This review was commissioned by Wrestling Playlists over on my Ko-fi account.
There’s an inherent charm to studio wrestling. The most obvious thing is the nostalgia it brings about for a particular time in pro wrestling, most notably the 80s in the south. A show like World Championship Wrestling is synonymous with the height of Ric Flair’s popularity and all the greats that worked alongside him–The Horsemen, Dusty, Magnum, and all the rest. But the way the studio itself functions lends so much to the weekly wrestling program. The intimacy of the crowd, just a few rows of them pressed up right against the ring, their chanting and heckles captured perfectly on those big old tape machines. The tight setting too lends a certain combustibility to proceedings each week, where a heated confrontation by the podium can quickly turn into a showdown in the ring. There’s also the spectre of the television time limit looming over any matches held on the show. Typically not a problem for your average squash and enhancement match, but if the NWA World Heavyweight Champion were to be defended, say on a post-Christmas show, a significant factor to be sure.
All of this plays into what makes the Ric Flair vs. Ron Garvin title match from December 28, 1985, so great. The combination of the tight setting and the implied urgency of the broadcast time limit creates a powder keg of a match where Ron Garvin is able to well and truly disrupt the Ric Flair formula. Flair notoriously struggles in the openings of his matches–a function of the babyface shine–and Garvin takes advantage of that in a way that few others really have. Garvin’s so aggressive to start, charging in with a tight lock up, and not hesitating to apply pressure to Flair with his famous punches and strikes throughout.
Garvin’s not going to outwrestle Flair in the way Steamboat might and he’s not even going to crank on an extended headlock like Morton could, but he uses the opening moments to really thrash Flair. Even one of his extended arm scissor locks on the mat has some added oomph with Garvin taking Flair around the ring for a ride, getting some bumps in along with that armlock control.
It’s in Flair’s attempts to disrupt Garvin’s momentum that we really see what Garvin has to offer. Flair’s often able to steal an advantage by quickening the pace, moving to punch when his challengers are still wrestling, but Garvin matches him blow for blow here. Flair throws a punch, and Garvin’s likely to throw back two or three to really punish him for it, as well as a fair number of open palm chops of his own. Flair can’t really knock the wind out of Garvin with his short strikes, and Garvin hits harder than many of Flair’s most famous challengers. Even when Flair’s able to get a transition into control with a skirmish on the floor, we cut to commercial before we can see just how much damage he’s able to really apply. When we get back to the broadcast, Garvin’s just about to transition back into his comeback too.
This gives the feeling that Garvin is stunting a lot of the familiar tricks that Flair utilizes. As opposed to Steamboat who does so with sheer immaculate technique and athleticism, Garvin does so with grit. It’s not just that he hits so hard either, it’s also that Garvin’s capable matching Flair at his own game. Of all the Flair challengers, Garvin might be the dirtiest of them all–really scrapping with Flair in those strike exchanges but also not being afraid to pull at the tights for leverage on the mat, rake at Flair’s eyeballs and do so viciously, or even straight up choke Flair on the mat. In Garvin, Flair finds a challenger that’s happy to get his hands dirty, and it really keeps Flair from stealing an advantage when Garvin’s there to steal it right back.
What results is a match that feels like Garvin constantly pushing Flair. The champion tries to meet that challenge with his own firepower, which makes it all the more satisfying when Garvin is able to surpass him. Garvin’s striking is just so well practiced and diverse that Flair can never really match him. Garvin could catch you with an open palm chop, those big punches, or even a headbutt right to the top of the skull. It’s amazing stuff, added to with those perfectly set up cameras getting great close ups of Garvin’s determined expression, and the studio setting meaning we can hear all of Flair’s frustrated PG trash talk throughout too.
It’s Flair in an honest to god fight–not a championship match per se–like he so rarely is. It’s no wonder then that he has no recourse but to steal it. He crotches Garvin on the top rope, throws down the referee, and the Andersons come through to put an end to all of it. It’s a shame we don’t get an honest to god finish here but it’s great television wrestling regardless. It shows just how far Garvin can take Flair and leaves him looking good as the Horsemen had to rob another challenger to keep the belt at home. Aggressive, explosive, thundering in sound and spirit, as great as studio wrestling ever got.
Rating: ****1/4
