossed paths with.

[@box5bastard277]

This was in the mags back in the day. I actually got the awa action figures that came with flair and Martel yell

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

Those Japanese crowds *really* love wrestling, in some ways more than even we yanks do.

[@bigcountry4539]

Agree!

[@arostwocents]

In a lot of ways

[@ec9832]

Now that's wrestling. Great performance by both men.

[@gtor2286]

For those who say Flair always wrestled the same match, this should be required viewing.

[@kingrobthegreat7446]

I agree! As a Flair fan he didn't start doing that until the late 80s

[@peterp2153]

Fair enough, though keep in mind it’s Japan, which is like an alternate world in terms of what the audience expects to see. It’s the same reason Hogan busted out the stiff brawling and mat work when he went to Japan, even when his US matches had become extremely formulaic.

[@kingrobthegreat7446]

@@peterp2153 You need to be fair to Flair.

Most wrestlers from US and Canada wrestled more technically in Japan it was expected there even Hulk Hogan just watch some of matches in Japan

[@anthonylewis3095]

Flair was unique unlike his personally persona I observed him always making the other guy look good like they were great wrestlers when old enough to understand he was carrying them. Except Steamboat!

[@bigcountry4539]

The infamous "10 lbs of Gold" NWA belt is the GOAT of belts... I hate that it was replaced by the "Big Gold Belt" because of the comparison to the AWA belt...

[@williamcurry4868]

Loved hearing the applause with the ay rhey did when they shook or Flair backing away instead of sucker punching in the corner

[@rodneyharrison3031]

2 legends who worked multiple territories honing their skills to reach their pinnacle . They took on all challengers Both were extremely skilled in the ring as this match shows Both deserve equal respect for this excellent exhibition

[@lamontricks1074]

This was a very good match between 2 world champions a classic

[@JuliusC1973]

Something that was very rare, but i enjoyed each one that took place.

[@jimquann2400]

Martel is a very good world champ!! Then he went to that wwf/wwe clown show. Killed his career!!

[@anthonybranco]

Martel should have been challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF title.

[@JuliusC1973]

Actually, he had wrestled for The WWWF when Vince's Father owned the company won matches, won The WWWF Tag Team Titles but i don't think he got too many other title shots. And he never got an Intercontinental Title run nor a WWF Title run.

[@dontabaltimore1974]

Why didn't he go to Crockett Promotions

[@JuliusC1973]

@@dontabaltimore1974 I would say he was not prepared to move his Family to The Southern United States. He had worked for The WWWF in The Northeast and Th Mid-Atlantic States. He had also worked for several Canadian Professional Wrestling Promotions and The AWA, which as you know was based in Minnesota.

[@dontabaltimore1974]

@@JuliusC1973 makes sense

[@jamesbranyon8541]

ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT THANKS 🔥

[@justindrake1125]

Always amazing how wrestlers that never use the figure four leglock always seems to use it when going against Flair.

[@IrishKyokushin]

Ric probably knew it would be a great heat getter for his opponents. So more than likely he encouraged them to use the figure 4 against him.

[@nwok.7793]

馬場としては自身のプロモーターとして手腕の最骨頂だったはずなんだけどテレビ的にはあんまりもりあがらなかったんだよな。

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

I've always gotten a big laugh out of Nature Boy's trademark begging for mercy act.

[@Scented_Jewel_mirai]

ふたりとも初来日は国際プロレス。 吉原さんの相馬眼はたいしたもんですね。

[@room169]

容姿と佇まい何て美しい2人　　MMAの選手にはここまでの知性や品の良さは感じない

[@matthewgabbard6415]

Flair selling and screaming Oh god always cracks me up

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Noooooooo!!!😂

[@shawngreene1225]

Wwe/wwf turned Rick Martel the awa champion one of the greats into some midcard guy. Very disrespectful tactic

[@arostwocents]

He didn't have what it takes to be a WWF or WCW main eventer. AWA was small time, like how every TNA champ is not main event material in WWF. Martel would be a main eventer in the modern day but he was extremely lacking in charisma for the 80s and early 90s

[@arostwocents]

Eg Terry Funk was a champion and main eventer everywhere he went, but noone in their right mind would say he should have headlined Wrestlemania, apart from maybe in 1 or 2 when he could have easily been at the top of the card. Look at all the ECW champions who didn't make it elsewhere - that is basically the AWA equivalent. Noone talks about the disrespect of Justin Credible.

[@shawngreene1225]

@@arostwocents that’s your opinion and that’s cool but the wwf got most of its talent from other territories the awa was right up there back in the day. Rick Martel was a wrestler not a gimmick which the wwf was doing with a lot of its wrestlers .

[@emptyhand777]

​@@shawngreene1225- WWF was cartoonish and geared toward children. The Model, was a horrible gimmick.

[@ChrisPutt]

But he made a lot more money... And still delivered top work rate

[@篠崎剛治]

入場テーマ曲から見たかった。😢

[@ErikRosenquist]

Classic old school puroresu 101 at its very finest!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

It really adds an extra element in favor with the well mic'd ring.

[@emptyhand777]

18:12 the big wind-up for the elbow drop is awesome.

[@josephglenn4688]

Great match these where the best years of wrestling Woooooo 👏!!

[@RickBurton559]

Arrogance 😎 Not just a fragrance, but a lifestyle 👌🏽

[@JoeBowler-r9n]

Thankyou for This Video.

[@kingrobthegreat7446]

a hidden classic! Woooooooooo!!

[@melodieswithusmanmani3539]

Amazing match good colored video

[@Atomykpimp]

It’s a shame we never got Flair vs Stan Hansen. I did see Flair wrestle Brody for the belt at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.

[@LeoWamBamSlamJam]

True classic thumbs up!!!

[@ジュニア-d6q]

リック・マーテルって評価が低いけど、動けるしイケメンだし好きだわ。

[@岡洋介-g3g]

この二人は帝王バーン・ガニア氏の弟子同士だ！

[@寺内正人-l8m]

それで二人ともスリーパーホールドの使い手。

[@adamrenfrow]

Damn good match.

[@LockingDevice]

Can’t believe this resulted in a double count out! Epic match!

[@JeffSutton-xl6us]

Great memories never forget

[@鋭次]

フレアーは王者として マーテルは挑戦者として しかしどちらも凄いな

[@vinceraven1501]

Honestly, the old WWF ruined Martel in many ways. He still put on great in ring work when given the brief opportunity, but, it was rare. Strike Force was great while it lasted with Santana, but again, it wasn't a great run in the final days either.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

Absolute nonsense. In WWF he was tag team champion, then his heel turn as the Model was the best thing to happen to him since it allowed him to finally do something more than just being a smiling vanilla babyface (he said it himself). Sadly his WWF run was full of bad luck, from injuries to his wife being so sick that Rick had to leave for months, but overall they still treated him like a big star at a high level.

[@cjones3710]

He is remembered as the MODEL, being remembered and having the ability to wrestle is great. Did the gimmick block him from main event. There are so many factors. It would happen like Pal Penus when he went to be Sean Morely. Did not work out.

[@ヒロヤマンダー-k7e]

音響機器の故障でこの試合のみ、両者テーマ曲なしでの入場だったですね。

[@YYZ_The416]

What an outstanding match

[@KevinKnight-by4yt]

Only in Japan,can you see one champ from one promotion against one from another,won,t see that onRAW orSMACKDOWN.i miss these days.

[@reginaldshort8486]

Throwing believable punches and kicks, gaining leverage, selling and showing proper facial expressions and knowing how to work the audience were the minimum which is why ppl watch these matches nearly 40 years later. Meltzer would’ve given this 3 stars only because it was in Japan.

[@michaelmcgowen8780]

Actually, Dave Meltzer gave the match a 5-star rating at the time.

[@briannettles669]

I have never cared for matches like this. They sound great on paper, but we all know that neither company is going to allow their champion to lose their title to someone working for another company, so the match predictably ends with a disqualification, countout, or time limit draw so neither wrestler loses his title.

[@nicholasbrown4109]

just enjoy the match, dude.

[@ikerichardson8510]

So let me get this right it's a double count out but it looks like Martell is declared the winner but of course the title doesn't change hands for either company on the count out. great match the Japanese fans wear really into it looks more like a Ricky steamboat and Ric flair match as a matter of fact I just watched their match in Japan some of the same spots Martell look very impressive and it was refreshing to see Ric showing off his wrestling ability at least for the first few minutes of the macth. For all the people in the WWE who never got to see the side of Martell I think they missed the boat with Martell and Tito Santana both should have gotten bigger pushes Like Breat and Shawn got if you ask me neither one of those guys can touch Martell or Tito but it was Vince Junior turn and he went with the new blood can't really argue with his success but I still think the guys that helped make the business what it was should have gotten their turn to run with the ball!!!😊

[@HepCatJack]

The way that Nature Boy Buddy Roger, and Gino Brito Sr. applied the figure four wasted less time. Martel, Flair and Greg Valentine all use the same way of applying it. I liked how Brito applied double knee strikes on the back of the calf muscles to weaken the legs beforehand. Greg Valentine said he used the figure four before Flair did. The more recent Figure4 Spinning Reverse Leg Lock takes longer but looks pretty cool.

[@ChrisPutt]

Wow - Martel threw great looking punches. Start around 14:30. I never realized or gave him credit for that.

[@dee3824]

感情とガッツを前面に出して闘ったマーテルの人気が、この統一戦でプチブレイクしましたね💪 その後のハンセンとの抗争でも、活躍して人気が更に上がりましたが、惜しい事にその人気が長続きしなかったですね😅😣

[@jshannon777]

One thing about flair he wrestled everyone in a lot of federations and I mean everyone with a name he wrestled in world class wrestling, uwf nwa, awa everyone but most of these dude end up in the WWE and there careers fall of

[@michaelhempfield5604]

That hammer lock to the pin combo was Primo! Is this Flair Prime? 😭🔥🔥💪🏿

[@Paul-qo1hb]

NWA strap still the best looking one.

[@tdi8914]

ブレアースの認定書がマイクなしで読まれるって初めてだな。

[@DKoolbj7dl]

The old dudes were really wrestlers, most all had wrestling backgrounds.

[@gscrippler9499]

Martel was a great AWA heavyweight champion

[@epicgb]

Flair at his best here, basically wrestling himself

[@davethebarber62920]

It seems odd, Ric Flair doing the chop, and the crowd not going "Whoo!".

[@HepCatJack]

That started quite a bit later I remember matches with Sting in the NWA where the chops weren't wooed.

[@michaelmcgowen8780]

Have watched Ric Flair since late 1970's, and the "Whooo" chants by the crowd didn't begin until around 1990.

[@ChazHolmes]

The good ol days...

[@伊勢昌敏-l6q]

Very ゴージャス🎉

[@connerhuston2613]

Did they have PPV at this point? I imagine it would have done well (especially with a different undercard)

[@primusvsunicron1]

is that Don Owens at the end?

[@坂井甲三]

Lord Blears

[@dee3824]

この試合は、2人のトレードマークとも言えるトランクスの色が、丁度赤コーナー青コーナーと揃ってる😆

[@jfethier5604]

Martel looks great in this match. But would look bad against Billy Robinson or Stan Hansen where he would be outweighted by 100+ pounds.

[@kawaineko7402]

Geez, I wish Martel could’ve won the match with a little help from some “arrogance”. He was a model, dammit! 😂😂🤙🏻❤️

[@bobbyhulll8737]

Rick Martel could wrestle .. he was an awesome worker

[@julioperales3502]

Flair sabía que tenía un mal luchador enfrente de él. Por eso lo ayudó a luchar, se nota que Flair es mucho más luchador qué martell.

[@abrahmanharun2154]

Flair has limited wrestling skills

[@THEREALLORDJ]

😆

[@VolumedMusicMan]

It figures that Gagne and Crockett couldn’t book this great match in the United States out of mistrust for one another, which was proven the next year in 86’. Baba was obviously trusted by both promoters to avert a double cross.

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Ric must know Japanese because he told somebody, “You keep your mouth shut!” I’m surprised he didn’t say, “You’re paid to look at it, not talk to it.”

[@yoshihirokajiyama120]

旧き良きアメリカン･プロレスのお手本のような好試合。 フレアーの日本でのベスト･バウト。 あのヒザのいやらしさよ♪

[@中村健次郎-v5q]

馬場さんとしては鶴田さんがAWAチャンピオンとして、凱旋して欲しかっただろうな😢 1年前に、ケリーとの試合は「世界統一」戦として予定されていたのだから。

[@leonardomendoza9105]

This was real wrestling... not these day WWE!

[@turbanless]

this looks more real than WWF

[@ブタゴリラ-j2c]

コブラツイストの効果を聞かれて答えにくそうな馬場さん

[@昭広中島]

33:17

[@brianbray2721]

Martel really was that good

[@スカイウォーク-g1g]

この２本のベルト欲しい！

[@HH-pk2wh]

great

[@ronch550]

The Model vs the Nature Boy.

[@dr.x4566]

A lot of begging by flair during this match

[@bobnewfart]

Well you know how this would have ended if it would have been a WWF title on the line right ..WWF would have had to go over.... God bless NWA and AWA and Baba

[@darthpagan76]

This match took place in All Japan,not New Japan. Just for clarification, bud.

[@bobnewfart]

@@darthpagan76 there fixed it

[@prayingmantis6777]

Why does Ric have to 🩸 every match. He's the champion!

[@CWAMemphis]

I agree but Ric Flair created the Universe that we all worship as Marks!

[@dee3824]

19:42おそらく両国のファンや、テレビ見ていたファンは、ここで「あ〜両リンかぁ〜😰」と思ったはず

[@SantaPorter]

Here for Martel🤌

[@skytyme7721]

Has anyone ever actually seen Ric Flair in the gym working out?

[@arostwocents]

Martel was a good technical wrestler and would have been huge in the niche modern sport but he was lacking in charisma and connection with the fans to make it to the top in a larger promotion. Personally I think he is boring. People who watch the extremely niche modern wrestling are applying those standards but wrestling was huge in the 80s/90s and the standard was a WORLD AWAY from what we have today. Opening acts were better than any main eventer now in terms of charisma and how much they were over. This was a great match but Martel is too much like a generic modern wrestler (which is why all the new fans posting here absolutely love him)

[@arostwocents]

Nowadays, the niche hardcore fans connect to a guy like Ospreay for his ring work, as that's all he offers. The ring work was secondary to the charisma and emotion back then. It was a totally different sport. Modern wrestling with its generic wrestlers and it's all about the in ring action as the guys are all short with no personality is taking wrestling back to the very early territory era, in terms of what it is most similar to. The big stars being the equivalent of mid carders in a successful era of wrestling.

[@arostwocents]

I love that Japanese referees dress like hospital staff 😂

[@HepCatJack]

The Japanese fans were cheering for Martel in this match even though they have difficulty with the L sound. The Can Am connection of Martel and Zenk was one of the most popular tag team in the Quebec territory (It didn't have that name yet) and later on in the WWF. Later on Strike Force was also very popular. This match was a lot better than the crap being put on today where a bunch of meaningless moves are done and they don't mean anything because the opponent receive them doesn't sell them.

[@michaelmcgowen8780]

I've been watching pro wrestling since the 1960's, and couldn't disagree with your assessment of Martel or the wrestlers of the territorial era more.

[@kd17Burger]

I disagree with you on Martel - he had huge followings in every promotion he was in

[@walterdavies6434]

The audio is jibberish

[@dee3824]

夢の戯言という前提で言うなら、次期シリーズの最強タッグにNWA代表でフレアー＆レイス組、AWA代表としてマーテル＆ニック組の参加が見たかったなぁ😆 そのチームに、鶴龍や長州＆谷津、ハンセン＆デビアスらとの公式戦が実現してたらなぁ😆

[@j.p.8304]

Martel was most impressive

[@nothingfree3524]

Rick Martel vs marilyn monroe

[@mrsvoyage]

Frech canadian martel

[@BlackAdder1970]

WWE (Vince) turned Rick Martel into a joke as the "Model" Martel was a great technician. What a waste. Then Rick showed up in WCW. I think he got injured. Toough break. He may have had a chance to end his career on a high note maybe even held the T.V. title or U.S. title before retirement. It was always a big question back in the 80s (The hayday of wrestling) Who was the real champion? Who was best? Flair, Martel or Hogan.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

That's such a ridiculous statement, it's actually embarrassing. Rick becoming the Model was the best thing to happen to his career, he said it himself, after 12 years of being a vanilla babyface he was finally given the opportunity to do something different and to this day it's by far what people remember the most about his career. For 2 years in WWF he was the same old smiling babyface and they gave him the tag titles, but by 1989 Rick needed a change and the Model gimmick was absolutely perfect for him. You think it makes you knowledgeable to say the gimmick was a joke, but it shows you know absolutely nothing about his career, Rick loved every minute of it and he's happy he got the opportunity to be something more than a vanilla technician.

[@次田一弘-k6q]

誰もがこの結末はわかってたよ