Throwback Match Reviews: Rick Martel vs Ric Flair (AJPW) (10/21/1985)

Rick Martel vs Ric Flair (AJPW) 10/21/1985

Unfortunately for the match I knew the result from the start but not because I was spoiled, but because you could see the finish coming from a mile away. It was a title unification match. Martel the AWA Heavyweight Champion against Flair the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. It is also 80s All Japan so add that to the mix to the politics of the match and some sort of “creative” finish is apparent. With all that said the match was pretty great. 

Both wrestlers’ performances made the match. Martel fit the fiery babyface role to perfection. His offense was intense and explosive and his control periods were pretty good. There was one early in the match when he had Flair in a side headlock, which is usually a boring spot, but he put some extra torque in the headlock which made it look like he was trying to rip Flair’s head off his shoulders. His comebacks were hot and his strikes were powerful. Flair’s offense was the opposite (in a good way). He was more precise with his holds. Every strike was well placed to get the maximum effect. For example whenever Martel would make a comeback he countered with some well placed knees to the abdomen in order to shut him down. Not only did they knock the wind out of Martel but they knocked the wind out of his comebacks. 

The back and forth battles were as you would expect from a Flair match. They were heated and intense and well executed. The early mat work was real crisp. Both wrestlers looked world champion caliber. The transitions improved the flow of the match and made sense whether it was a flurry of offense from Martel or a clever counter from Flair. 

There were a few spots, especially early in the match, that dragged a bit too long. There wasn’t really anything bad in those sections but they could have definitely been removed and it would not have taken anything away from the match. One of these spots in particular happened right before the climax of the match, which definitely hurt the flow.

The finish, predictably, saw both guys get counted out. It was the best way to do one of these non-finishes. I still would have preferred for a clean winner but what are you gonna do. The crowd was hot for the most part except in those slow periods as I mentioned before.

Final Rating - ****¼