All language subtitles for WWE Rivals - Season 5 - EP-06 - Ric Flair VS. Ricky Steamboat

- I don't know any other
athletes

that are in better condition

than Ric Flair and Ricky
"The Dragon" Steamboat.

- He had it.

He had the look.

I said "Give me a shot as a kid,

I'm telling you, he's got it."

- You work with Ric Flair,

that means you're going to
make money.

I said, "Let's go for it."

- That's it pretty boy.

Now he's ugly.

[laughing]

- We're just gettin' goin' kid.

- Lifestyle wise, these guys
were very different.

- Steamboat-

I don't care if you gotta kid-

This is wrestling.

- But they always created
something special.

- You gotta believe in yourself.

You gotta have a positive
attitude within yourself.

But then there's some athletes,

just carry it
a little bit too far.

Flair would try to push me as
much as I would try to push him.

You know, we were rivals.

- You can bet,

that this one fire
breathing dragon

is going to be loaded
to the gills with fire.

- The adrenaline has got to be
flowin'.

- Steamboat and my dad.

It was a perfect recipe.

- This is where it all began,
buddy.

- I could sit down and watch it
all over again-

-to this day.

- We knew how good it was.

So did everybody else.

They're still talking about it.

- You're outta line.

- So much animosity

in this awesome rivalry.

- When two legends collide,

the rivalry stays pinned
in our minds forever.

This is where we break down
the legendary stories

behind the greatest rivalries
of all time.

I'm Gabriel Iglesias

and this is

WWE Rivals.

- Each time that these
two have met,

they've been monumental
matches.

There's no doubt about that.

- Today we are talking about
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair

and the rivalry he had with
Ricky Steamboat.

These two superstars were polar
opposites.

I mean, on one end you have
profilin', kiss stealin',

wheelin' and dealin' Ric Flair
woo on the complete other side,

he wasn't even "The Dragon" yet,

but he was already an amazing
performer in ring.

- Flair comes to the ring with
50 women

and Ricky comes with
his wife and son.

I mean, you know, it's just it's
cut and dry as it is,

but they were physically really
well matched.

- But it's like they were born
to compete against each other.

- Yeah.

- Where it starts in the late
70's goes to the 80's

with this epic trilogy.

You know, at the time on the
other channel was Hulkamania

and it was-it was unstoppable.

- Look at the Hulkster and
Hulkamania.

It's alive and running well.

- These guys,

they were the counterbalance
to what WWE was.

- Competition.

We thrive on it.

We love it.

We've got to have the best

in front of us each
and every night.

- Flair was so over the top that
you know, as much as he was

an attraction heel when he was
bragging and showing off

and all that, you wanted to see
him get his ass kicked.

- Hi wrestling fans,

welcome to Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling.

- If you ever seen me looking
finer , huh?

- It's a nice looking sport
coat.

Yeah.

- The rings are bigger.

The cars are bigger.

- You had a good year.

- The women are prettier.

I had a great year.

- Mid-Atlantic was a territory

with an old southern way
about it.

And here was Ric Flair,

in flashy colors and bleach
blonde hair.

And he just shook the whole
place up.

- Remember one thing,

diamonds are forever.

- He probably is one of the

biggest stars
in wrestling today.

He knows it.

He's probably one
of the biggest egotists.

- Ric Flair he would
just have this

aura of being better
than you.

And it drove wrestling fans
crazy.

- I wanted to be over the top.

I wanted it to be the very best.

In all my greatness, in all my
magnificence-

'Cause I've been wrestling a
lot of great wrestlers

in the Carolinas,

I took it very seriously.

I wanted to be the best wrestler

and I wanted to have the
best match.

- He was the man
and he'd made his mark.

And by then he was the standard
bearer of excellence

as far as wrestling goes.

- Ric Flair was one of the top
guys in wrestling.

- You want to know who the

the biggest star in the world
today, huh?

Right here.

- Ric Flair.

- Ricky at that time was pretty
much an unknown.

- 228 pounds from Hawaii,

the challenger,
Ricky Steamboat.

- When I first came
to the Mid-Atlantic region,

basically, I was just
happy to have a job.

I think I had a $50 a night
guarantee.

- They just saw so much
talent in the guy.

He had it.

He had the look.

And Ricky could wrestle
from day one.

At that time,
it was really hard.

The older guys didn't like young
guys come along.

- Ric Flair once said,

"You know, you get this new kid
that's just come in.

I like what I see."

- Not that I had a lot to say
back then,

but I said "Give me
a shot at this kid.

I'm telling you, he's got it."

- I guess I was going through an
anxiety moment

when I found out the number
one heel

in the territory wanted to do
an angle with me.

You work with Ric Flair,
that means you're going

to make money and we're all in
the business to make money.

I said, "Let's go for it."

- So the promotion put these two
together for the

Television Championship,
first match.

- Nature Boy is the Mid-Atlantic
TV Champion,

and this is the first time this
young punk

has ever had a main event.

- Yeah, but Ric Flair's
backing up.

He's backing up.

- Hey, listen.

- Look at that.

- What about him?

- Ric, he had the rare
quality of-

He could bring the best out of
other wrestlers-

He could make other superstars-

Very rare quality.

- Steamboat off the ropes.

He got him.

- He got him.

- Ricky Steamboat the new

Mid-Atlantic TV Champion.

- They didn't even know Ricky.

From day one when these guys

walk into the ring when they
come out their dressing room

and just something just clicked
with them and the people.

I'd never seen nuttin' like it.

- And Ric Flair eyes are as big
as saucers.

- I would think that Ric
Flair saw a young,

super athletic adversary

for the villain that Ric Flair
was,

and fans saw a lot, too.

- I was this young Hawaiian kid
with long black hair, you know,

had a good look about me.

- Back in those days,

We'd try to get guys that look
great because they're the ones

that the girls would go to
the wrestlin'.

If the girls went to
the wrestling,

then the guys would buy
a ticket to go.

So Ricky really had all the
ladies really loving him

with his look.

- He had that body
beautiful man.

The skin, the hair, everything
was perfect.

- Ricky had one more thing.

He had a kindness about him that
the people seen.

He's just a good hearted man.

- Good versus bad, handsome,
athletic, great body-

-the show off.

It's the perfect recipe.

- We wanted to create some
interest between the two of us.

- Steamboat, where are you,
punk?

I'm right here, baby doll

Get Steamboat out here.

- Flair being Flair brash and
overconfident.

- Oh, I'm talking to you.

You listen to me, boy.

Everywhere I go, all they talk
about is you beat me, huh?

You beat the Great one, huh?

- Flair was just all mouth and
one of the best.

- Boy, get in the ring right
now.

- Ric, he said get in the ring
right now.

- Ric was a master at wanting to
be the bad guy.

- He wants to wrestle me
one on one.

- Maybe you didn't hear me.

I said get in there and wrestle
the right man.

- Yeah.

He's serious.

- You got him.

- Doing gritty, physical stuff,

it only added to their story.

- He's trying to stomp him
right at his head-

very hard.

- He's not giving Steamboat a
chance to get into the ring.

I've never seen anybody handle
that way with a man.

- He's out on the floor now.

- And here comes Flair after
him.

- He took me down to the
cement floor,

and started rubbing my face on
the cement floor.

- Ric Flair has gone, man.

- He's draggin' him.

- Ric Flair, grinding Ricky's
face into the cement,

added this realism.

A lot of times good guys in
wrestling

are called babyfaces because
they have a baby face.

There's a softness and a
likability to their face.

It's what Ric Flair was ruining
by grinding it into the cement.

- And there's your pretty boy.

Now he's ugly.

- Well, when Ricky got back to
the back,

at that time said "He's not
bruised enough."

They took sandpaper and rubbed
the skin off of his face.

- We'd sandpaper his eye.

He didn't get the pigmentation
back for two years.

This fruit looked like we killed
them.

- Do you know how hard it is to
sandpaper the eyebrow hair

off of your eyelid area?

That would garner the sympathy.

- I made the guy,

overnight.

I made him a big star.

He got lucky one night of his
life, he beat me right there.

He was an instant star,
and I destroyed him.

- It was either a week or two
later on TV.

It's going to be a revenge time
for Ricky.

It was a different type
of angle.

- Hey check,
check out the turkey girls.

- This was, uh, abusive.

- Check out the turkey, huh?

Huh?

- There he goes.

- All right.

- I've never seen anybody
handle that way-

- There was a time where you
could see Ric Flair

get violent,

get nasty.

He could also bring it.

- It was a different level.

I mean, to actually grab
sandpaper and go,

"No, man, we're gonna make this
and sell this."

- That was part of the business
back then was the legitimacy

of being in your character

24/7 and people seeing
Ricky going,

"Ah, I saw him it, man."

- "Man he got you."

- My dad would always say it's
good for business.

Ric wanted to do whatever he

could to make himself the
bad guy,

so that Ricky would be able
to get that comeuppance.

- Hey, check-
check out the turkey girls.

Check out the turkey, huh?

Huh?

- Wait a minute.

It may be Ric Flair's time.

- That's right.

- He's got on one of his tailor
made suits.

- A brand new suit, shirt,
and all.

- That's right.

I tore his suit off of him, and
that was Flair's idea.

He told me in the ring at the
moment.

"Tear my suit up.
Tear my suit up."

- And it's all Ricky Steamboat
now.

- When Ricky got his hands
on Flair,

he started ripping
the expensive suit,

symbolically taking off the
armor

that Ric Flair had built around
himself,

and exposing him as just
another man.

- Do you know who I am?

I'm the U.S.-

You think someone could do
this to me on TV?

In front of my-

- People are like,

you know, looking at Flair in
his underwear,

he cut this scathing promo
afterwards.

- As God is my witness.

As God is my witness,
Steamboat.

You-

You will pay,
God Almighty-

[crowd chanting "Steamboat"]

Shut up.

- After that aired,
we were selling out,

sold out everywhere.

- I just passed along my wisdom
to him.

He-he just caught on so
naturally.

You know what I mean?

- Well, the way Ricky would
learn back in those days,

it was Flair was leading him
around on a leash.

He was teaching him
the art of wrestling.

- Ric Flair leads the match.

He calls it out there.

He does not plan things
ahead of time.

He listens to the crowd.

Everything's instincts with him.

Everything he did meant
something.

- Flair, it was like going to
school every night in the match.

What to do in a match,
how you do it, when you do it,

why you do it.

The psychology of doing things
in the course of a match.

I know he wanted us to be
successful.

I mean, he picked me.

- So Flair opened up the door,
and said,

"Hey Ricky, yeah, you wanna do
this, do that.

You want to jump off-jump-
jump off the top rope.

You want to throw,
chops throw, chops."

So he kind of gave
Ricky that freedom.

- We wrestled hours
all the time.

I know that everybody loved him.

It wasn't hard.

It's hard when a guy can't
wrestle an hour.

He had no problem.

We've never had a bad one.

We didn't have off nights.

- They probably had the best
matches that no one outside

those arenas ever saw.

Night after night, in towns all
over the Carolinas.

Those guys went at it and they
went at it full bore.

- Ric Flair being the number one
heel for the company

at the time, made me,
after a couple of years,

the number one
babyface for the company.

When I started out making
$3-$400 a week

and I was working with Ric
Flair,

making $12-$1500-$2000
a week.

- We worked a Christmas weekend,

and we picked up a check
for Christmas week.

It was $8,800 a piece
for a week.

I said, "[bleep] Hey man, how
cool is this?"

He goes,"Good, you know, I'm
taking some time off.

I don't I don't feel like
working this hard."

I said, "What the [bleep]?"

[laughing]

I go over to his house,
it's Christmas day,

I said, "I don't want to hear
you say that again.

Don't ever talk like that
again.

"Taking the time off.

What the [bleep]?"

[laughing]

"We're just gettin' goin', kid."

[laughing]

[bleep] one week, yeah,
$8,800.

Steamboat, that's one of my
women right there, baby doll.

You see the one with the nice
tan,

And the pretty blond hair,

I'm not talking about one of
these fat ones

that come to cheer you.

I'm talking about that woman
over there, you see.

- All of us felt that

the character of "Nature Boy"
Ric Flair,

actually took over,

the guy of Richard Fliehr.

You gotta believe in yourself.

You gotta have a positive
attitude within yourself.

But then there's some athletes

who just carry it a little
bit too far.

- Ric Flair became Ric Flair
out of the ring.

A lot of us,

we left our business
in the ring,

but he carried it wherever he
went.

- Over the years,
A lot of the fans have said that

I have a flair for buying nice
clothes,

and a flair for buying fancy
cars,

and a flair for wearing
nice jewelry.

- Ricky would go all day or all
night thinking about what to do.

Whereas a lot of time with
Ric Flair,

he wasn't thinking about what do
until he got to the building

because he was out being
"The Nature Boy".

- He'd have the match,
stay out all night,

make the plane to the next
city, get out,

and then he'd go to the gym.

Sometimes, literally, we'd go
three, four days at a time

without sleeping and wrestling
every night

and going to the gym every day.

- And there was times we'd be
at the gym together

at the same time, and we're
trying to outdo each other.

But it was a good
competitiveness.

It was a good rivalry.

It kept us sharp, you know,
we were friends,

but then again,
we were also rivals.

But I think that's a good
combination.

- Spent money,
had fun in the ring,

full time "Natch"

And that's how it was.

- These guys, you know, they-

they first went against each
other in the late 70's,

and then they go on and
they both have a fantastic

career before they go again
against each other.

- Any time that him and I hooked
up on the marquee in any city

in the Mid-Atlantic,

it was big business and it was
good business.

But I've been here for almost
eight years.

It's time for me to move on.

And then, of course, in '85,

when WWE started to
go nationwide,

how would you like to wrestle
300 days a year and

you're wrestling in front of
15,000 every night.

- Coming down the aisle

ladies and gentlemen,
Ricky Steamboat.

- Pretty much overnight,
your income doubled.

- Top turnbuckle-

Gibbs on his feet-

High crossbody-

He hooks the leg-

He's going to get him.

[bell rings]

- Ricky Steamboat getting
a big hand

from this capacity crowd at
Madison Square Garden.

- At that time, we all went own
ways I was happy for him.

- When WWE went national and
really started to expand,

there was a lure of more money
and becoming a much bigger star.

There was just so much
more in WWE

that the territories
didn't provide.

- He was a huge star,
huge gift from Carolinas.

- WWE had this big feel to it.

And so when you saw
Ricky go to WWE,

he really stepped up his game as
far as his presentation as well.

Coming to WWE took Ricky
to another level of stardom.

- One more time.

- Now you have speed.

- A huge turning point in his
career,

was when he became "The Dragon".

Bruce Lee films were as popular

as anything could be
at the time.

- Well, Ricky Steamboat,

this is, I understand,
is the Bridge of Serenity.

- At one time, Gene,
this area was not so serene.

I was a Bruce Lee fan,

Enter The Dragon movie,

and then that named "the
Dragon",

that sort of boom, popped.

- Here at the Temple
of Ching Lau.

We have been invited by Rick
"The Dragon" Steamboat.

- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

- Calling him "The Dragon"
it was such a great term

back then to do
merchendise off of.

[yelling]

- Wrestling superstars they're
for real.

- Flair wouldn't go.

He stayed with the company.

I don't know anybody else that
had loyalty to the people.

Everybody left.

- I just couldn't get myself to
leave the NWA.

I was just happy.

I was the champion,

and I was really loyal

To be the world champion
back then was really-

you're talking about some really
megastar talent.

'Cause I'm the world champion.

I'm the best there is and I
can back up every word I say.

- He had the hair.

He had, you know,
the ladies on each arm,

you know, the-the Rolex.

Ric Flair was the face of
everything really in wrestling.

That wasn't WWE.

- Ric Flair dominated the
wrestling scene.

If you look at the wrestling
magazines,

there would be pictures
of me,

and then two magazines of
Ric Flair.

Picture of me,

and then three magazines
of Ric Flair.

He was carrying the banner
during the NWA days.

- So when WrestleMania 3
happened, Ric Flair was on top

of the world in the NWA.

Ricky Steamboat and Macho Man
had this match at WrestleMania 3

which would let Ricky
show his wares in front

of a huge audience.

- History will be made here
this afternoon

in the Pontiac Silverdome.

- Wrestlemania 3,

by far the biggest thing that
WWE had ever done.

- The day has finally come.

The minutes, the seconds,

we have reached our moment.

- It was tremendous,
especially for the time.

It was a completely different
match that large audiences

hadn't seen at that time.

- But the champions still in
control, no,

a small package by "The Dragon".

He got him.

- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

- They tore the joint down.

They had a hell of a match.

It was phenomenal.

- I was getting national
exposure on a national level.

What it did for all of us,
the traveling was the downfall.

Then it started to wear on you
the money I make,

and how much is that worth as
compared to being away

from home for two months?

- The toll that being on the
road takes on you is nothing

compared to what it takes on
your family.

It's so unfair to be gone as
much as we were.

- I think there was certainly a
hunger for a potential rematch,

but we never got it and Ricky
would disappear

from WWE TV for a while.

- Ricky left to go be
with his family.

Rick didn't want to be
on the road anymore.

Rick had been three years,
I believe in WWE at that point

and to spend time
with his family.

So he made the
decision to leave.

- I already made my mind up.

I couldn't miss it.

If I was on the road,
I would not be able to capture

what's going on right
now with my son.

If I was on the road,

there would be things that
I would regret.

- Money is great, but you know,

you get those moments one time.

- back then was
running constant.

You know, we were running 250
300 nights a year.

Yeah, that's-that's literally

the reason why I didn't
have children, you know,

because I was on the road 300
nights a year,

and I've saw so many guys
have problems with their

children because the father was
absent.

And I thought, I just can't do
that to a kid.

So it was a real thing with
Ricky to make a choice.

"I've done my thing in WWE.

I'm going to go home
and take care of my family

and work close to home."

- And I'd say the choice,

it wasn't a big risk because
he was going to be

plugged in with Ric Flair.

- I'm thinking back with the
NWA,

there would be more time
at home being based out of-

I was living in Charlotte,

lived there for
a number of years.

There would be more frequent
times that I would be home.

- World Championship Wrestling

bringing you great
wrestling action,

sanctioned by the NWA.

- And we are set.

Ric Flair, Barry Windham against
Eddie Gilbert

and you saw they said Mr. Ric.

- There's a lot of
anticipation.

A lot of people are speculating
who is going to be

Eddie Gilbert's mystery partner.

- Where's his partner?

Where's the big man, huh?

- And now he is back in NWA to
kind of settle an old score.

- I don't believe what we're
seeing here,

- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
has arrived.

- That [bleep] was on now.

- Ric Flair in disbelief.

Steamboat walking in here

to the studios of TBS has taken
the confidence

and blown it right out of the
water.

- You got no business in
here pal.

Get outta here or get your ass
kicked.

You got a problem with that?

- After all the notoriety that
he built in his time in WWE,

now, it was like Ric and Ricky
were seen as equals.

- And look at the strength.

He has got it all, the strength
and the power that has made his

name synonymous with success in
the squared circle.

Flair throws him off,
nice tackle, what contact.

What impact on that football
tackle.

- We did not miss a beat.

It'd been a few years had gone
by and we just picked right up

where we left off.

- High crossbody off the top
and he pinned him again.

[bell rings]

- Ricky Steamboat has now pinned

the Heavyweight Champion
of the World.

- Every day that goes by,

I appreciate him even more
because how difficult of a task

to be a clean cut, good guy, who
doesn't finish last.

You have to have it really
in ya,

and they have to
recognize it.

- Ric Flair's got the belt,
and that's one of the reasons

why I came back to this area,

to the National Wrestling
Alliance.

Don't get me wrong, fans,

that's number one.

And the the other main reason
is, is this,

let me bring him on right now.

Come on out.

Wrestling-

[crowd cheers]

You know-you know something,
Tony?

I'm very, very proud of my
family.

And this is one of the reasons
why I've come back

in quest for the World
Championship.

You know, had a beautiful
wife.

Got a great looking little boy.

And the people are just going to
swoon all over this.

- Steamboat.

I don't care if you got a kid
and a wife.

This is wrestling.

Don't walk out here,

look at the public.

You're here for my belt,

and you aren't gonna get it.

Woo.

He-he was such a family
guy, man,

the family dynamic,

I just insulted it.

It was horrible.

Come on out Steamboat.

Take your pick, huh?

You gotta be bored
sitting home every night.

Come on, buddy.

- You know something, Ric Flair?

The difference between
you and me

is the fact that you
represent

all the evil, materialistic
things in this world.

more than the family unit.

- He understood.

You can't have a great babyface
without a good bad guy, and you

can't have a good bad guy
without a great babyface.

And he knew what his role was.

It was so simple, but so good.

- Hello everybody.

Welcome to the Chi-Town Rumble
'89.

- In 1989,

the first match between the two
was the Chi-Town Rumble,

which I know you remember very
well.

- Chi-town Rumble-

is a special,
special match.

- Well, the champion certainly
travels in fast company.

- Perhaps we'll see history made
here tonight.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

certainly ready for
this challenge.

- It's real to him.

And when it's real to Ricky and
real to Ric Flair,

as it always was,
you can't top it.

- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
5'11", 235.

Ric Flair 6', 242.

[bell rings]

He has proved that he can beat
the champion,

but can he do it with
a belt on the line?

That is the question.

- They subvert expectations
where they start hot and heavy,

they change the formula.

- Every move was crisp.

- Look at this maneuver.

Great dropkick, great
quickness by

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

- Every move was like poetry
in motion.

- And Steamboat, look at this
bridge.

- It is just hardcore wrestling.

We worked hard with each other
and we were relentless.

- Flair the master of the Figure
Four.

After the inverted Atomic Drop

has got it locked in

on the challenger.

- The promoter will tell,
back in the day,

"I want you to hit him so hard

that the people in the cheap
seat could hear it."

- I used to hit him as hard
as I could.

He'd hit me back.

Hard as he can.

- Oh, he's upside down.

He goes down the apron.

"The Nature Boy's" on top.

Flying crossbody,
but Steamboat reverses it.

One, two, and he kicks out.

My God that was-

we're talking about
a few inches.

- No wrist holds, just-

boom boom boom.

- Let's turn the corner.

He twists the leg.

Inside-wait a minute.

Inside cradle.

Can he hold him?

Yes he can.

[bell rings]

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
has won the world title.

- It was a big moment for me.

I had tears in my eyes

when I realized I became a
world champion

for the first time.

I was real happy that finally

they felt the nod to go in
my direction.

It's hard for me to believe
what I'm holding in my hands

after all these years,
and I don't know how many

here comes the boys with
the champagne.

- It's rarified air

to become world champion.

You want to be back in the
locker room with them

and whoop it up and dump
champagne on his head.

That's a lot of fun.

But it's also acknowledgment of
what he's accomplished

and what he means.

- Not only does Ricky win the
NWA championship,

but we didn't know his fans that
this was the beginning of one

of the greatest trilogies
in wrestling history.

- Inside cradle.

Can he hold him?

Yes he can.

[bell rings]

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
has won the world title.

- And you have these
partnerships with a guy that

you've wrestled many times,
or a lady that you wrestled many

times, get that bag of things
you can pull out.

- They had so much stuff
in the pocket,

you're almost bonded by battle.

- Ric Flair versus Ricky in 1989

is the Star Wars of
Wrestling trilogies.

- Success of that first match
was so overwhelming,

there was no doubt there was
going to be a return.

- It's a great honor that
Steamboat enjoys right now,

but the bottom line is, he is
going to have the shortest reign

of any World Champion in the
history of the NWA.

- You can bet that there's one
fire breathing dragon,

that's going to be loaded
to the gills with fire.

- Today, in a two out of three
fall showdown

in the New Orleans Superdome,

the championship of the world
once again will be on the line.

- The two out of three falls
match the concept is first

competitor to beat the other
guy two times.

They can be grueling,
especially those hour long ones.

- This is the Clash of Champions
6, the Ragin Cajun Showdown.

- I think two of the most
important things

in pro wrestling are
storytelling and believability.

To be good at storytelling,

you have to have a
believability,

- Flair, Steamboat sizing
each other up.

- The biggest thing about Ricky
was that he connected with the

fans to the point of they wanted
him to win.

- And oh, he caught him.

- Their desire for
him to win was so strong.

- This one has been a real
physical.

- And he did that by his art of
selling

whatever the guy did to
him.

- Sends Flair for the ride,
but Flair just punted him.

- The art to this business is
selling, getting sympathy.

- I sort of learned early on
being a babyface

you had to be a salesman.

So whatever the heel was doing
to you in a match,

you had to come across
as being convincing.

- Flair's got him on his back.

- That's it, that's it.

- Ricky loses the first fall.

Everybody's on the edge
of their seat,

waiting for what Ricky always
does,

which is to mount that
superhuman comeback,

where he finds it in himself and
stays in the fight.

- He went to the well,
and it was dry as they say.

- Main appeal was
after you sell,

you fight from the bottom up.

You make that huge comeback.

The comeback didn't mean
anything unless you got people

rumbling in their seats before
he started coming up.

It's like a hero shot
in the movie.

You know, this comeback
was a hero shot.

- You can make people feel it.

It was that easy.

Then I got him down,

boy the crowd was roaring.

And then he'd came
back on me,

and they were screaming.

- Steamboat with the advantage.

- Driving forearms,
here's a double chicken wing.

Picks him up into the air
right there.

That is a double
chicken wing there.

Dislocates your shoulders pulls
on your back at the same time.

- He's giving up, that's it.

[bell rings]

He's giving up.

A double chicken wing.

Flair has submitted
to "The Dragon".

- and now we will go to the
climactic third-

- and final fall.

In a time of 34 minutes,
the winner of the second fall

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

- Without any words spoken,
Flair would try to push me as

much as I would try to push him.

- Oh, God.

- That expression in our
business,

when somebody says they're
blowed up,

that means they're
out of gas.

That means they are fighting to
catch breath.

And that was an underlining
I know it.

- Beautiful backdrop.

- We would never say it
to each other.

I'm going to try and blow you up
tonight

that-that discussion
would never take place.

But it was out there
in the ring.

You knew it.

- Sends Flair for the ride
upside down.

- Whoa, here he comes

- That's gotta-

Oh and he got me with a
clothesline.

- You can't do what they were
doing at that pace

without being super
conditioned.

Both of them were meticulous
about their conditioning.

- 15 minutes remain til
time limit.

- They've wrestled 45 minutes,
15 minutes remain.

- It is a real roller
coaster going that long.

It's not just a cardio thing,
which is tough,

but it's a real roller coaster,
mentally.

That's real art.

- Been out there so long

you got to do anything
to get him to pop up.

- Vertical suplex.

Flair's got him high in the air.

- That hall with me and him
there.

They're still talking about it.

- Here he comes off that top
rope.

Flying body press.

- He beat him with this before.

And Flair barely got that
shoulder up.

- They will not quit.

I love it,
I love it.

What a tremendous match
this here.

- The fine points, not just the
the techniques of wrestling and

going through the moves,
but the psychology.

- Double arm chicken wing.

The double arm chicken wing.

He's got him.

He fell back.

- He can't hold him.

- He's got Flair.

He's got-

He's got Steamboat.

Flair had Steamboat.

- When we finally get to that
ending-

- Steamboat has won.

Steamboat had Flair's shoulders
to the mat.

- Where Ricky did win,

but Ric Flair's foot is on the
outside of the ropes.

- There's that imaginary line

that if any part of
the body is on,

that rope breaks the hold,
but you could get away with it.

So it left a gray area there.

- I think you really have to
know your character.

And that's the one thing that
my dad knew was his character

- He's complaining that his
foot was there.

Look he's telling the referee
his foot was on the bottom rope.

- Always continued the story no
matter how they left off.

You wanted to see it again.

- As crooked as Ric Flair is,
he's right.

He shouldn't have lost that
match after two classics.

I'm hungry for a third Steamboat
Flair match.

- The way I look at it is.

You gotta wrestle me one more
time.

That means I gotta beat you,

no if, ands or buts.

- The big date is Sunday,
May the 7th in Nashville.

The big pay per view
spectacular,

the Music City Showdown.

And it will be settled.

- This third match
would be the

epic ending to this fantastic
rivalry between the two.

- This, without a doubt
is going to be

my most important match.

- It's Wrestle War '89.

- Steamboat

You are the greatest wrestler
on the face of this Earth.

But pal, today you got
to beat Ric Flair-

one more time.

But to be the man,

you got to beat the man.

And I'm saying,
woo.

- All right fans, this is what
we came to see.

- Has Ricky "The Dragon"
Steamboat

got Ric Flair's
number?

- The trilogy ended at
Wrestle War in 1989.

- These matches kind of define
Ric Flair

Later, as we just know of him
as he's the greatest.

These were the matches that made
you go

"That was it, that's why."

- And they always had that
incredible timing

when they exchanged.

- Dragon shoots him off.

Football tackle by Flair,

high hip block tackle
and a deep arm drag.

- Flair has been in the ring
with the best of the best

and I have too.

- Steamboat back
into the corner.

Slap.

Uh, oh.

- It's just something about
our chemistry together.

You couldn't bottle it.

You couldn't write it down
as a rule book to follow.

He would just give me a look,
and I-I got it.

- Each man has taken the best
that the other can dish out.

Flair sent for the ride.

High elevation.

Down on his back.

- Talk to other guys and they've
had that kind of blend.

And then there's some guys that
never have it,

or they never found it
or never felt it.

I had it with Flair.

- And we just went to war, man,
we had fun.

People could see it.

- I can sit down and watch
it all over again-

-to this day.

It's that good.

- Here comes Steamboat.

And oh-

Flair shook the ropes.

Steamboat fell the way to the
floor.

Steamboat's got him up.

A slam.

But, Flair an inside cradle,
one, two.

He did it,
he did it.

[bell rings]

- Steamboat's leg buckled.

And Flair has done it,
Flair has done it.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
the winner,

and for the sixth time

World Heavyweight Champion

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

- Something you don't see very
often fans,

Two great competitors like this,

out in the center of the ring,
both with tremendous

respect for each other.

- It's an interesting
thing in wrestling,

even when you're a bad guy,

wrestling fans appreciate when
you're good at what you do.

And there's nobody that's been
better than Ric Flair.

- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat,

and Ric Flair both competed in
one of the greatest matches,

that any of us have ever
witnessed.

- He was in sync with the
people.

He either knew how
to make them boo,

or knew how to make them cheer.

And that's a gift.

- Not character for Ric Flair,

but Rick Steamboat

is the greatest champion
I've ever faced,

and I'm proud to be here for
a sixth time.

- That's how much
I thought of him,

personally.

Nothing wrong with saying the
truth.

- That was big time, you know,
for him to say it.

I mean, they broke the mold when
they made Ric Flair, right?

That, you know, for him to say
it.

That meant we did something
special.

- That's what it's all about.

It's hard to put up their body
of work

and anyone compete with it.

It's very impressive.

- And this goes
on to be one of

the greatest trilogies
of all time.

- You're lucky when you're in
your prime to have a class

competitor like that to make you
better.

- It's Ric Flair going on to
become, you know,

a mount Rushmore wrestler

- Woo.

- Ricky, for you and I,

was a producer and agent
at WWE

just to get a little of the
magic.

- There's duck suplex-

takes a swing and duck into
that belly to back,

and you know, give it to him,
boom.

- So many of the next generation
were inspired by these two.

And you can go back and you can
watch their matches.

They were way ahead
of their time.

- And the Hall of Fame just
brought everything full circle.

The level of respect between
the two is amazing.

- I've been blessed by so many
wonderful things over the years,

but tonight is a great moment
too.

This time to induct my long time
friend,

and my greatest wrestling
opponent of all time,

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

- I just wanted to say thank you
for doing something that I know

nobody else in the business has
done.

He'll remain one of my favorite
people of all time.

- Iconic type stuff.

The series of matches they had
together.

Both regarded by the fans and by
the guys inside wrestling

as two of the greatest ever.

- These are two of the greatest
athletes,

bar none in the world today.

- They had stand the test of
time.

And it's special.

- I spoke to Ric a month ago.

Even after 40 some years,
we still-

talk about how great we were-

[laughing]

-back in the day, but.

- We knew how good it
was.

So did everybody else.

The trilogy,

they're still talking
about it.