Bret Hart vs Ric Flair (WCW, 1-24-1998)

WCW Souled Out, Trotwood, OH

I’ve been kicking around the idea to watch all of Bret Hart’s televised WCW one-on-one singles matches (forgive me for having no interest in reliving random WCW superstar tags of the time), and now, fuck it, let’s go. This isn’t a request, but it should be, so if you like the idea, consider throwing a few bucks my way. It’s 49 matches in total, 46 of which are available on WWE Network.

We start here, two and a half months after Montreal, a month after Bret was at Starrcade and thrown into the mess they made of the Hogan-Sting situation. He’s making his WCW in-ring debut against the legendary Ric Flair, a guy he’d shown very little chemistry with on the couple of occasions their paths crossed when Flair was in the WWF in 1991-93. But none of those matches were big TV matches, either, so WCW had on its hands something of a dream match here.

This wasn’t the main event. For whatever reason, probably contractual obligations and whatnot, the main event was a seven-minute match between Randy Savage and Lex Luger. Hogan and Sting were the two biggest stars in the company but neither of them worked this show, a month after the biggest show WCW ever had.

This is also legitimately the first match Bret had after Montreal. He didn’t warm up on house shows or anything.

Flair backs to the corner before Hart can lock up with him, gives a nice wooo. They lock it up, Bret takes him over with a side headlock, Flair rolls him for a one count. Bret standing with the headlock now. Flair sends him off the ropes, but Hart shoulders him down, then slams him. Side headlock takeover again. Hart guards against getting rolled over this time.

Flair backs Bret to the corner, and … gives a clean break. They lock up again, Flair to a side headlock this time. Hart shoves him off the ropes, Flair shoulders him down, Flair over the top, Hart with a drop toehold and goes for the figure four on Flair! He gets it! Flair quickly gets the bottom rope. Flair rolls out to the apron, but Bret doesn’t plan to let him breathe. Headbutt from Bret drops Flair on the apron, then Hart suplexes him back in for two.

Chinlock from Hart, Flair repositions into a side headlock, then grabs Hart’s knee for the shinbreaker, but Hart blocks and Flair goes to a top wristlock. Hart overpowers him and Flair goes down. Flair has the bottom rope. Flair pops up and shoves Hart, and Hart shoves him down. Flair pops up and slaps Hart, Hart slaps him down, and Flair goes out to the floor to regroup.

Back into the ring, Flair’s done playing nice, driving a knee into Bret’s midsection when Bret goes to lock up again. But Flair gets backdropped and slammed again, then taken down with another side headlock, cover getting two. The early work here is showcasing to WCW fans, some of whom legitimately may not have watched a whole lot of Bret in the WWF, that Hart can not just hang with Flair, the best of all time in this company, but he’s a master wrestler who can outmaneuver Ric.

Flair pokes Bret in the eye on a break in the corner. Right hand from Flair. I still think Flair’s right hands are madly underrated. Short, measured, always on point. Uppercut to the nose, then another. Chop from Flair and the crowd loves it. Flair’s whip to the ropes is reversed and Bret grabs a sleephold, but Flair quickly counters with a back suplex.

Referee distracted by Flair, who asked him to check the time, and then Flair mule kicks Hart in the nuts. Snapmare from Flair, out of the corner with the kneedrop. Flair gets two and goes to a chinlock. Flair puts a leg on the top rope as some in the crowd chant for Bret for a moment.

Flair with another chop in the corner, then a whip to the other side, and Bret takes the buckle hard like he does. Flair with a shot to the knee, now choking Hart. Chop from Flair, right from Bret, chop from Flair, right from Bret, right from Bret, right from Bret, but Flair hits him with a body shot. Hart off the ropes, Flair telegraphs and Hart hits a swinging neckbreaker, Flair not exactly twisting gracefully there.

Hart with a kick to the gut. Setting for a bulldog out of the corner and he hits it. Cover gets two. Legdrop from Hart, then he puts Flair’s leg over the bottom rope and ass splashes it. He wants that again, and he hits it. Hart staying on the leg, dragging Flair over to the ringpost. Billy Silverman is right in Hart’s face, causing Bret to hesitate, and Flair kicks him away, given the moment to recover.

Flair rams Hart’s head into the guardrail. Ric limping around, but in control. He rolls Hart back into the ring, and slowly follows him in. Flair working on Hart’s leg now, and gives a quick strut because he’s got things going his way. Shinbreaker from Flair, Hart’s down and hurting. Flair picks him up, grabs the leg, and Bret counters with an enzuigiri.

But Flair’s up first and goes for the figure four, Hart cradles him for two. Hart with a backslide for two. Hart arguing with Silverman, the big dummy (Bret, I mean), and Flair chop blocks the shit out of the distracted Bret. Flair gets the figure four! Center of the ring!

Hart fighting and trying to turn it over, and he does! Still, Flair up first again, although Bret is partially playing possum, and he catches Ric going up top, slamming him off. But Bret’s hobbled. Right hand from Bret, Flair whips him to the corner, Bret takes it chest-first. Flair goes for a back suplex, Hart blocks and hits the Russian legsweep.

Flair with a chop. Bret DROPS THE STRAPS and tells Flair to BRING THAT SHIT. Flair chops again, Bret walking him down. Flair tries to beg, but Bret brings him up and lands a 10-punch in the corner, or most of one. Hart blocks the inverted atomic drop out of the corner and headbutts Flair down. Side backbreaker from Hart, Flair kicks at one.

Hart off the second rope with the elbowdrop, two count. Hart going for a superplex, and he hits it. Hart looks out to the crowd, grabs the legs, and gets the sharpshooter on! Flair gives it up!

Rating: 4/5. Easily the best match they ever had together, actually a little better than I remembered. They still had very little chemistry, but they were both so great that they could work around that, and did to varying degrees every time they wrestled. As I’ve said before, they just had entirely different philosophies on ring work. They never had a BAD match that I saw, just always less than you might expect, a combination less than the sum of its parts. Even this match isn’t quite the classic you’d hope they’d have together, but it’s very good.