The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection (2003 Video) User Reviews

Woooooooo, The Nature Boy arrives on DVD

[JoelAwesome · 10/10 · 10 May 2004]

'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair finally gets the complete DVD treatment the former 16-time Worlds Heavyweight Champion can be proud of. The 3 Disc set includes Flair discussing his rivals, classic promos and the matches that made him a Wrestling Legend.

Disc 1 consists of his NWA/WCW battles with 7-time Worlds Heavyweight Champion Harley Race, 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes and Barry Windham.

Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat dominates Disc 2. We see 2 matches; Clash of the Champions VI and WrestleWar '89 which are absolute classics. Flair was at his best against Steamboat here as many fans consider these matches the greatest of all time. The latter part of Disc 2 has Ric Flair Vs Terry Funk Non Title I Quit match. While not as pretty as the previous matches, it shows Flairs ability to adapt no matter who the challenger. Flair also speaks candidly on the plane crash of '75, which almost ended not only his career but his life. On a lighter note, there are 2 great segments on the group known as The 4 Horseman.

The 3rd disc shows Flair in his WWE/F days. All the promos of his buildup with Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan are here and as entertaining as ever. Flair made his impact felt very early in the WWE/F by winning The Royal Rumble in '92. It's been said that this Royal Rumble was the best ever. Back to WCW now and Clash of the Champions XXVII with Sting. To end we are shown the never before seen tribute on RAW '03 following his World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H and the match itself.

This is a great compilation of Ric Flairs greatest matches, entertaining promos, detailed descriptions on his rivals from Flair himself and some hidden features as well. This is not only my favorite pro wrestling DVD but my favorite DVD period. Every wrestling fan should have this in their collection. Nobody is better than the 'Kiss stealin' wheelin' dealin' limousine ridin' jet fyin' son of a gun'. Woooooooooo. I've always wanted to say that.

DVD tribute to a 16 time Champion

[bh_tafe3 · 8/10 · 9 February 2009]

Ric Flair was unquestionably one of the very best wrestlers ever. He wrestled all of the big stars from territory to territory, and was part of one of wrestling's most successful heel factions, the four horsemen. He has been the subject of three WWE-produced DVDs, this being the earliest, coming out in 2003.

The DVD looks at the build to some of Ric's best known matches, shows the matches in full and then the aftermath. As well as showing the skill of Flair in promoting matches it also gives him the opportunity to pay tribute to some of his greatest rivals.

First up in this three disc set is Ric's famous match with 7 time NWA World Champion Harley Race from the first ever Starrcade in 1983. All of the key moments in the build are caught, including Dick Slater and Bob Orton Jr claiming a $25,000 bounty Race had placed on Flair. The storyline went so far as to have Flair retire to protect his health. Needless to say he returned and defeated Race to win the Championship in a well put together match and become a 2 time champion.

From here the DVD goes forward two years to Starrcade 1985 where Dusty Rhodes defeated Flair to win the NWA World Title, but in one of those infamous Dusty finishes, which infuriated fans so, the decision was reversed the following night and Flair reinstated as champion. This was a typical Flair/ Rhodes match with a great build as Ole and Arn Anderson had supposedly broken Rhodes' ankle in the lead up to the fight.

This is followed by a successful NWA title defence against Barry Windham from 1987, this is another nice match with a great build and ends Disc One.

Disc Two is dedicated almost entirely to one of the greatest feuds in wrestling history: Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat from 1989. Over the course of the year Flair and Steamboat traded the title across three superb bouts, two of which are included here. Steamboat's best two out of three falls triumph from Clash of Champions VI and Flair's eventual win in the blow off match at Wrestlewar. All of the intensity and emotion of the rivalry is wonderfully captured with vignettes and interviews. A great rivalry relived vividly.

Last on the disc is Flair's Clash of Champions IX "I Quit" match with Terry Funk. Again the build is captured well.

Disc three treats us to Flair's Royal Rumble win in 1992, arguably the best Rumble match ever which Flair won after coming in at three. Bobby Heenan did a superb job selling the match and most of his good work is captured here, as are Flair's attacks on Roddy Piper.

Next is the only real disappointment of this DVD as it goes over one of Flair's weaker matches with Sting. It's still a fine match, but these two have wrestled many scorchers in front of hot crowds. This was just a so/so match in front of a so/so crowd. It would have been a travesty for Sting to be left off this collection but they could easily have picked a better match.

Last is the Ric Flair tribute edition of RAW from Greenville in 2003. Included in this section are Flair's first match in the WWE, back in 1976 against Pete Sanchez in Madison Square Garden, and a decent World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H from the tribute show, a heart felt address to WCW fans on the final episode of Nitro, an amusing amateur training session with Roddy PIper from 1982 and Flair accepting PWI's Wrestler of the Decade award in 1989.

This is an excellent DVD, looking back at a great career. The coverage of each of the matches is comprehensive, and most of the matches are of a very high quality. A good buy for any fan of NWA/ JCP wrestling, though younger fans may not appreciate the matches so much. Very different style to the matches of today.