Gimmick Some Lovin': Loser Leaves Town

The Match

Flair attempts to weaken Mr. Perfect with a sleeper hold

There's a lot about this match that shouldn't work, but it does.

First, it's a total anachronism; the opening segment of the show saw Macho Man Randy Savage defeat Repo Man to regain possession of Savage's legendary hat, and the post-show graphic hyped up the following week's highly-anticipated matchup of Doink the Clown vs. Typhoon. In an era (and company) where the cartoonish family fare was becoming the norm, this match was old school AWA or NWA wrasslin'. It's a multi-segment match (the WWE Network cut of this night's Raw is roughly 44 minutes, nearly half of which is taken up by this contest), and Perfect bleeds through a good portion of it.

It's also sloppy at times; there are several awkward looking and/or blown spots (Perfect at one point counters a Flair flying attack into a strange-looking sleeper/side headlock attempt and another time hit a stiff-looking clothesline during a babyface rally to counter another Flair attack). Additionally, Flair works Hennig's back early and often, keeping a long-term story going well, but then Perfect spends the latter half of the match selling the knee after a lengthy figure-four leglock.

A bloodied Perfect sells the back (for now)

It strangely all works, though; the match tells a story of two men desperate to keep their careers intact, so much so that their technical mastery often falls by the wayside. Add to that every man in the match (Flair, Perfect, referee Earl Hebner, Heenan, even Vince McMahon on commentary) playing his part to absolute perfection (pun 100% intended).

Ric Flair plays the classic heel like no other, resting his shin on Perfect's throat while simultaneously pleading his innocence with Hebner, gripping the top rope for leverage during the figure four spot, and using the mysterious foreign object (hidden in his kneepad, of course).

Heenan's intermittent commentary (intermittent because of his constant meddling in the bout's action) takes the heat to a whole new level. His raspy desperation as the match wears on calls back to the 1992 Royal Rumble, and it's a testament to his mastery on the mic that, nearly 25 years after the fact, Heenan's exhausted gloating as Flair took control near the end made me doubt Perfect's ability to come back.

Perfect caps off a fiery rally with a Perfect Plex for the three-count

Perfect, likewise, makes his babyface comeback with a righteous fire that would pull in even the most jaded of fans, but its effectiveness is truly made by Flair's dastardliness and Heenan's righteous indignation at his ally's mistreatment.

However, the real MVP of this contest is Earl Hebner, who is so insistent on a fair contest that he takes a flying dive off the ring apron to prevent Flair from attacking Perfect with an ornate-looking ballroom chair at ringside. It's proof positive that no ingredient in this match is wasted.