WWE Rivals: Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes, Season 4 Episode 5
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00:00Dusty Rhodes
00:02It's only just begun
00:05Rick doesn't go that was magic. I want you out here knows the nose face-to-face Rick
00:12The rivalry between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes is the rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier
00:21Contrasting styles is what makes great fights
00:23Rick rolled in with the jewelry in the suit and the alligator shoes
00:34He's growing his success in people's faces
00:38He's not afraid to brag you can buy these anytime you want for about ten eleven thousand dollars
00:43I got 15 of them. I don't put values in the same thing Ric Flair does I've been hooked forever on Dusty Rhodes
00:53And became so sweet. He really was the American dream and here we go
01:00There's four opposites he was a perfect race I was a perfect deal
01:06Me and Flair you never knew what you were gonna get you kept watching it
01:09They both wanted one thing that top spot and that creates an incredible dynamic
01:15Yeah, you bad Rick you bad when you have two of the best at the same time
01:21There's always gonna be a bit of jealousy and rivalry, that's what makes so good
01:34When two legends collide the rivalry stays pinned in our minds forever
01:39This is where we break down the legendary stories behind the greatest rivalries of all time
01:46I'm Gabriel Iglesias, and this is
01:50WWE rivals
01:56Remember one thing to be the man you gotta beat the man
02:00I'm the son of a plumb. I was raised in Austin, Texas, and I never had anything
02:05Unless I got down on my knees and went far
02:10the American dream Dusty Rhodes and the nature boy Ric Flair I
02:15Don't even know where to start these are two names that I mean the business wouldn't be the business without these two legends
02:22Those guys were a different level
02:24I
02:38Don't talk about how big this rivalry was look at the reaction if you put Dusty Rhodes versus Ric Flair and almost any arena
02:45You're gonna sell out
02:47I
02:51Wish I could have been there to experience that you know and to be a fan back there like I'm so jealous
03:02Everything's bigger than life as it is right
03:05I mean people all the time like I grew up on Dusty Rhodes and like you remember what that was like oh, yeah
03:10And I grew up in Florida in the Tampa Bay Area. There was no one bigger than Dusty Rhodes
03:15He was the biggest celebrity in all of Florida
03:18You can see the throngs are gathering around trying to get to this charismatic individual Dusty Rhodes
03:35They'd film TV at the Sporatorium in Tampa
03:38That's where I used to go watch Dusty Rhodes skip high school after lunch and go down there watching film for us
03:46There's no greater being ever in Dusty Rhodes the American dream when Dusty Rhodes punch somebody or hit an elbow every time
03:58This charisma he was really really good at connecting with the crowd
04:04For my people, baby
04:07Fell in love with him then if he wasn't on TV one week. I was pissed off
04:12Who's your favorite wrestler?
04:15Why do you like Dusty better than anyone else?
04:29You have to remember what the ideal man looked like at that time it was Stallone it was Schwarzenegger
04:36It was this idea that you needed 20-inch biceps and a six-pack abs and here was Dusty Rhodes
04:44He looked like somebody you might know and yet Dusty Rhodes is a real athlete
04:50and there's the athlete side of Dusty and then there's the
04:54Thespian side of Dusty he could be a superhero in real life and somewhat in a performative sense
05:02That's what he was for me
05:15Oh
05:18Dusty was an entertainer first and then a wrestler second when I was growing up. I sure didn't think
05:25265 pounds of blue-eyes soul would captivate a country like I have the people drive me
05:31I was very strict on how I wanted myself looked at
05:35How I wanted the fans to perceive me how I wanted to stay true to my character
05:40I think Dusty was kind of like a Pied Piper and they would follow him because they believed that Dusty was one of them
05:50Dusty is mr. Charisma. He was in Minneapolis when I started my hero from day one
05:58Around the time that Ric Flair began training for the sport of Kings
06:04Dusty Rhodes was already
06:06Establishing himself as a star and when he saw guys like Dusty Rhodes
06:11He was just drawn to them. And when he latches on to something he's all in I
06:17Liked it so much that when I wasn't booked I would travel with Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch as Peter driver
06:23He had a great time earlier in his career me and Dick Murdoch drove him crazy
06:28He was about 300 pounds we made him shave his head look like parking the pig
06:34And this isn't as ridiculous as it sounds because Ric Flair was soaking up knowledge
06:41Dusty was the star and Rick was the student
06:45Flair got in the business one reason because of Dusty, you know, he almost man named him last name Rhodes
06:51Yeah
06:53Affection and admiration for Dusty Rhodes and guess who my idol was it was the American dream Dusty Rhodes my idol
07:01I wanted to be
07:02Ramblin, Ricky Rhodes
07:09Just be the first ever nature boy Ric Flair in the rest is history
07:15He is a peacock a dandy
07:18I'm where the finest clothes date the most beautiful women driving the biggest cars and on the toughest piece of work in pro-wrestling
07:29I mean I suck my teeth into it
07:32Every day just got better
07:33More extravagant. I was for attention. I got the finest jet money can buy
07:39And it doesn't belong to Burt Reynolds. It belongs to the Lord and the only
07:44nature boy Ric Flair
07:46What a lot of younger people don't understand having grown up watching
07:51WWE one dominant juggernaut is that there was a territory system the National Wrestling Alliance
07:59Not only were Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes stars in their individual territories a flair in the Charlotte based
08:07Territory Dusty in the Tampa based territory
08:10But they were often sought by other promoters and they travel and there was no other symbol of
08:18Dominance in the National Wrestling Alliance than wearing that NWA World Heavyweight Championship
08:26Dusty Rhodes the challengers throw it into the ring getting set to take on the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Harley race
08:33When I give a night wanted to do the best to be the best in my business. I
08:37Always wanted to bring them with me that was my deal with the fans and they became such a part of me
08:43They forgot everything else
08:45Everything is real. It's all or nothing for Dusty Rhodes come down with the elbow
08:53Dusty Rhodes has just become the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion
08:57First time I won the NWA World Heavyweight title was a dream come true
09:06Because
09:09It was real it was the most realist thing I'd ever done that moment I was champion of the world
09:17Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes began the rivalry that they finally had their first championship match in 1981
09:25Having your first championship match against the American dream. No pressure
09:30I was so enamored with Dusty Rhodes
09:33For me to wrestle Dusty was awesome. I want to tell you it was one of the greatest moments of my life, but it was terrible
09:40And Rhodes grabbing Flair off the top rope for a suplex to look out
09:48And nature boy Ric Flair has won the World Heavyweight Championship
09:55It wasn't put together right the glamour and the glitz wasn't there and it could have been so much better had it been done in
10:00Florida or the Carolinas people knew us didn't even know us Kansas City. He didn't want to lose I
10:06Didn't blame him
10:08We're friends, but I think he was really upset by it
10:15In Florida there was not a lot of financial
10:19Movement for me know that my prime as far as creativity West and I needed to kick it in a little bit
10:26You know his name was American dream, but he was a dreamer of epic proportion
10:31He had come up with these concepts of doing a mega huge show, and he was just looking for the platform to do it
10:40Crockett promotions in Charlotte, North Carolina
10:42Jim Crockett called me and said I want an event like no other event this would be before mania
10:48David's always a pleasure to be a Mid-Atlantic championship wrestling because this is the coming to Mid-Atlantic was kind of the beginning of a
10:54Section of Dusty Rhodes career that he would end up becoming just as much known for as what he did in the ring
11:01Which was to be that creative force and one of his first big ideas was to put on Starcade
11:11This was a major
11:13Significant event, but it was also a very important event for Ric Flair. We're entering a brand new era of professional wrestling
11:24In the early 80s
11:27Dusty moved to Charlotte, North Carolina
11:29to work for Jim Crockett Dusty always wanted to produce wrestling to
11:36Facilitate the shows and all of that. He was very creative
11:41My dad was a really deep thinker. I'd catch him a lot at his desk staring at a legal pad
11:47Sometimes of matches scribbled there are ideas. There's an idea man
11:52Dusty Rhodes had just come in to be the new booker. Dusty also was an active wrestler
11:56According to phrase he's the man with the pencil. He makes the decisions
12:01Who wrestles who who wins there this and that?
12:05Dusty had a brilliant booking mind. He knew how to tell a long-term
12:10Story in pro wrestling he knew how to evoke emotion and how to bring people to the peak and then pull them back
12:19Some people have that genius Dusty Rhodes had it
12:24Dark a dusty created came up with but it was our WrestleMania before the WrestleMania
12:31Name Starcade came from Dusty Rhodes. He
12:34Understood the concept of the big event probably better than anybody
12:40Stockade 83 I done made my apartment
12:43Creation of Starcade, I got a biggest payday that I'd ever gotten just to create it as a writer as a
12:51You know a movie director as a movie. It was my was Stargate's my movie when I see it today. It's gone with the wind to me
12:59Starcade 83
13:01Ric Flair and Harley race. I mean it's to get this match for Greensboro. It's just
13:06Unbelievable and the match is gonna be scheduled for Thursday, November the 24th
13:10We had Thanksgiving dinner early and st. Pete and then drove to Orlando and watched it on closed-circuit
13:16Due to the tremendous demand for tickets Starcade 83 can be seen on closed-circuit
13:23Big-screen color TV around the world and in selected cities in your area
13:28To be able to go somewhere and watch something live that was happening somewhere else. That's so
13:34To be able to go somewhere and watch something live that was happening somewhere else
13:40They've only had 10 12,000 people in there it was actually a cool event
13:46Live from the Greensboro Coliseum
13:53Everybody remember wrestling history to be made setting up Starcade for the first time was huge for Dusty from a creative perspective
14:01Starcade changed the industry, but it was also huge for the guy in the main event
14:13The stakes were really high for Ric Flair he was in his home turf. It was almost like Ric Flair had to win
14:22Dusty Rhodes the American Dream two-time world heavyweight champion is here
14:26Challenging the winner of this match to meet Dusty Rhodes so I can be third time's world heavyweight champion once again
14:32Here it is Starcade 83. It's all gonna culminate right here
14:36I can think of two words that may sum up this entire match tonight
14:41intensity and execution
14:56And
14:58Overwhelmingly phenomenal
15:01Stargate that was a big deal and it was in my own home turf for me to win Greensboro
15:06That's what really launched my career, and I was able to rerun with it
15:11Congratulations, don't you remember one thing daddy down the road? There's one more dream. There's a time coming
15:19You know Jim Crockett
15:21It's taken the world and I'm the man that's making it possible the world heavyweight wrestling champion
15:30Starkey launched Ric Flair into a completely different stratosphere
15:42He was that arrogant if you saw me want to run up to him a slap
15:52People hated Flair because Flair would flaunt his money
15:58When you really think about it and you're honest with yourself, well, no you hate Ric Flair because he's everything you're not
16:04To enhance my image. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars
16:09I was living on the biggest house and biggest out of town
16:21Every guy who's got testosterone in their body wants to bin Ric Flair
16:27Jen darling, I didn't expect to see you for another week or two Rick just came across as authentic and the fans bought into it
16:36When my name's on the marquee baby, you know, you're seeing the best there is
16:44He's a nature boy Ric Flair he's the champion of the world
16:47When I seen his full-blown gimmick start to unveil in front of me I said wow that's gonna be easy
16:54When you take the title that makes you the greatest at what you do and right now Ric Flair has that title
17:02You're looking at the world's heavyweight champion nature boy Ric Flair
17:07That was the best wrestler alive. I knew it
17:10That's just that's everything. I knew how good I was back then. I didn't even think about
17:17And Rolex watches
17:22He knew how good he was he was a man there, you know, I mean he needed a baby face there
17:27I was Ric Flair is a great champion and the conflict between me and him will come to pass
17:34Dusty is a hero all over the United States at that
17:39nature boy
17:40Ric Flair world's heavyweight champion fancy robe fancy car fancy lady
17:46But dusty rose the American dream knows you and knows you well
17:50You can't have an ego and not you know have some robbery
17:55Dusty had a power in
17:57business influence and Ric had this power because he was
18:08At the same time there's always gonna be a bit of jealousy and rivalry that's what made it so good
18:18You're nothing happened son of a plumber
18:21You can't stand the fact that I was born with a gold spoon in my mouth
18:24You can't stand the fact that I was born with a golden spoon in my mouth, can you?
18:28Promos are everything.
18:30And to be a special superstar, to be a memorable one, you have to be able to deliver in the promo.
18:36You're going to call your ladies on the phone and you're going to say,
18:39ladies, how did I lose that world title to the American dream?
18:45You got no life. You got nothing to brag about, nothing to stand on.
18:52Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes' promos, how they played off of each other,
18:55they were just so opposite, but so great.
18:58But they made you listen to every word they were talking about.
19:01Ric Flair, it's not over. It will never be over. I'm going to mess you up real bad.
19:06The job of that interview, especially during that day, was to talk people into the building, was to sell tickets.
19:13I think when the two were paired together, the great promo plus the great booking, magic.
19:20Our egos ride side by side. He doesn't like me getting ahead.
19:26And it hurts me right here for him to get ahead.
19:29To kill Ric Flair is to take what he wants more than anything in the world, what he has.
19:35And that's that gold around his waist.
19:381983 was the first Stargate.
19:40So you fast forward a year later when they have the closed circuit again, it's Dusty versus Flair.
19:45There was a lot of bells and whistles on that match, right?
19:48They had Smokey Joe Frazier as the special referee.
19:51Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair. Let's keep it clean. Let's keep it fair.
19:56It was also a million dollar winner take all.
19:59There's a purported purse of a million dollars exaggerated, undoubtedly, but still fans believed that.
20:08It's me and you and one million dollars.
20:11I don't want to hear from you because now is the time that the talking stops and the fighting begins.
20:17I'm going to walk in this Coliseum Thanksgiving night and I'm going to be ready for any kind of action.
20:27It was like it was real.
20:30What was real in it was two mega egos who both believed they were the guy.
20:37In our business, you have to think that.
20:39One thing I'm sick and tired of, sick and tired of, is that goofy looking hat on top of your head.
20:47I'm tired of looking at that hat. I just go slip it up and throw it out to the fans.
20:52Yeah, do it, do it.
20:55The little preview fans of what it's all going to be like at Stargate 84.
21:00You didn't feel like they were cutting the prong.
21:03They were talking and they believed every word that they were saying.
21:06This is how I feel and I'm telling you that and you feel it.
21:09And whether you like it or not, I'm going to be the man after Stargate. This is mine.
21:16When you're listening to them speak, it's like it's a rhythm. It's almost like a song.
21:20And you're just like, wow. And so to hear it like that from both sides.
21:24Both guys were so good at this and you were just waiting to see what was going to happen next.
21:31The tension is mounting here at the Greensboro Coliseum.
21:34A $1 million challenge match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
21:43It caught on. People came from everywhere for it.
21:47Nothing like the doors. We were rocking along.
21:51Our special referee spoke in, Joe Frazier.
21:54And this is the moment that we've all been waiting for right here.
21:57You know, it was amazing. They loved what I was telling them.
22:02They got it.
22:03Sometimes it's just that little extra something that makes a rivalry really be powerful.
22:12Stargate 84. A lot of people are truly convinced that Dusty Rhodes is going to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
22:21Dusty Rhodes slammed into the ring post.
22:25He has got a bad cut. It appears to be on the right eye.
22:30Dusty starts to bleed.
22:32I had a referee saying, wait a minute, he's got to check that eye.
22:35As Dusty Rhodes is pushing him away, it could be a very serious injury.
22:40Dusty was bleeding too much. And in wrestling, you never stop the match because of blood.
22:43But, you know, Joe's a boxing guy, so he's getting in there.
22:48You guys stopped the match.
22:50People were so mad.
22:52Joe Frazier, he has stopped it because of a cut on the eye.
22:56Jim Crockett. Jim Crockett, the world's most handling in the $1 million check to Ric Flair.
23:04I got in that ring to go 120%. And don't think he wasn't in there going 120%.
23:09It's unfortunate he suffered the cut. Whether Joe Frazier should have stopped the match or not is not my business.
23:16After Stargate, things kind of cooled down between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes.
23:22Rigg ends up respecting Dusty. The two form kind of a partnership.
23:27And Ric Flair, for a short period of time, becomes a hero.
23:31You got to reinvent yourself. Don't reinvent the character, but you have to change this moment.
23:37Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, as they all continue to go at it in their ring.
23:42Is this going to be the start of a new allegiance?
23:49Yeah.
23:51As you can see, Ric Flair's hand is being raised in victory.
23:55September 1985, Ric Flair is in the ring, and Nikita Koloff and Ivan Koloff are beating him up.
24:03Stomping away, it's a two-on-one situation.
24:06And coming to the aid of the World Heavyweight Champion, Dusty has cleared the ring, and there they stand.
24:11Both of them in the cage.
24:13Instead of the two teaming up, suddenly Flair's allies, Ole and Arn Anderson, are in the ring.
24:19Look here, from behind, that's the Anderson.
24:23It's a two-on-one right now. Not only that, look what Flair is doing.
24:26He is padlocking that cage. Dusty Rhodes is helpless.
24:30They destroy Dusty Rhodes.
24:33Down he goes on the left foot of Dusty Rhodes.
24:36They break his leg.
24:38It's panic in the ring.
24:40My dad being the dirtiest player in the game just makes you hate him more.
24:44We're at the point of desperation right now.
24:46We had a riot that night. It took us over an hour to get out of the ring.
24:51All of these angles on how to build a rivalry and make it seem real
24:56is really the blueprint of not just modern pro wrestling, but all of reality television.
25:04That face sure tells it all, Tony.
25:07I felt like I was watching a crime.
25:09And I was so young when I saw this, but you knew there was something there.
25:13And the birth of the Four Horsemen was something that took that rivalry to a whole different place.
25:21We called Dusty Rhodes. We was going to break his leg, and we broke his leg.
25:27The Four Horsemen, that was the first faction in pro wrestling where you just had four dudes.
25:32It's us against the world.
25:34You had Arne Anderson, Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and J.J. Dillon.
25:40He was the manager.
25:42They began interfering on Ric Flair's behalf.
25:46The Four Horsemen are really on a roll.
25:49They got booed out of the building, but everyone thought they were so cool at the same time.
25:54People were sitting in the crowd wearing suits.
25:56It's a super group. It's like the Avengers. They came together like the Avengers.
25:59They assembled, and now you better watch your ass.
26:03Everyone has got to watch out for the Four Horsemen now.
26:06This is the greatest faction that's ever existed.
26:09It was magic for a long time.
26:12Dusty Rhodes! I hope you live through it, brother.
26:16You've got this common man that everybody loves, and you've got four against one.
26:20So he's always fighting against the odds. It was just a perfect matchup.
26:24What in the world is going on?
26:26They had the legendary Hard Times promo.
26:29Great.
26:31Dusty Rhodes and Dusty, your fans welcome you back, man.
26:34I don't have to say a lot more about the way I feel about Ric Flair.
26:39No respect. No honor.
26:42He put Hard Times on Dusty Rhodes and his family.
26:45And without thinking one second of what I was going to say, it just came out.
26:52You don't know what Hard Times are, daddy.
26:55Hard Times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work.
26:58They've got four or five kids and can't pay their wages, can't buy their food.
27:04And one word led to another, to another, to another, and it built and it built and it built and it built.
27:09And Hard Times are when a man has worked at a job 30 years, 30 years.
27:15They give him a watch, kick him in the butt, and say, hey, a computer took your place, daddy.
27:21That's Hard Times.
27:23I mean, think about that period in the 80s, what was happening in U.S. society.
27:29The biggest shows were Dynasty and Dallas, you know, this total exaltation of the super rich of the time.
27:36But there was an underbelly underneath that.
27:39Working class people whose voice was not necessarily heard in the broader culture.
27:44And yet Dusty Rhodes was heard.
27:47And Ric Flair, you put Hard Times on this country by taking Dusty Rhodes out.
27:53And Dusty was able to bring it home in that one promo, to let you know that he felt what you felt.
28:00And you wanted him to win for that.
28:02I will be the next world's heavyweight champion on this Hard Time blues.
28:10Just how much is riding on this match?
28:13When you're talking about the world's heavyweight championship, you're talking about all of the marbles.
28:17Ric Flair and Dusty were really rivals in real life.
28:20They both wanted one thing, that top spot.
28:24And that creates an incredible dynamic.
28:28He just made music, man.
28:30He ruled. No pressure.
28:32If he was at perfect base, I was at perfect heel.
28:37It looks pretty dark right now for the champion.
28:40There's a Dusty Rhodes backing him, wanting to see him win the NWA title from the Nature Boy Ric Flair.
28:46He had, he was going for it.
28:47He had the bionic elbow going.
28:49Everything was just perfect.
28:52The referee is down.
28:54Tommy is really out of it down there.
28:57Here's Arn Anderson.
28:59Arn Anderson came charging into the ring after Dusty Rhodes.
29:04That's Oli Anderson now in the ring.
29:07Oli!
29:09Oli caught Dusty Rhodes from behind.
29:12Another referee has come in because Tommy Young is still down.
29:15Tommy Young is still down.
29:17He's wrapped it up.
29:23Money goes home thinking, wow, my guy's the new champion.
29:26Dusty Rhodes has done it.
29:29That night, Dusty Rhodes pinned Nature Boy Ric Flair on Starrcade at E5.
29:33And everyone thought, including myself, that he was the world heavyweight champion.
29:37However, Bob Gaggle, the president of the NWA, has given the belt back to Nature Boy Ric Flair.
29:41Because of a ruling made by referee Tommy Young.
29:45Let's take a look.
29:47Tommy, there are your hands on the right of the screen.
29:49Right there when you see Arn Anderson in.
29:51That is where I'm assuming you're calling for the disqualification.
29:54But when you were knocked out, you were not able to make that call right there at that time.
29:57That is correct.
29:59Mr. Rhodes, he had thought he became world heavyweight champion.
30:01Well, it's obvious.
30:03Dusty's championship victory didn't count because the pinfall didn't count.
30:06Because Oli and Arn Anderson come out and that resulted in a disqualification.
30:09And as we know, a world title will only change hands on pinfall or submission.
30:15They say nothing about Dusty Rhodes defeating Ric Flair on Starrcade at E5.
30:19Which I did. So Ric Flair...
30:21Dusty Rhodes at this point is the booker.
30:23He's booking this stuff. He's the one who's deciding what's going to occur in the match.
30:27These types of finishes would fire up fans to go see these guys clash again.
30:34Dusty Rhodes!
30:36It's only just begun.
30:40We got it right where we want it.
30:42As the rivalry evolved, so did the production value behind the storytelling.
30:47You'd see handheld camera shots of the four horsemen tailing Dusty Rhodes down the road.
30:54So all this was happening, Dusty Rhodes was that creative force behind the scenes.
30:59This wasn't stuff that had really been shown on wrestling television before this point.
31:04Poor Dusty got beat up by his car.
31:06I mean, just tried to break his leg.
31:09Did everything you could to him.
31:11Four horsemen, these guys are beating our hero up.
31:14Four horsemen always had Ric Flair's back.
31:17So Dusty had to be careful because every time he was wrestling Ric Flair,
31:22he was actually wrestling four guys.
31:24Nobody interfere!
31:26The four horsemen, they need to ride on another planet.
31:30Because I reserved the stratosphere for me and you.
31:33Welcome to the Great American Bash.
31:3614 cities in 33 days.
31:39The greatest wrestlers, the greatest wrestling matches, and the greatest wrestling fans.
31:44The year is 1986, and another brainchild of the American dream, the Great American Bash.
31:50And this Great American Bash, it felt to me like their version of the rockin' wrestling.
31:57Like WWE used to do it.
31:59It was mainly Dusty's brain.
32:00Dusty's brain was, that thing ran differently than the rest of the world.
32:04He was that creative.
32:06And it's good to be alive and breathing hell and breathing fire, North Carolina!
32:11Great American Bash on tour, man.
32:14And we hired everybody from George Jones to Waylon Jennings.
32:18Went on the road, and it worked.
32:20We sold out everywhere.
32:22This is Waylon Jennings, and I'm looking forward to being a part of the Great American Bash 86.
32:26The Great American Bash tour, they went from major city to major city.
32:31And the most important part, every single night, Ric Flair was defending the world's championship.
32:38Unprecedented. Signed the contract to wrestle each night of the Bash and to defend the NWA World Heavyweight title.
32:45Throughout this tour, we have been seeing Ric Flair escape with the title.
32:50One thing that Ric did, I think, better than anyone, is that he sold a fight.
32:54You wanted to see Ric get beaten.
32:56And that, I think, was what was so compelling when people would come to watch Ric Flair.
33:00No one got beat up better than Ric Flair.
33:03Oh my God.
33:05People wanted to see him get his ass kicked.
33:08On night number 12, right before the Great American Bash tour is over,
33:14Dusty and Flair meet in a cave in the middle of the desert.
33:17It's over. Dusty and Flair meet in a cage in Greensboro, North Carolina.
33:23A fella named Dusty Rhodes, he hasn't got the guts to back up when he tells all of you what he's gonna do.
33:32It's only fitting, it's only right that it comes down to Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair.
33:37You think I'm through on my quest for the world's heavyweight title?
33:41You're damn wrong, television land.
33:43He's fought for so long to beat Ric Flair, to get that championship belt around his waist.
33:50But there was all these obstacles that stood in his way.
33:54That was a tremendous blow.
33:56This may be one of the longer chases in wrestling history.
34:00It's loss after loss after loss.
34:03But I would say from a wrestling perspective, those weren't losses.
34:08That is the definition of the chase.
34:13Five years after losing the title to Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes gets his opportunity to win the gold again at the Great American Bash.
34:20Yeah, and this is monumental because this is an angle, a storyline that lasted almost a decade.
34:25I mean, that's amazing.
34:27When Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes wrestle, the two greatest wrestlers in the world are colliding.
34:33The American dream, Dusty Rhodes, wants Ric Flair and wants that championship.
34:38Because they're in the cage, it neutralizes the influence of the four horsemen.
34:44Now it's going to be one-on-one, man-to-man.
34:48They've wrestled so many times against each other before, but it's always a new ball game.
34:53Each time you step into the ring on a different occasion.
34:56In 1986, Dusty Rhodes fans had been on that ride with Dusty for years.
35:03As they try and they try and they try to get the title, that means that they're the man.
35:09But at the same time, to be the man, you've got to beat the man.
35:13There it is. There's your weapon. There's the thing that makes a cage match the most dangerous match in wrestling.
35:20Dusty Rhodes had to beat Ric Flair. He had to.
35:25It couldn't be something where Ric Flair always came out on top.
35:29Ric has him exactly where he wants him. Can he hold on?
35:37Can Dusty get out of it? Only two ways, David, to reverse it on Flair or to get to the ropes.
35:43Dusty and Flair have been going around for several years.
35:47And the fans are really anxious to see Dusty finally claim that big prize.
35:54The fans are behind Dusty. Here he comes!
35:58Dusty caught him!
36:01At first it was all Ric Flair. Now it's all Dusty Rhodes.
36:07Swell package! Hands break!
36:12Dusty Rhodes has just won the match!
36:18I remember throwing the cushions on my couch up in the air.
36:22Like all of these really primal emotions.
36:25Because we'd been waiting for it for so long.
36:28Talk about the chase. If you look in the furthest sections of that building and people are losing their mind,
36:34it's because they were in on the chase with him.
36:44Dusty winning that title that last time, it just seemed like that was okay.
36:50I'm done. I have nothing else to accomplish.
36:53That's right. You put a nice button on it.
36:55To say Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes have been influential in wrestling would be a gross understatement.
37:02Not only did they have this rivalry in the ring for the ages,
37:05but decades later they're both in positions where they're mentoring the new generation.
37:11Hey, hey, hey! What's up, man?
37:13What's up, guys?
37:15You're looking good, man.
37:17I learned a lot from Ric. Ric was a big part of the early stages of my career.
37:21He took me under his wing. I was lucky because I had Ric.
37:25Dusty Rhodes took on a position as the main coach, the teacher, at the WWE's Performance Center.
37:33I teach promo class three or four times a week.
37:36I'm looking for how you communicate with what I name the red light district.
37:41Red light meaning the camera.
37:43That's 20-something in here.
37:45When the red light's on there, that's 15 million.
37:47You got to make them believe who you are. That's what I teach.
37:50It's one, two, three, and they're here, and they come down.
37:53They got to come down like you just won the Super Bowl.
37:55You know what I'm saying?
37:57As ironic as it is, one of the people that walked through the Performance Center doors
38:02to be molded by Dusty Rhodes was a flair.
38:06You really haven't seen anything yet, and you've pushed me to my limit.
38:13Dusty was the guy with all the wisdom they could all go to
38:16to have my daughter be trained under him.
38:20It was a huge honor for her and for me.
38:23My most redeeming qualities? Yes, I know.
38:28The weekly struggle of figuring out how to communicate in promos and getting that out of me
38:35and just constantly making me believe that I had it in me, that I was going to be a star.
38:41He believed in me.
38:42We were struggling, trying to cut promos in a way that's relatable to people,
38:47and he would just make you feel so good.
38:49The fact that Dusty Rhodes believed in you was, oh my gosh, you know what I mean?
38:54It just gave you confidence, and he was so good at just giving people confidence
38:59to go out and be the best versions of themselves.
39:01The legacy of Rhodes and flair is still going today.
39:06Charlotte Flair walking that aisle.
39:11As amazing as Dusty and Rick were, the kids are so amazing that one day
39:17a lot of people are just going to know them as their dads.
39:19The American nightmare, Cody Rhodes.
39:23It's so hard, especially when you come from that kind of greatness.
39:27You just have huge shoes to fill.
39:30A lot of people would shy away from that.
39:32People want to not be what their parents are, the way that Cody and Charlotte
39:36have stepped into those shoes and filled those shoes and trying to exceed those shoes
39:41and keep on perpetuating that legacy.
39:43It's pretty remarkable.
39:45The passion I have for this industry is why I'm still here.
39:50One thing is for sure, though, when you go back and you look,
39:53you look at hard times on the road.
39:55You look at driving down the road night after night, seven days in a row,
39:59and I looked across to see who this seven-day-in-a-row marathon was with,
40:03and it was the greatest wrestler in our industry's history, the Ninja Boy Rick.
40:07it was the greatest wrestler in our industry's history, the Ninja Boy Rick.
40:30My father, he was the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.
40:33I used to say to him, what are you doing, man, he'd say, I'm geniusing.
40:41He's a smart guy, and he adds a lot to this company.
40:43Thank you, Dream.
40:44Love you.
40:45Man, I think so many of the best robberies come when there's a layer of friendship there,
40:53a deep layer of friendship.
40:54But at the end of the day, you still want to be the guy, you still want to be the one
40:57that comes out on top.
40:58Ric Flair, there's only one.
41:00The storyline was so compelling, you were excited to see what was going to happen next.
41:06Ric Flair, he put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family.
41:14For Dusty and for Ric to go around the country fighting for that championship was unbelievable.
41:19Dusty did it!
41:22Dusty was one of the greatest in the history of this business.
41:26Our first arcade, I walked up to him, said to the ring, he said, kid, let's have fun.
41:34And we did.
41:35Great chemistry.
41:37I watched him from a baby and he moved on into becoming a legendary figure in our industry.
41:42Ric Flair, you are a legend!
41:46Our rivalry was, if not the biggest in our industry, I don't know what would be.
41:52I really don't.