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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Quite The Definitive Collection But Still A Good Purchase, July 12, 2008
I just bought this release yesterday and let me say that it gets four stars because of the documentary, the stories section, tribute video and for showing the RAW tribute segment in its entirety! Now, let's break this one down:
Disc 1 features a near 2 hour documentary on Ric Flair with comments from former NWA announcer David Crockett, Harley Race, Kevin Von Erich, Dusty Rhodes, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, JJ Dillon and others. It covers his beginnings from his early life, the AWA, the Mid-Atlantic area (including that near fatal plane crash), his days at NWA champion, The Four Horsemen, his feuds with Dusty Rhodes, Rick Steamboat and Sting, his time in WWF/WWE, his problems in WCW, his WWE return (including Evolution, his Wrestlemania X-8 bout with The Undertaker and his final days as a wrestler).
Disc 1 also features some short stories from the man himself and a tribute video to Flair.
Disc 2 and 3 are just matches and promos. Let's go into Disc 2 for a bit:
Vs. Jack Brisco - Flair was in his first run as NWA champion as he took on former NWA champion Jack Brisco in a mostly scientific match. This wasn't for the title by the way, it was more of an impromptu match.
Vs. Kerry Von Erich (NWA World Title match/2 out of 3 falls) - If all you know of Kerry Von Erich is the "Texas Tornado" or just a member of the tragic Von Erich family, you really need to see this! I personally think he was better here than the day he won the title from Flair in 1984! This one felt like a war! This match also led to the infamous cage match that began the epic Von Erich/Freebird story.
Vs. Harley Race (NWA World Title Match) - This was notable because it happened on television and it was rare for a title match to be on TV. It gives you a glimpse of what was to come at Starrcade '83 later that year.
Ric Flair, Ole & Arn Anderson Vs. Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A. & Manny "Ragin' Bull" Fernandez - This was a wild six man tag that came on the heels of Dusty's injury at the hands of Flair and the Andersons. My problem with this one isn't the match itself, its great! It is because this entry was more appropriate for the Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen release than this set. I kind of felt the same way about Ric Flair's bout with Ricky Morton on the aforementioned set. That bout would've been a great entry on this one.
Vs. Sting (Clash Of The Champions) - I originally stated that this match was overused. That was an error on my part as I thought this bout was on Ultimate Ric Flair when in fact it was another Sting/Flair encounter. As for this match, I won't knock much because this match proved why Flair is a legend and this match made Sting a legend in his own right.
Vs. Terry Funk (The Great American Bash) - I personally like this bout better than their more famous "I Quit" match that took place later that year in 1989. The Flair neck injury angle added drama to the match up. I haven't looked at WWE's version of this match but I do know that afterwards was one of the wildest post match brawl I've ever seen with both Sting and Japanese star The Great Muta getting involved with Flair and Funk!
Disc 3
Vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - I will say that I wished they would've put one of Piper Vs. Flair matches from the Mid-Atlantic area on here. Still, its a rare match and it is pretty good. Nothing on the level of Flair/Steamboat or Flair/Sting but it doesn't suck either.
Vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW World Title Match) - While a great matchup from 1994, it falls short of their classics in 1989. Still, when these two got together, you are hard pressed to find a bad match between "The Nature Boy" and "The Dragon."
Vs. HHH (Taboo Tuesday 2005) - One of the best cage matches ever! While I do think this could've been left off for another Flair classic from the 1980's, the match itself is great!
Vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 24) - Another that could've been left off since this WM is now available. But the match itself is a classic so I have nothing bad to say about the match in itself.
This disc also has the Flair Farewell Address along with some promos from his NWA days.
Overall, it isn't a total waste of money in my view but it could've been better. Interesting to note that when discussing the Greenville reunion of the Horsemen, they actually show Chris Benoit (though he isn't mentioned directly). While my opinion of the man is low, I am glad WWE didn't alter the footage just to please people.
Anyway, WWE's latest release falls short on the matches but makes up for it with the documentary and the promos and, of course, the farewell address. On this one, you will have to decide if its worth the price. For myself, I was mostly pleased though I agree that the selections of matches could've been better or at least another disc which I would've gladly paid more money for.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The REAL Ultimate Ric Flair Collection!, August 14, 2008
Its mainly commentary from HHH and HBK (go figure) pretty much talking about Flair's entire career, which is fine, but what really bugs me is there are very few interviews or less interview time with alot of the old timers in the business who wrestled Flair back in his glory days. Arn Anderson must have had 5 minutes of interview time THE ENTIRE DVD and he was Flair's best friend for so many years. Harley Race had a few minutes,Dusty had 2-3 mins, Tully had 2-3 mins, Terry Funk had NONE, Steamboat had a few minutes. JJ Dillon very few minutes etc.
Anyway, the earlier parts of Ric's career are talked about as they even show a clip of him winning his FIRST NWA World Title. Orton and Batista make brief appearances late in the DVD when Flair talks about Evolution. Ric's first WWE run in the early 90s was barely touched on and no reason was given to even why he left. Also, no reason given as to why they didn't book Flair Vs. Hogan at Wrestlemania 8. Alot of Flair's early career is covered though. I didn't know he was adopted. Talked about how he trained with Ken Patera and how they both started in AWA with Vern Gagne. They briefly skimmed the Four Horsemen era, but that's because of the Four Horsemen DVD. Really the only part of Flair's career that is really touched on in depth is his early career in the early 70s to 80s. Also, the plane crash Flair was in with a couple of other wrestler including Johhny Valentine (Greg's father.) Most of Flair's late career was just glossed over very quickly (even his late wcw days) which was very disappointing. All in all it was a good DVD, but it could have been better IMO. I enjoyed Jake Robert's, ECW, Pillman's, Piper's, Hart's DVDs much more.
P.S.: I'm just glad Sting Vs. Flair from Clash of The Champions was finally released on DVD, its a timeless classic. Also, Michaels Vs. Flair from Wrestlemania 24 is a MUST watch! There have been very few 5 star matches in wrestling history and this is one of them!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definative Collection Very Good, July 17, 2008
It's hard to condense Ric Flair's pro wrestling career, even on 3 full DVD's. WWE already did a 3 DVD set hosted by Flair in 2003 (The Ultimate Collection Set). This complation basically picks up where that one left off with more interviews and behind the scenes footage and fewer matches.
Here you get a two hour long biography where Flair takes you threw his career, from his earliest days in the AWA to the "Win Or Retire" angle that played out until this past March at WrestleMania 24. A veritable who's who of wrestling, from Nick Bockwinkle to HHH add comentary at different points. Flair is definately honest, and not always nice, although much of what he says has already been printed in multiple books, etc. Not a lot of new ground, just Flair in his words better explaining a lot of "old ground", along with plenty of match highlights and promo interviews from his heyday on TBS Saturday Night Wrestling show.
There are extras such as "Flair's Final Weekend" as WWE cameras follow the Nature Boy around Orlando during the WrestleMania Weekend (which included Flair's induction into the Hall Of Fame), and Flair receiving a key to the city in for his charitable work one week prior to his final match. The complete tribute to Flair from the post-WrestleMania Monday Night Raw TV broadcast is shown, including footage not seen on live TV including Vince McMahon and The Undertaker, among others.
Match wise you get an eclectic mix of famous matches not included in the first set from 5 yrs ago (Sting from The Clash Of Champions TV Special, March 1988 and vs Terry Funk from the 1989 Great American Bash PPV) as well as never before released classics like his impromptu battle with fellow Hall Of Famer Jack Brisco on Mid Atlantic Wrestling TV in 1982 (an exceptionally good match for free TV) and a never before televised battle with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper from Madison Square Garden in 1991 after Flair first arrived in the WWE.
None of the matches are bad, in fact every one is 4or 5 star quality. Some famouse Flair matches were left off. Flair's TLC (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) Match vs Edge from Jan 2006 and his "I Quit" Match vs Mick Foley from SummerSlam 2006 are obvious missed from his later years, although both have been issued on other DVD releases. There is a rumored "Best Of Starrcade" set supposedly in the works by WWE which may explain why such matches as vs Lex Luger (Starrcade 88, arguably Luger's best ever Main Event Match) and his win or retire match vs Vader (Starrcade 93)were excluded.
Personally, I would like to have seen a Flair/Piper match from their wild early 80's days, although the one here from Flair's first WWE run is pretty good. Likewise I personally think the last ever televised Flair vs Steamboat Match from May 1994 which ended their feud is better than the April, 1994 Pay Per View bout included here but this is an excellent match.
Combined with the first "Ultimate Collection" you get a pretty good overview of the most decorated career in pro wrestling. On it's own it's better than average, a B plus. Fact is, Flair's career had so many terrific moments it is hard to condense them, even in a 3 disc set. You definately will be entertained, and the less well known matches are true keepers. The biography portion is at times moving, and the emotional final tribute from RAW is an absolute collectors must have, easily the single biggest send off anyone in pro wrestling ever got, hands down. If you are a Flair fan you will really enjoy this set, if you are a pro wrestling fan, especially from the last 25 yrs, this set will not leave you disappointed. Is there more material that could have been added, yes, but this set is still worth the investment. Plus, if WWE does finish the "Best Of Starrcade" set than many of the matches fans have lamented missing here will be on DVD.
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