Weekly Watchlist 052 - June 8 2025

Whats the story, acolytes of absurd athleticism?

A slower, less-than-stellar week here. Got busy for a couple days and had a tough time finding the motivation to do much of anything this week. It's a one match special this week but my lord, did I deep dive this match. It's a fun one. Next week is the one year anniversary special along with the debut of a new type of review for the Wrestling Vault. It drops Friday at 0700, with the one year special dropping at the usual date and time, Saturday at 0700.

Stay tuned, and enjoy this weeks review! 

WCW

Weekly Roundup

Here's what I watched for the week;

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Big Van Vader vs. Ric Flair - WCW Starrcade 1993 - 12/27/1993

A fight for survival. WCW

It wasn't until I started writing this review that I realized just how much I've covered Vader on this blog. Honestly, I thought I'd talked a lot about Jake Something on here with all my DPW coverage, but I've talked about 6 Vader matches on the blog in a year. That's kinda nuts. What can I say, I love Vader! How can you not?! 

I was recently going through a bunch of my pro wrestling magazines as I was building "The Collection" page for the blog and came across talks of the Vader/Flair match from the 1993 Starrcade. It was a bit of a light bulb moment for me. I know I've seen this match a long time ago but I couldn't remember a lot of it, if I can be honest. Most importantly, I couldn't remember the finish. I knew who won (no spoilers) but didn't know how we got there. Sometimes, I know who's going to win a match going into it but don't know how we get there. That alone can make a match super exciting and compelling, the journey being more important than the destination. I was already enjoying this match as it was underway, but when the finish caught me completely by surprise, I was grinning like an idiot. "That's what it's all about," I thought to myself, adding this match to my ever-growing collection of 5 star matches. 

For those of you who aren't up to date on the lore of this match, this is a pretty monumental clash between Vader and Flair. 

At this point in time, Vader had been WCW World Heavyweight Champion off and on since July 12 of 1992, beating Sting to win the gold his first time. After this first reign with the gold, his next two reigns began by reclaiming the title from the men who had ended his previous ones—Ron Simmons and Sting, respectively. Vader was the fourth man to hold the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and held it for a combined reign of 377 days, with the title only in existence for 1081 days at this point in time. Vader's current reign crushed everyone else's before him, with Lex Luger's 230 day reign paling in comparison to Vader's 285 days with the gold. 

Coming into this match, we have good guy Flair. The crowd is fully behind the limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun by this point and for good reason. Flair made the bold claim that if he is unable to dethrone Vader, in his (adopted) home town of Charlotte, North Carolina, he'd retire from wrestling altogether. I know I said I wasn't going to spoil the outcome of the match but c'mon, we all know what Flair's career looks like after this match, I'm not pulling the wool over anyone's eyes with this review. 

They spend some time at the top of the show catching up with both champion and challenger, with Vader arriving early in his Ribera jacket and mask on while riding around in the car to the venue. He stretches, shadowboxes, and hits the ropes in an empty arena while things are still getting set up, with Harley Race coaching him and keeping the monster in check. Flair, on the other hand, decided "call time ain't for me, brother" and stayed home until right before the event started, with camera's catching up with Flair and his family at their home. Gene is there to escort him to his ride, but Flair takes time to say goodbye to his family. Young David, Reid and Charlo- nope, that's Ashley, say goodbye to their father, with wife number two, Elizabeth Harrell, giving Ric her best at the door when he leaves. He assures Gene he knew how dangerous Vader was before he signed the contract for this match, knowing that he's heading into a long night at the office. 

2 hours later, we've made it to the main event. A brief sidebar but Gene Okerlund correctly declared that this Starrcade, his very first, is the 11th edition of the event, and it's 10th anniversary. You hear that WWE?! Wrestlemania 25 wasn't Wrestlemania's 25th anniversary! You fools! Anyways, Schiavone preps us for the main event entrances as Vader's music pumps through the speakers. The champ marches to the ring with Harley Race next to him, world championship in hand. The Rocky Mountain Silverback is ready for a fight, amped up as he climbs in the ring and confronts Jesse Ventura and Tony Schiavone on commentary at the opposite side of the ring. He leans over the top rope and points down at Jesse, barking at him as Schiavone ask what he just told him.

I'm going to hurt him slowly. WCW

"Well, Vader said to me 'Jesse, get comfortable, cause I'm going to hurt him slowly'"

Race adjusts the mask of Vader as the sounds of "Also sprach Zarathustra" fills the arena. Charlotte's favourite (adopted) son makes his way to the ring, dressed head to toe in a beautiful purple robe, a smile on his face as he marches to battle. The smile slowly turning to a face of focus, each step bringing him closer and closer to a monster with a singular focus - destroy Ric Flair.

Vader weighs in at 449 1/2 tonight, a frankly terrifying number to try and process. Flair is 236 1/2 tonight, only about 12 pounds shy of being exactly half Vader's weight. That's a 213 pound weight disadvantage to Flair.  I really hope Flair got together with his lawyer and went over his will this afternoon when he was neglecting to show up for call time. Flair is focused, holding back his emotions as he's introduced tonight. Vader is walking around the ring as casual as ever, sure Flair is a former champion and as competent as they come, but Vader has held that gold for nearly a year, his confidence levels are at an all time high tonight.

Both men circle each other at the start, Vader waiting for Flair to make the first move, Flair looking for an opening on the broad side of a barn. Slowly, the sound of "FLAIR! FLAIR! FLAIR!" swells around them, the Charlotte faithful cheering on the (adopted) hometown hero. We cut back to the ring as Flair moves in and, surprisingly, locks up with Vader! Flair digs in and pushes into Vader, backing the champ into the corner for but a moment. Vader bounces off the turnbuckles and shoves Flair back, sending him flying clear across the ring. If we're judging this contest on strength alone, Vader is unstoppable.

Another lockup and Vader pie faces Flair down,  sending him into the ropes. "You wanted him Flair, there he is!" barks Race, his voice as smooth as gravel. They lock up again and Flair hits the mat, rolling to the floor with Vader following close behind. "C'mon boy!" Vader calls, jogging after Flair around corner after corner until Flair slides back inside. Now, Flair has the advantage of high ground. When Vader wants to get back in the ring, he'll be in a vulnerable position, perfect for Flair to pepper in a couple of shots. Maybe one of them will be lucky enough to wound the champ.

Completely effortless. WCW

Opting to be a sportsman, Flair backs off and allows Vader to climb through the ropes, locking up again with Vader changing tactics. He lays in a short headbutt before clobbering Flair with his signature clubbing strikes. Right hands stagger Flair long enough for Vader to lock in a knuckle lock that crumples Flair. Seriously, he falls to his knees and howls in pain. Like a wife who just found out her husband was killed in a car accident, Flair is shouting to the heavens as Vader effortlessly holds his challenger down with one paw.

Vader pulls Flair to his feet, maintaining his grip as he claps Flair across the face,egging Flair on to do something as he keeps the pressure on and pulls him around the ring. He drops Flair to the canvas with a short arm lariat, standing over his prey as he squirms around on the canvas. It doesn't take much- it rarely does- for Vader to completely dominate whoever he is in the ring with. Another knuckle lock as Vader gets right in the face of Flair, berating him further.

"You ain't man enough!"

Backing Flair to the corner, Vader first off a baseball-bat like swing but Flair sticks an arm up and blocks it, trading places with the champion as he laces him across the chest with his signature chops. Vader barely reacts to the shots as the camera gets in close. Flair moves in to try and whip Vader across the ring and, if I can break kayfabe for a moment, audibly tells Vader "push me" and mere seconds later, Vader's paw is in Flair's face and pushing him away, with Flair flying back and crashing into the canvas. Flair is immediately back on his feet, squaring up to Vader before thinking twice about his decision, rolling to the floor to collect himself. 

Vader allows him back in the ring, but locks up with him in the corner again, wasting no time before cracking Flair with strike after strike, dropping Flair in a heap on the canvas. He stomps the head of Flair as Race looms over him, mockingly encouraging Flair to get up. With startling ease, Vader pulls Flair to his feet and holds him over his head with a gorilla press. He walks to centre and holds him as easily as a child would hold a teddy bear before slamming Flair, spine first on the pine. In seconds, Flair rolls to the floor and collapses, trying to escape but won't find any relief out there. 

May want to take dental inventory, Flair. WCW

Vader follows close behind, pulling Flair up again before dropping him face first into the guard rail. Gnarly. 

"Who's the man?!" Vader barks, "this punk ain't it!" Flair crawls along the floor, pulling himself up with a ringside chair, one of those solid plastic ones with the metal legs. You know the ones. He's finally on his feet with the help of the guardrail- and just in time too. From camera left, a 449 pound locomotive comes charging at Flair, with the challenger stepping out of the way as Vader crashes into the rail. He staggers back wounded and Flair takes advantage, chopping and punching Vader with shot after shot, pulling him along ringside and tossing him face first into the ring post. Vader stumbles around and rolls under the bottom rope, the referee tending to the champion as Race attacks Flair at ringside. He lands a shot across the back of Flair, dropping him flat to the mat but Race makes sure his change can pin Flair, pulling him up to the apron. The referee completely oblivious to what just went down.

Flair begins to stand, with Vader pulling him back to vertical before setting him up for a massive vertical suplex, sending Flair nearly across the ring from the massive toss. He rolls to the opposite apron and Vader goes for it again, this time making sure Flair lands a bit shorter this time. He continues the assault on Flair, shots to the kidney and head with the challenger backed into the corner. An Irish whip and a lariat crushes Flair in one corner, with Vader whipping Flair back across the ring with enough force that Flair flips over the turnbuckle as only he can, landing on the elevated entrance ramp. 

Flair is effectively out on his feet, falling to the floor and collapsing against the guard rail, trying to get his feet under him as he gets back on the apron and inside the ring. Vader continues the assault, striking Flair with disgusting strikes. An Irish whip sends Flair rebounding into a lariat that's as forgiving as running into an oak branch. Surely, Vader could pin Flair right now and be done with it, but he hasn't gone for a pin once. He's making good on his promise of making Flair suffer. 

Flair pulls himself up in the corner, Vader still on him but gets chopped this time, Flair showing signs of life, even after all he's been hit with. Vader stands straight up, opening his chest as if to challenge Flair. He eats another chop and responds with a clubbing forearm, stopping Flair in his tracks. It's hard to gauge just how many strikes from Flair would equal one of Vader's as he hasn't had a chance to fire off more than three or four this entire matchup. Vader pulls Flair out of the corner and picks him up, falling on top of him in a modified powerslam. Mercifully, he lays on Flair for the pin but he kicks out! 

A real rib breaker, this one. WCW

Going for the killing blow, Vader ascends to the middle rope. Anything above solid ground is a terrifying thought for someone of Vader's size to climb to. Flair gets to his feet long enough to eat a flying lariat from Vader, landing on his feet as Charlotte's (adopted) baby boy hits the ground. Flair tries to shit talk Vader as he writhes around, but all he can do is clutch his jaw, his body racked and overwhelmed with pain. Unfazed, Vader stalks Flair, meeting him in the corner again. 

After kicking out mere moments ago, Vader has decided to kick this match into a higher gear. Maybe not speed-wise, but damage-wise, by god does he ever. He snapmares Flair around to the canvas again and climbs back up to the middle rope, taking off with a splash as Flair rolls away from the equivalent of a grand piano falling out a window. With Vader pulling himself to his feet, Flair ascends to the top strand this time, flying off the top with an axe handle to the skull of Vader. A chop keeps Vader off balance as Flair goes to another corner and flies. The holy ghost can be seen between Flair's hand and Vader's skull but Vader is a good brother and sells it anyways, Flair keeping the pressure on once he's grounded. Chop after chop, with Flair going to the top for a third and decisive blow, dropping Vader to his back!

Flair lines the champion up, landing a running knee drop to Vader's dome, the champion rolling around to his knees and finally his feet as Flair catches his breath on the ropes. He turns around and gets levelled with a lariat, his advantage short lived. Flair is on his knees now, bleeding from the mouth as Vader pulls him back to vertical by his hair. In an effortless display of complete dominance, he picks Flair up to his shoulder and sets him on the top toe with ease. He follows Flair up and rips him up, tearing Flair through the sky with a massive superplex. Focusing in on a crucial limb, Vader drops an elbow across the right leg of Flair, a preventative measure in the event Flair can get the figure four locked in. 

New fault line discovered in Charlotte NC. WCW

Vader is back up and tries for a standing splash, but Flair slips away in time. Whatever tiny opportunity Flair can take, he takes. It's survival mode at this point. He fires up to his feet and hits the ropes, coming off with a head of steam but runs into Vader, dropping back like he's been shot. Dismissively, Vader pulls Flair up by his hair and tosses him through the ropes. Race finds Flair on the floor and stomps him, both he and Vader know Flair is hardly in a position to get back in the ring. If anything, Vader is giving Flair the chance to lose without being pinned, letting his career slip between his fingers as he lays helpless on the floor. 

Flair is half alive, pulling himself up to the apron with Vader meeting him there, pulling him inside and clubbing the challenger. Again, Flair tries striking Vader, but he eats the chops as easily as if they were made of pork, pushing Flair into the corner again. He whips Flair across and charges, going for a corner splash but nobody is home! Flair slipped out and let Vader crash ribs first. He goes back to the chops, these doing some damage but Vader is too tough, sending Flair into the corner, this time connecting with his splash. 

Vader assaults Flair as he lays in the corner, pulling him up and trying the wristlock again. But this time, Flair fights. He swings and connects with punches and chops, staggering Vader until he falls to a knee, and then flat on his back! The monster has fallen and removes his mask, distracted long enough for Flair to pull Vader to the corner, crotch dangerously close to the ring post. Harley is in the face of the referee, trying to save his charge but he ends up doing the opposite as Flair wraps Vader's leg around the ring post with a heinous swing. Once called "the dirtiest player in the game," Flair isn't afraid to stoop low when it serves him, especially when he's trying to fend off an angry grizzly. He snags a chair from ringside and brings it down onto the knee of Vader, the crowd exploding as he wounds the champion.

Thanks for giving up your chair, Ventura! WCW

He keeps the pressure on Vader on the outside, striking him as the referee is once again free and tries to regain control. Again, he grabs a chair as Harley has the referee's attention, trying to save Vader but doing the complete opposite. Flair cracks Vader on the top of the dome with the solid plastic chair, the champ dazed and disoriented from the repeated shots to his head. 

Finally, Vader gets back inside the ring, but the tide has completely shifted. Flair is hammering Vader who can't get up beyond his knees. He even bites the face of Vader before collapsing. Schiavone mentions seeing Flair go for 60 minutes before, but is quick to remark that 20 minutes with Vader is as gruelling as 60 with anyone else. With Vader flat out, Flair moves in and snags Vader's left leg, pulling him to the bottom rope and jumping up, sitting out on the leg of the champion. One thing's for sure, a man Vader's size is only as dangerous as his foundation, and when your foundation is as solid as sand, it won't be long before you crumple. 

Again, Flair goes for the leg and yanks it hard, nearly turning around and locking in the figure four but Vader kicks Flair off. Quickly rising to his feet, Vader stomps Flair out in the corner and ascends to the middle rope, fighting through the pain to try and put Flair away before things get worse. He bounces and then shoots out for the Vader Bomb, but Flair escape to the apron. With Vader out on his stomach, Flair snags the leg of the champion and locks him into the figure four!

Harley Race is furious, he climbs the apron and stands on the middle rope, screaming at Vader, begging him to hold on. He notices Vader has grabbed the bottom rope and points it to the referee, with Randy Anderson forcing Flair to break the hold. Flair feels things going his way as he lines Vader up in the corner, jogging around before charging in, only to catch a boot to the jaw. He drops like a shot and Vader pulls Flair further out, once again dropping an elbow but this time to Flair's gut. Just like his days in UWF-I, Vader keeps Flair grounded and grinds away at the face of Flair with short forearm shots. 

The monster takes flight! WCW

Vader returns to his feet, climbing the corner. He ascends to the middle rope, and then goes to the top, 449 pounds taking flight with a fucking moonsault! Flair avoids the impact as Vader lands in an empty pool, rolling on the mat in agony. Flair lays over Vader for the cover as Harley ascends to the top rope himself! He falls from the top with his signature diving headbutt, aiming for Flair but Vader presses Flair off him to kick out, leaving only his cranium in the flight path as Race collides with his man! 

The crowd is in a fever pitch as flair rebounds off the ropes with a forearm, staggering Vader into the ropes as he chops him again and again. Flair hits the ropes again but Vader stops him dead in the centre of the ring. The impact of the moonsault and repeated damage to his ribs has done a number on Vader as he staggers back after Flair ran into him, turning and wincing in pain, unable to keep the pressure on Flair. 

Seeing an opportunity directly in front of him, Flair snatches the wounded leg of Vader and drives forward, the silverback's foundation of sand giving way as he falls backwards. Flipping around to the top of Vader, he lays across his body, referee Randy Anderson counting one, two, three!

The monster has fallen. WCW

Flair wins!

 

This was an amazing match, a perfect babyface vs heel encounter. Vader will always be at his absolute best when he's a world destroying, nigh-unstoppable force of nature. It's what makes these victories so much more impactful, that someone was able to topple Vader and come out the other side the victor. His matches are sometimes a fight for survival and Flair not only survived, he managed to keep his career intact too. 

I will always love Vader because of matches like these. He is so, so good at stalking and slaughtering folks in the ring, but has moves in his arsenal, the moonsault being a prime example, that are specifically used to create a weakness for the babyface. You can count on your hands the number of Vader moonsaults that he's actually landed. 9 times out of 10 that's where the babyface can make their comeback. It's brilliant. A huge move that a guy his size has no right doing will always pop a crowd, but when you add in a babyface making their comeback on you because of that move? God, it's even better. 

There's a reason I talk about Vader so much on here, he's legitimately one of the best wrestlers to ever lace a pair of boots. Not just because he's a tough bastard that leathered folks in every match he was in, but because he brought a different kind of psychology to his matches. Guys had to wrestle differently to survive him, but he also knew when to, and was more than willing to, give room for the babyface to succeed and conquer. 

Flair as a face may feel weird to some fans, but the mark of an incredible wrestler is being able to play one role just as good as you play another. There's a reason many consider him to be one of, if not the greatest wrestler of all time.

 

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There you have it folks, another week closer to one year of the Wrestling Vault. God, feels crazy to say that. Gonna be even wilder next week when it's actually here! I spent some time updating the "contact me" feature for the blog, adding a page button at the top of the blog and changing the form at the bottom of the blog to a "contact me" hyperlink. If either one of those are broken or you can't find them on mobile, copy/pasting the address cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com works just the same. Let me know what you think of the update or shoot me a message with anything else you feel like sharing. I'm all ears. 

Also, don't forget! Lights out when you use the "Sunset Flip!"

Until next week, take it easy friends.

Cliff Morgan