Every legend has to start somewhere, and Ric Flair began his championship run on this day in wrestling history on September 17, 1981 when he defeated Dusty Rhodes to win his first NWA World Championship.
When we hear 16 world titles and knowing there are three WWE performers there or within reach of toping it, it’s hard to imagine a time when the titles didn’t change hands at the drop of a hat.
A company’s champion was the face of the company and often the top draw, which is why Hulk Hogan is considered the best as he’s the best draw in history.
But others like Ric Flair put on a clinic of ring psychology every time they stepped into the ring, and facing another future legend like Dusty Rhodes only ratcheted up the performance.
Beginning of an era
Flair and Rhodes were both masters of ring psychology and they had some of the best matches in wrestling history, but this one often gets lost in the shuffle because it was a house show and didn’t get the fanfare of television or a pay-per-view but also because it’s not one of their better ones.
Ric Flair touched on this in his book, To Be The Man, and we want to give special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for this excerpt.
“If the title was going to be taken from Dusty, he didn’t want to lose it in a place where he was a major name. Having an NWA title change take place on his turf raised promoter Bob Geigel’s esteem, but Dusty wasn’t a big star in Kansas City, and neither was I. The crowd was a little lackluster and the building itself was very small. My parents were there, but because everything was kept so secretive in wrestling back then, I couldn’t tell them why. My current wife, Beth, was just my girlfriend at the time, so I wasn’t allowed to bring her, or even let her in on what was going to happen.
“What made me feel even worse, however, was the animosity that I detected from Dusty. He was a guy I idolized and the whole atmosphere was weird. The NWA title meant so much to him, and he was struggling over losing it especially to a friend who also happened to be a big Dusty Rhodes fan. It was the first time that there’d ever been tension between us.
“The match itself was terrible. Dusty didn’t want to be there. Lou Thesz was the referee. I climbed the ropes, and Dusty followed me up the turnbuckles, attempting a suplex. Because I’d been working over his leg earlier in the match, it buckled and I landed on top of him. It was an absolutely terrible finish.” – Ric Flair, To Be The Man book.
Over the years, we’ve become used to grand debuts and stunning championship victories, and this harkens back to when we got to see historical moments in our backyard and without fanfare.
This day in wrestling history may be subdued, but it’s one for the ages given the championship career it helped move forward.
What’s your favorite championship match? Let us know in the comments below.
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