Ric Flair on Ricky Steamboat becoming champion

[@jasonmayton6482]

This Match is by far the Greatest Rival in my life..They both made The Gold Belt, the Most Wanted Prize in all of Wrestling..The Company Title these days get passed around Monthly..The Big Gold belt however..Was and will always be The Greatest World Heavyweight Championship ever..

[@chipmillard5043]

Ricky Steamboat was without a doubt one of the greatest workers of his era, or really any era. He was involved in one of the greatest feuds and matches in the 1980s in the NWA (his trilogy of matches with Ric Flair), and he was also involved in one of the greatest feuds and matches in the 1980s in the WWF (his matches with Randy Savage culminating in Steamboat winning the WWF Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania 3). Steamboat deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Flair and Savage as one of pro wrestling's all-time greats from its golden era.

[@monkeyb1820]

awesome that Ric was always willing to put a good, deserving talent over. That's part of what makes the 'goat'--being willing to promote the business with the occasional loss too.

[@davidstone2820]

That's what made Ric and Harley legends.

[@bretmaverick9434]

And, that's why Bret Hart was better.

[@Jcrash71]

​@@bretmaverick9434Bret Hart being better than Flair? The same guy who couldn't cut a promo, lacked charisma, couldn't draw but is better than Flair?????😂😂

[@jodymicheallee]

Hart wouldn't lose in Canada.

[@TheRealMightyHokie]

I watch this with my brother. We had such a good time. We knew that professional wrestling wasn't on the up and up. At that point. We had seen enough real fights and even been in a few so we knew how it was. We didn't know how true storylines were behind the scenes. But regardless, it was great to see Steamboat win. And we laughed so hard when he couldn't even open his eyes because the champagne was stinging them. We laughed and laughed at that.

[@otisblevins9194]

he poured it on himself to hide his tears.. as a kid in the 70's and 80's Flair and Steamboat were our favorite match up, and Ric Flair has always been the GOAT, always will be

[@kidray7818]

The greatest wrestling trilogy of all times💯💯💯💯

[@sugewhitejacoby8654]

I wrestled at a rival HS of Ricky's. From what I know of him starting way back then he was a standout athlete. Years later I went to Melinkos school of wrestling in Tampa. I watched Ricky just float around the ring with almost no effert!

[@joshualewis9654]

Steamboat in 1989 Was amazing. Love steamboat vs Luger also. Luger was an awesome heel during this time

[@ApothecaryGrant]

Luger was a good heel . Babyface not so much .

[@RobertDannelly]

Ric and Ricky thank you both for your contributions to Charlotte, NC. I had memberships first at "Steamboat's Gym" from '85 - '94 when after I joined the US Army and served in the 82nd Airborne till '97 and then returned to CLT and joined "Ric Flair's Golds Gym" off Independence Blvd. Thank you both for all that you did for wrestling and Charlotte, NC. @RicFlair who was your favorite wrestling opponent? I was born in '71 and lived most of my life in Eastside Charlotte 2 minutes from Eastland. Loved watching you on TV, Live and KZbin. Wow how things have changed.

[@joshualewis9654]

This was a great time In Wrestling

[@Loyster14]

Two of the best very best ..poetry in motion. Watched them both starting out. Flair rubbing Ricky's face into the mat Ricky ripping the suit of Flair. Mid Atlantic Championship matches NWA Championship matches . The only thing that would have been the cherry on the cake milkshake if they won the tag team Championship US NWA WCW that would have been something! Constimet Professionals

[@bretsnoke9213]

We need Ric in Arkansas. Triple R Pawn in Ash Flat. "Woooo" Wednesday's every week there in honor of "the Man" Rick Flair.

[@beltway95sports]

I remember that like it was yesterday

[@GeneKing-lz8xg]

Flairandsteamboataretrulytwoofakind,unbelievable!!!!!😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@ApothecaryGrant]

I hate it when people say no one ever won the world title . Everyone is competing for the top spot . If you get the knod … you won it through hard work . So everyone won the world title

[@andyman0231]

I was there at UIC Pavillion loudest crowd I ever heard

[@Southstar-SuperStar]

The timing

[@davidcameron1367]

Yeah definitely steamboat vs flair was awesome...Rick the dragon steamboat was best opponent of the nature boy don't forget Terry funk was a very great opponent as well on the I quit match!!

[@jackson5781]

Chicago in 89 was the best hands down

[@davidfrederick1971]

The one thing that went wrong during the ppv was Jim Ross referencing the last time they met (unsure if accurate) was May 1984 Night of Champions which would have been 4 1/4 years prior (almost five). Jim Ross said "Ricky Steamboat waited six years for this, six years since the Meadowlands". When was the Boogie Jam show which saw them do a 1 hour match.

[@EGarrett01]

A great moment, and glad Ric was there to cut through the BS and give a World Title reign to a guy that 100% deserved it. Made Ricky's career complete.

[@nealfeldpausch715]

Steamboat deserved it !!! He was so over! He was one of the biggest babyfaces at the time. And at the time it didn't matter, Flair would win it back eventually.

[@CatsClaw44]

Nothing like Flair bragging about blowing his money, especially with it leading to him working a match for a payday at 73 years old and with major health issues

[@ElimGarakSpoonHead]

Wooooooooooooo

[@jackson5781]

As someone originally from Kansas City MO he would have hated Western Kansas

[@nolanwalls9894]

Sting crazy

[@InvestBetter.]

I was there, and I never got the whole Ricky Steamboat thing. He was a fine hand, a helluva worker, but he was nothing more than a 6-ft Chris Benoit. He couldn't cut a promo, he couldn't get himself over, so they played his as the face versus the biggest heels in the business, which will get you some cheap pops. A solid mid-carder, but not a main eventer.

[@aaronsugar7228]

My question for Ric is: When did it change in the WCW where being the champion no longer meant as much? Was it Hogan's arrival, or something else?

[@rolltide9547]

After Flair left in 1991.

[@ChromeFamily]

Started near the end of 1998… before that the title was at the center of everything. In “late” 98-01 there was a merry go round of champions. It became a joke.

[@rogertayloRRR]

Who was that guy in the corner? Asian guy around 4min

[@gustavoaguirre4628]

Hiro Matsuda

[@bassclay100]

you know the wwe will always tell u they made all the right moves but the nwa had the foresight to give steamboat the title something wwe never did!!!!!!!!

[@nolanwalls9894]

Champagne burns

[@FrankC71]

Making a WWF secondary champion in NWA was a bad look, as WWF made Top NWA stars Jobbers was a bad look

[@ryblack5032]

I Remember I was 13 years Old in 1989 when Ricky The Dragon Steamboat Won The Big Gold Belt!!!! And I Remember at School All My Classmates Passed Around The Paper Showing Ricky Holding The Belt In This Thumbnail, I was a Hardcore Wrestling Fan and was SO Excited seeing and Talking About This Match❤❤❤❤

[@ApothecaryGrant]

It was a huge mistake not to give Ricky return matches after he had given Ric two of them back to back . In my opinion Funk should have feuded with Steamboat too …

[@wndowpayne]

I already spent the 8k..lol

[@Ivantheterrible81280]

Ricky got injured and left bc Eric Bischoff got angry about it. It’s bad enough he got buried by Vince for daring to request time off to spend time with his wife and newborn son.

[@Alexis-heavan-angle]

You want to know what scares people the fact that Charlotte Flair and Andrade their vows to each other or that whole poem that they supposedly said to each other it's pretty sad that you had to steal those lines and lyrics from someone that actually wrote all that stuff for Charlotte the sad thing is that the lines that you stole from someone and the feelings that you stole from someone that actually wrote them for you Charlotte you can't patch your relationship together on someone else's words and feelings for you Charlotte Flair

[@adamwirth1723]

This is one of many examples why Ric Flair‘s podcast is so bad. Steamboat left because he was upset about feud moving immediately to Terry Funk. He then went to the WWF and came back to WCW. Steamboat has said this himself. He certainly didn’t have enough of the business.

[@DFW817]

Conrad is way too sensitive. “I don’t want to dunk on him.”

[@marcpjoyner]

Sometimes Flair is just full of crap, and loves to blame the same 3 or 4 people for all of his problems. He was given the opportunity to work a nice main event angle with Steamboat, stretching over PPV and free television. It didn’t draw. They were given time and it didn’t draw, plain and simple. Steamboat is not a main event guy, but he was given an opportunity in 1989 and was put over. It didn’t draw. It ain’t Jim Herd’s fault. It is Flair and Steamboat’s issue that they didn’t draw in 1989. Flair even booked the whole program! But yeah, it was Herd’s fault. Or Ole, or maybe a young Bischoff. Who knows.