Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 121: Ric Flair vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 3/22/99)

A Spring Break main event that plays host to an oddity of fun booking. A heel Flair will take on a babyface Rey. Jr. Watch Flair bump for the little guy!

WCW actually has helicopter shots. Unreal how much money they were throwing around for cutaway shots. Oh, and Mike Buffer is there to announce too, so there’s a few more bucks out the (helicopter) window. Rey is the hip hop giant killer and cruiser champ, and Flair is the world champ, even though this is past his prime (for real this time).

This has all the good tenants of a Ric Flair match, from the pacing to making the babyface look great. Rey is shot out of a cannon and presses Flair, who panics and needs Arn Anderson to level Rey. So we go to the heat, which Flair can still do well, yet this is no classic by far. Crowd is definitely into Rey and giving Flair some crap. Rey gets two hope spot pins, but no one buys in, and a frustrated Flair really gives it to him. The Heenan and Schiavone are bickering at almost shoot level tonight. It’s awkward watching mom and dad fight.

Rey makes the comeback, and people love these two, but Flair looks horrible selling this younger and smaller guys offense. Rey almost gets the pin but Arn pulls him out of the ring for a DQ. Less than ten minutes into a decent, if not average match, with the final memory being Rey kicking Flair into the pool next to the ring. 2 ¾ and 6/10.