NWA The Great American Bash, Charlotte, NC
This is a steel cage match at Charlotte Memorial Stadium, a stop on the Great American Bash tour in the summer of ’86. Flair and Morton had a studio match in April of ’86 that stomped ass, and their angle in general was great. I don’t assume many people thought Morton was really gonna win the world title, but he was so good that how could you care if he was probably gonna lose?
Flair arrives by helicopter — specifically, the WSOC-TV news chopper — and then we have the majesty of a grungy old steel cage, as it should be. Morton with his face all fucked up and wearing a sort of Bill Laimbeer mask (Rip Hamilton mask if you’re younger? someone else if you’re even younger?) from a Horsemen attack is ostensibly the babyface but the crowd is about 50/50, and they’re very passionate about it either way.
This has no commentary because it wasn’t recorded for TV purposes really, but for footage they could use later and I think they probably sold home video and stuff for like $40 for an hour of clips.
The Morton fans take over the cheering. Why? Mostly because Flair makes them. He gets punked repeatedly by Morton early. He runs from Morton, trying to escape the cage like a coward or a WWF wrestler, and gets his ass exposed when Morton pulls him back down from the top rope. He lets referee Tommy Young put him on his ass after yelling at and shoving Tommy after a two count for Morton. It’s all pretty standard stuff, but it works. That’s the secret to the criticism of Flair’s “routines”: He did them because they worked, over and over and over again.
Flair takes a right hand to the nose and reacts like it’s been broken, and Morton of course stays right on it. Poor Tommy Young keeps saying, “You’ve got to stick to wrestling! This isn’t a streetfight!” Neither of them care. It is a steel cage match, Tommy. Without commentary and up close, both guys are so wonderfully vocal, and you can hear all of Tommy, too. And you never hear a damn thing with them calling something or whatever.
Flair knocks off Morton’s face protector and puts it on himself briefly before throwing it from the ring. The bandage on Morton’s nose is also knocked off and he’s busted open, Flair targeting the nose as Morton had done earlier, in Ricky’s attempt to return the favor.
Flair is mean and nasty on offense, nothing special, just grinding Morton down and making him bleed, talking shit pretty much the whole time. “You wanna be the world champion?!”
About 20 minutes in Flair gets busted open, too, because obviously; it’s 1986 and it’s Ric Flair and it’s a cage match on a big tour show in a stadium. I’m surprised he didn’t blade in the news chopper.
Morton hits a big flying dropkick from the top rope which pops the crowd, but then Flair crotches him on the top rope and pins him with his own feet on the ropes for the win. It’s not the best finish, but it’s a great match, bloody and mean-spirited and Flair as usual perfect in his role of a determined, incredibly tough coward. Morton isn’t quite a Ricky Steamboat, but he wasn’t far off.
And in the end, the man on the PA says it all: “Fans, don’t go away. Fireworks…momentarily.”
Tape Machines Are Rolling 
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