Of all the many rivals Ric Flair has had in his career, Ricky Steamboat was always someone special. It goes back to the 1970s when Steamboat won the Mid-Atlantic TV title from Flair in a surprise victory. They would clash a few more times before going separate paths with Flair NWA champion and Steamboat tag-teaming with Jay Youngblood. They had a few more bouts in the mid-80s as well.
In 1989, the pair came together to put on three matches many hail as some of the greatest in wrestling history. They would clash a few more times before Steamboat's forced retirement in 1994. Today, these men are still pointed to as amazing masters. Flair was generally the heel but a spectacular worker while Steamboat was a master seller to captivate the crowd. Of all the bouts they had, a few stand out from the pack.
Here are how the eight greatest Flair/Steamboat matches rank as a reminder of how few feuds in history are as revered as this.
Related: Ric Flair's 5 Best WWE Matches (& His 5 Best From WCW)
8 Night Of Champions 1984

Back in 1984, the wrestling world was much different as WWE hadn't quite taken over, and Jim Crockett was trying to hit with a show in the Meadowlands. Steamboat was US champion, although only Flair's NWA title was on the line. This was Steamboat's first shot at the NWA title, and he did a fantastic job with it.
The New York crowd popped huge for the conflict as what started as a fight of respect turned into a wild battle. The last few minutes were frantic action to make it shine wonderfully. Flair rolled up Steamboat with a handful of tights to win, yet Steamboat proved he could hang in the big leagues.
7 WCW Saturday Night May 15th, 1994

This match was set up from Spring Stampede, where Steamboat and Flair had a double-pin, and the WCW title was held up. Thus, instead of a PPV, they fought on WCW's Saturday Night program. Given the smaller setting, the pair put on a stellar match. Steamboat lets go of his usual babyface stance to be more aggressive, and that sparks the clash with Flair quite nicely.
Flair was going full heel here to take it to Steamboat, who fired right back with his own great moves. Finally, Flair used a low blow to pin Steamboat and cap off over a half-hour of tremendous action.
6 Boogie Jam '84

This was a long-forgotten event until WWE found it for their "Hidden Gems" specials. This was one of Steamboat's final big matches before leaving for WWE, and it's a sixty-minute showcase for both men. Flair was still a face and thus playing to the crowd but could get a bit nastier as the bout went on.
Steamboat matched him blow for blow, and the match shifted from a bit of stalling to pure excitement. It ends with Steamboat on the verge of a pin until time runs out. The two shake hands to show the respect that made this rivalry so great.
5 March 18th, 1989 House Show

This match was long ignored until the Internet was able to show footage from it. It took place in Landover, Maryland, with Steamboat NWA champion and Flair in the rare position of the challenger. It wasn't as cohesive as their other matches, and the flow was a bit rough at times.
Yet it's still two masters going at it, and Dave Meltzer even proclaimed that between this and an evening show in Philadelphia, the pair put on a "10.25-star" match. The ending was Flair using the ropes for a pin and Lex Luger telling what happened to reverse the decision. Poor ending aside, it's still worth checking out on video.
4 Spring Stampede 1994

At the time of this show, Flair was a face, having won the belt from Vader a few months earlier. He and Steamboat were set in a match playing off their long rivalry. It began with them in mutual respect, but as the battle went on, Flair began to become more heelish and a jerk.
This sparked up Steamboat for a thrilling fight that had the fans backing both men equally. It ended with both men having their shoulders down, Steamboat claiming to have raised his shoulder, but it was declared a draw. It was a good move to push Flair back to heeldom and one of Steamboat's last great matches.
3 Chi-Town Rumble

This bout kicked off what remains one of the greatest trilogies of matches in history. Having made a surprise return to the NWA to pin Flair in a tag team match, Steamboat had his shot at this one-off PPV event. The duo put on a technical classic that had the Chicago crowd going wild with several near-falls.
It looked to be a "Dusty finish" with the ref bumped, Steamboat making the pin and another ref counting it. But the decision stood to make Steamboat NWA World Champion. It would have been 1989's match of the year...had they not topped it twice in the coming months. Yet even on its own, it's a classic.
2 Clash Of The Champions VI

While this show was a financial flop, the main event makes it worthwhile. Before a nationwide audience, the pair went Broadway in a sixty-minute two out of three falls war that felt much faster. Flair struck first, pinning Steamboat with a small package for the first fall. Steamboat evened it up by being the first person to make Flair submit to a double-arm chicken-wing move.
The last half-hour had them trading holds and near-falls and culminated with Flair in the chicken-wing again. They fell back with Steamboat getting this shoulder up in time to avoid the pin but Flair's foot under the ropes. It ended up being a beautiful battle to spark an otherwise rough show.
1 WrestleWar '89

It's tricky, yet this fantastic battle is the highlight of the trilogy the duo had in 1989. Just over 30 minutes long, the pair worked various moves of their earlier matches to make it shine wonderfully. The flow was terrific with Flair working on Steamboat's leg and Steamboat pushing Flair's back for his double-arm chicken-wing move.
The bout had the crowd going until Flair was able to reverse a dive into a small package to regain the title. The fallout had Terry Funk attacking Flair, but it was still a fine capper to a stunning feud that's always talked of today.
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