THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #44
JULY 8, 2002

Do You Believe in Miracles II: The 1994 Hogan-Flair Trilogy

It's probably hard to believe looking at him today, but Hulk Hogan was once carryable. In fact, he could be carried in great quality matches. Not too many people could work such magic, but Ric Flair was a cut above the rest especially when it came to carrying no-talent bums to good matches. Hogan still fought with strong intensity in 1994 and his offense looked much better than it does now, which made Flair's job a bit easier than it could have been. Also, while Hogan and Flair had fought on a few WWF house shows three years earlier, this was still a fresh match with new twists and turns to be carried out because they had never fought one-on-one before on a major stage. WCW was in a rebuilding mode, with average paid attendance sinking to the mid-hundreds, a level it never reached during its dying days. While Hogan and Flair didn't immediately change things aroung like many expected, they did plant the seeds for a slow but steady revival within WCW that would kick into high gear a couple years later. For the first time in at least three or four years, business started to improve, albeit slowly. Not only was the Hogan-Flair feud at the forefront, but their better-than-expected matches made their feud a success, even if most hated how it was booked in that Flair was dominated and "retired" without any dignity or respect. Flair produced numerous classic matches throughout his career, but his efforts against Hogan in 1994 were among his finest performances.

WCW Title: Ric Flair (c) w/Sensuous Sheri vs Hulk Hogan (w/Mr. T & Jimmy Hart) 7/17/94 Bash At The Beach

Shaquille O�Neal was there to present the belt to the winner. The atmosphere for this match was really special, something that is really evident in hindsight. They had a staredown first. Flair grabbed a headlock and Hogan tackled him on a criss cross. Hogan overpowered Flair and did Flair�s strut. Flair applied a hammerlock and took Hogan down. Flair applied a wristlock and kept Hogan down by pulling his hair. Hogan then took Flair down by his hair and did a stepover into somewhat of an armbar, pulling on Flair�s shoulder with his feet and actually it almost looked like a cross armbreaker. Flair stood up and raked Hogan�s face with his boot. Hogan stood up, Flair bailed out of the ring and Hogan chased him but Flair pulled Sheri in front of him as a shield. Hogan took down Flair with a drop toehold and rammed him into the corner. Hogan landed his first punches at 5:27, whipped Flair into the corner and hit a running clothesline in the corner. Hogan whipped Flair into the ropes but Flair slid out of the ring. Flair caught Hogan with a knee as he entered the ring. Flair landed a couple chops and some punches. He snapmared Hogan but missed a kneedrop and Hogan immediately stood up. Hogan landed a series of punches, whipped Flair into the corner and clotheslined him. Hogan rammed Flair into opposite corners and landed some punches. Sheri grabbed Hogan�s leg and Flair gave him a jumping knee. Flair knocked Hogan over the top rope with a chop. Sheri went to hit Hogan with a chair but Hart grabbed the chair. Flair rammed Hogan into the barricade and hit a top rope elbow strike. Flair kneedropped Hogan and landed some chops in the corner but Hogan landed some punches and chops of his own to win the exchange. Flair chopped Hogan but Hogan whipped him into the corner and clotheslined him for a near fall. Flair punched and snapmared Hogan before applying a chinlock for a lengthy period of time. Hogan escaped and tackled Flair twice. Hogan landed some punches, whipped Flair into the corner, Flair took his trademark flip bump and landed on the apron, and Hogan clotheslined Flair on the apron. Flair missed a punch and Hogan back suplexed him on the floor. Hogan suplexed Flair back into the ring but missed a legdrop. Flair went for a figure 4 leglock but Hogan rolled him up for a near fall. Flair tried again but Hogan kicked him away. Flair vertical suplexed Hogan in an impressive spot marred only by Hogan then no-selling it. Hogan landed some punches and booted Flair for a near fall when Sheri pulled the ref out of the ring. Sheri attacked Hart and Flair clipped Hogan�s knee from behind. Sheri then gave Hogan a top rope splash and Flair applied a figure 4 leglock on Hogan. Hogan escaped but Sheri choked him when Flair had the ref distracted. Flair kicked Hogan�s knee repeatedly and landed some chops but Hogan did another no-sell. Hogan landed punches but ran into an elbow. Sheri missed a top rope splash on Hogan. Hogan caught Flair on the top rope and slammed him to the mat. Hogan clotheslined Flair and took out Sheri as well. Hogan then applied a figure 4 leglock on Flair. Sheri jumped onto the apron and distracted Hogan but Mr. T grabbed her and carried her to the back. Flair hit Hogan with brass knuckles for a near fall and Hogan hulked up. Hogan tackled Flair, then landed the 3 punches, boot and legdrop to pin Flair at 21:52 to win the title. Shoot me for saying this if you wish, but I loved this match. Given it was Hogan�s debut and an official �dream match� at the time, since it was their first televised match, they laid out a perfect match for the time and purpose of it. Hogan got to do all of his spots, and to his credit worked much harder than usual, or at least looked tons better than he has during his most recent WWF/WWE run. When Hogan was fired up, back in the day his offense looked decent enough that he really wasn�t that bad. Of course Flair did carry the match, working hard in his bump taking and doing every heel trick in his playbook. Sheri�s constant interference might annoy some watching the match today, but for gimmick purposes it was an ideal element of the match. If you want to see vintage Flair carrying a limited opponent beyond his abilities, check this out. As much as I hate Hogan today, I enjoyed watching this match, and it was the first time I saw this match in full in several years. Definitely one of my favorite Hogan matches. The long chinlock in the middle prevented the match from being excellent, but for what it was I�ll call it a great match, which is a miracle in and of itself. ***3/4

8/24/94 WCW Title: Hulk Hogan (c) (w/Jimmy Hart & Brutus Beefacke/Butcher/Man With No Name/Zodiak/Disciple/Ed Leslie) vs Ric Flair (w/Sensuous Sheri)

Hogan had been attacked by the masked man (remember that angle?) earlier in the show, had been �rushed to the hospital�, and limped to the ring selling a knee injury. Hogan attacked Flair before the bell with a ton of punches. Hogan no-sold chops and punches from Flair, raked his eyes and choked him with his bandana. Hogan bit Flair and whipped him into the corner, with Flair taking a flip bump and landing on the floor. Flair dragged Hogan out of the ring and chopped and punched him, but Hogan no-sold again. Hogan choked Flair with a shirt or towel and rammed him into the ringpost. Hogan rammed Flair into the barricade and punched him back in the ring. Hogan clotheslined Flair and choked him. Flair poked Hogan�s eyes and snapmared him but Hogan caught Flair on the top rope and slammed him to the mat. Hogan clotheslined Flair twice, raked his eyes and punched him. Hogan knocked Flair over the top rope, to the ring steps and to the floor with a punch. Hogan rammed Flair into the barricade in the aisle and dominated him there. He rammed Flair into the ringpost but missed a chairshot. Flair caught Hogan with a knee as he reentered the ring and stomped him. Flair vertical suplexed Hogan but Hogan popped right up again and clotheslined Flair. Hogan hit a couple elbowsmashes and raked Flair�s face with his boot. Hogan landed some punches, whipped Flair into the corner, Flair took his flip bump to the apron, and Hogan clotheslined Flair on the apron. Hogan bit Flair�s hand at ringside and rammed him into the barricade. Flair clipped Hogan�s injured knee and repeatedly stomped it. Sheri then legdropped Hogan in the crotch as the ref�s back was turned. Flair kneedropped Hogan�s injured knee and went to apply a figure 4 leglock but Hogan kicked him away. Flair clipped Hogan�s knee again and unwrapped the bandage from his knee at ringside. Flair stomped Hogan�s knee and applied a figure 4 leglock in the middle of the ring. Hogan suddenly �blocked out the pain� and literally unlocked Flair�s grip on him. Flair continued to kick away at Hogan�s knee but Hogan hulked up as he limped around the ring. Hogan landed three punches and a boot but his knee collapsed in doing so. Hogan got up though and legdropped Flair, then sold his knee again. Flair recovered and applied a figure 4 leglock on Hogan again. Hogan turned the leglock over but Flair reached the ropes. Sheri hit Hogan�s knee with her shoe and Flair won via countout at 14:27. Again, this was a really good match and actually more intense than their first match in WCW, but it was missing something and certainly lacked the special atmosphere of that match. Hogan was intense but his offense was definitely weaker than their previous match. Flair was great again and fought a smart match, but didn�t do as much physically because of the setup of the match. Better than anything you�ll see from Hogan today, though, but the weakest of the three major Flair-Hogan matches in 1994. ***1/4

10/29/94 WCW Title/Career Match/Cage Match: Hulk Hogan (c) (w/Jimmy Hart) vs Ric Flair (w/Sensuous Sheri)

Mr. T was the guest ref. Hogan attacked Flair with punches, whipped him into the corner and backdropped him. Hogan landed a couple clotheslines, choked Flair with his bandana and landed several punches in the corner. Flair poked Hogan�s eyes and chopped him. Flair tried to ram Hogan into the cage but Hogan held on and rammed Flair into the cage. Hogan rammed Flair into the cage again and Flair collapsed. Hogan landed more punches but Flair landed a punch of his own. Flair clipped Hogan�s knee and repeatedly stomped it. Flair punched Hogan and rammed him into the cage. Flair snapmared and kneedropped Hogan. Flair punched Hogan but Hogan whipped him into the corner and clotheslined him. Hogan rammed Flair into the cage and then picked him up and rammed him head first into the cage. Hogan choked Flair with his shirt and Mr. T intervened, causing Hogan to shove him in response. Flair came off the top rope with an axhandle, kicked Hogan�s knee and vertical suplexed him for a one count. Flair landed a series of punches. Hogan and Flair exchanged punches and chops with Hogan winning the exchange. Flair tried to escape but Hogan caught up to him on the top rope, rammed his head into the top of the cage and choked him on the cage. Flair crotched himself on the top rope and fell to the mat. Hogan whipped Flair into the corner but ran into a boot. Flair went for a figure 4 leglock but Hogan rolled him up for a near fall. Hogan no-sold a chop from Flair and backed him away. Hogan whipped Flair into the corner and backdropped him. He rammed Flair into the cage and raked his face across the cage mesh. Hogan back suplexed Flair for a near fall and gave him another series of punches. T got after Hogan as Flair tried to escape the cage. Hogan caught up to Flair and rammed him into the cage as Flair hung halfway over the cage�s top. Hogan landed several chops on the top rope and Flair crotched himself on the rope again. Flair caught Hogan and gave him a kneebreaker and kneedropped his leg twice. Flair removed the tape from around Hogan�s knee and T physically restrained him. Flair pounced on Hogan�s knee and kicked it. Flair took Hogan down and applied a figure 4 leglock. Hogan turned the leglock over but Flair escaped it. Flair kicked Hogan�s knee but Hogan punched him in response. Hogan clotheslined T when Flair pulled T in front of him. Flair back suplexed Hogan, went for a pin but Hogan pushed him off and onto T. Flair stomped T as Sheri climbed the cage. Hart caught up to Sheri and pulled her down and pulled her skirt off in the process. Sheri shoved Hart into a cameraman and climbed the cage again but Sting came out and grabbed her leg. A masked man came out from under the ring and hit Sting and Hart with a baton of some sort. Sheri jumped off the top of the cage and hit Hogan but Hogan just diverted his attention. Hogan went after Sheri but Flair attacked him from behind. Sheri handcuffed T to the bottom rope. The masked man held the baton against the cage and Flair and Sheri rammed Hogan into the baton and cage. Flair went for a pin but T couldn�t make the count. Flair stomped T and he and Sheri attacked Hogan. Flair vertical suplexed Hogan as Sheri stomped T. Hogan popped up and double clotheslined Flair and Sheri. Hogan slammed them both and no-sold a chop from Flair. Hogan clotheslined Flair and Sheri. He whipped Flair into the corner and backdropped him, then caught Sheri as she tried to leave the cage and slammed her from the top rope to the mat. Hogan caught up to Flair on the top rope and rammed him into the cage repeatedly. Hogan booted Sheri but Flair kicked him. Flair chopped Hogan but Hogan hulked up in response. Hogan landed three punches, booted Flair and legdropped him for the pin at 19:28 to retain the title and save his career. Supposedly Flair had to retire due to the stipulations of the match but returned months later. Was this match good, great or excellent? I guess that depends largely on what you thought about Sheri�s interference. Certainly her involvement was excessive, but she worked so hard that she was almost not annoying in her role, which was unusual. She actually jumped off the top of the cage, showing more athleticism than Hogan and maybe even Flair. As for the participants, they worked hard and the match lived up to its hype in terms of intensity and drama. Hogan�s work ranked somewhere between their first two matches, and Flair�s work did too, but more towards their first match. But the fact that Flair jobbed out to Hogan and supposedly at the time �retired� without being paid his due respect really annoyed me and probably most of you reading this who saw this match. Dave Meltzer called this ****1/4, which I don�t entirely disagree with, but I can�t agree with due to the above factor and the excessive interference. I�ll call this match very good, maybe bordering on great. Actually, the fact that Flair could carry Hogan to three matches well over *** in a four month period showed everyone just how special a performer he was and to an extent still is. As for Hogan, he wasn�t great, and probably not even good, but sooooooo much better in his work than he�s been in 2002 it should be almost embarrassing for him. The Hogan of 1994 would still stick out like a sore thumb in today�s WWE, but not nearly as much as the Hogan of 2002 does. ***1/2

Next Issue: New Japan vs All Japan: Triple Crown Rivalry

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