Bret Hart vs Ric Flair (WWF, 11-13-1991)

WWF, New Haven, CT

This is the first-ever meeting between Hart, the IC champion, and Flair, newly arrived in the WWF. It’s on the Invasion ’92 Coliseum Video. Before the match there’s a goofy Ric Flair/Mr. Perfect promo in space. This was a dark match at a Superstars taping.

C&E start, Hart into a side headlock. Flair goes for a back suplex pickup, Bret takes him over holding onto the headlock. Cover gets two. Flair sends Hart off the ropes, Bret shoulders him down and hits another headlock takeover with a cover for two. Flair rolls it over for a two count of his own, but Bret hangs onto the hold still.

They stand up again, and out of the headlock. C&E, Flair into a hammerlock, but Bret quickly reverses and takes him over in the headlock for another two count. Hart outwrestling Flair to start. Again Flair tries to pick him up, again Hart takes him over for two and has the headlock.

Flair backs Hart into the corner, Hart breaks the headlock, Flair shoves him, Hart smacks him in the face and Flair drops to a knee. Another slap knocks Flair to his ass when he shoves Hart again. Flair with his dukes up, then drops him and circles backwards a bit. Flair off the ropes, shoulderblock, but then he runs into a drop toehold from Bret, who goes for the sharpshooter. Flair gets the ropes and shoves the referee, and the Dave Hebner shoves back. Lord Alfred Hayes is disgusted and expects Hebner to be fined by Jack Tunney.

Hart into the side headlock, Flair into a top wristlock counter. Hart bending backwards, but then powers back up. Flair takes him down finally, Hart kips up immediately and Flair begs off into the corner for protection. Side headlock again from Bret, top wristlock again from Flair. Hart keeps getting up from it. He goes into a wristlock, and headbutts Flair, who flops face down. Mr. Perfect starting to look worried at ringside.

Knee to the gut from Flair doubles Bret over. Chop in the corner. Right hand from Flair. Chop again from Flair. Taking his time between each blow. Right hand again. Flair pumps his dick at a ringside fan, bringing that NWA raunch to the family circus of the WWF.

Bret sent into the corner, a second time he reverses as he was pretty obviously supposed to do the first time. Flair out into a backdrop, clothesline from Hart, and another clothesline! Flair begs off on his knees, but Hart doesn’t care. Right hand, right hand, now he climbs to the second rope and unleashes six straight rights before Flair drops him with an inverted atomic drop. Alfred talks about Hart’s temper getting the better of him.

Flair slowly bounces off the ropes and drops a knee to the head. Cover, feet on the middle rope, two count with Hart rolling a shoulder. Another two count with Hart switching to raise the far shoulder. Hart sent into the corner, hits hard, back-first instead of chest-first as is his trademark on that. Hart sent into the corner again, THIS time he hits hard chest-first. Another pin with Flair’s feet on the middle rope, another two count. Two more two counts. Flair screaming at fans again. “HEY SHUT UP!” Mr. Perfect shown smiling.

Chop from Flair, Hart back with a right. Flair with a right, Hart back with a right. Flair with a right, Hart back with a right. Flair’s right blocked, Hart fires off five straight right hands and grabs the headlock again. Flair sends him off the ropes, shoulder from Hart. Hart off the ropes again, Flair gets a sleephold. Hart quickly runs him into the corner to break it.

Hart catches Flair open to the midsection, then an inverted atomic drop. Hart into the side headlock again, this time Flair lifts him and drops him down with the kneebreaker. Flair gets the figure four! Hands on the rope to gain further leverage, Dave Hebner doesn’t see it, he’s busy staying in Hart’s grill to ask if he wants to give it up. Flair slapping Hart in the face, and Hart finally turns the figure four over to reverse the pressure. Flair breaks the hold.

But Flair’s up first, and stomps Hart in the back. Lord Alfred suggests Hart may be playing possum. Flair on the apron, looking to suplex Hart out to the floor, but Bret blocks and reverses it back into the ring. Bret still hurting more, though. Flair up and limping. Into the corner, Flair chops him again. And again. Hart’s straps get dropped, and he’s FIRING UP, throwing right hands at Flair and another headbutt.

Hart sends Flair into the corner, and Ric flips out to the floor. Flair’s head slammed into the guardrail in the aisle. Bret rolls Flair back in, Flair screams, “NOOOO!” and begs for mercy again. Hart mounts and pummels Flair with piston-like right hands. Flair stands up on instinct and shouts at Bret to “come on!” so Bret drops him again. They repeat that, and Flair begs off yet again.

Bret gets the sharpshooter on, but Flair is too close to the ropes, and Perfect pulls him under the bottom rope with Hebner focused on Hart for whatever reason. Bret hits the backbreaker. Hart looks for the sharpshooter again, Hennig gets on the apron as a distraction. Hart turns around and Flair kicks him in the stomach and dumps him out to the floor.

Hart on the apron, Flair suplexes him back in, but Bret slides down and rolls Flair up for two. Flair with the side headlock and a couple pin attempts in the hold. Hart with a legscissors, Flair on top, Bret bridges up with his power, and turns it over into a backslide for two. Flair off the ropes, shoulders Bret down. Flair off the ropes again, ducks under Hart, they look half confused about what they’re doing now, and Bret punches Flair in the face and sends him over to the floor.

Flair goes for a piledriver on the floor but gets backdropped over instead. The count is on, Flair gets in, Perfect prevents Bret from getting in, and Flair wins by countout.

Rating: 3/5. I love both but they never had the best chemistry. Just very different philosophies and values as pro wrestlers between the bells. This should have been a dream match, the best the NWA had to offer against the true best in the WWF at the time, but as best I recall, they never had a great match together, at least not one that made tape. I’d call it good because they were both too great for it to really be less than that, but they did not mesh well by any means, and in later years were very critical of each others abilities, with Hart memorably calling Flair “a three dressed up as a nine.” I don’t agree with him, but it’s a thing he said.