NWA World Title Match: Ric Flair (C) TLD Barry Windham in 30:18. One little thing I loved, I don’t think I’ve ever heard mentioned about this match is how it begins with a handshake, almost bizarro Ric Flair, after running amok with the Horsemen and beating the shit out of all the babyfaces the last year in JCP. These two had a history, and Flair showed respect immediately to someone just getting his footing in JCP, giving him some extra gravitas. There was a lot of chain wrestling early, with Windham always coming out just ahead. It was really subtle, but Flair just couldn’t stay out in front of the match, including Windham surviving the figure-four, and Flair started acting more desperate and nervous. Shout-out to Dusty Rhodes on commentary, who was great here, not only getting the match over, but Barry (his protege) as a whole. Tommy Young took a bump, and Windham got a phantom pinfall with a lariat to drive it home. There were spots where Young missed Flair’s feet on the ropes, and it looked like the only way that was possible was for Young to have the periphery vision of a trash can, and ring announcer Tom Miller fucked up the countdown something awful. Still, the match ended with Windham covering Flair after a lariat as time expired. The last two minutes could have been a little hotter, aside from the final thirty seconds, but this was a great story they told. Windham became a singles star here, which was the goal, so you can’t quibble too much about execution. ****3/4