Throwback Match Reviews: Barry Windham vs Ric Flair (CWF) (02/14/1986)

 Barry Windham vs Ric Flair (CWF) 02/14/1986

This is my first time watching a Barry Windham match. I have always heard great things about him and his matches, particularly those with Ric Flair. This match is critically acclaimed. Going in with all this knowledge may not have helped this match for me. It could have easily been a victim of high expectations. 80s American wrestling isn’t exactly my favorite era so you can imagine why I might doubt this match. Needless to say this match delivered. Watching this match helped me understand Windham’s hype, at least through 1980s eyes. 

It excelled in many ways. The work was outstanding. The pace of the match made the 40+ minute run time fly by. The performances from both wrestlers were phenomenal. Flair as a shifty heel complimented Windham’s intensity and brutality. The crowd was into it the whole time which makes the atmosphere great and the match feel very important. The match flowed smoothly. Each transition was brilliantly done and perfectly led into each control period. The action itself for the most part was done well. They really laid into each other. It was hard-hitting and bloody. It was a war. Flair’s early mat work was great and it built up to Windham’s comebacks. The selling from both wrestlers really emphasized the violence of the match. The match never struggled to come back from the very few slow periods.

Despite how much I loved this match, it wasn’t perfect. The finish of the match, while not completely being a letdown, leaves a little to be desired and not in a good way. I understand why the match ended the way it did and if there had to be a non-finish, a double count-out is the best way to go. A double count-out actually makes a little sense given how the match was structured. Both men destroyed each other and a 10 count wasn’t going to stop them. That is why I don’t have much of a problem with the finish but a clear winner would have been better. I mentioned earlier that the action was mostly great but there were a few instances where filler and fatigue showed. Some of the slow periods in the match were a little dull. They took the selling a little too far and it just looked like they were killing time. During these slow periods the punches looked very weak and fake. There was one instance where Windham was punching Flair on the mat but he missed every single punch, by a mile. It was very clearly a filler spot and I feel like they should have shot that spot from behind Windham instead of in front of him. 

Final Rating - ****½