Considering the results of 2016's GWE voting results, I might have a (not so) controversial opinion. I'm not using any of the contemporary consensus for this, only the 2016 GWE voting results. I disagree with the #1 slot being Ric Flair, and think that the #2 slot, Terry Funk, should've actually been #1.
Crazy, right?
But for a night, I can believe they're both #1. This isn't fair. I'll admit one thing right now, one of the reasons I intend on doing a 2026 ballot for GWE is that I want to see Ric Flair fall from that #1 spot. He is a man I detest with all of my being, a stellar wrestler, yes, but even if he is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, some part of my consciousness can't bear to see him as #1 on that ballot.
Not because he's the boring answer, but because I know that in my own spirit, Funk beats Flair in every category for me. Flair, to me, is Kobe Bryant, while Terry is LeBron. Both skilled, but I'd choose LeBron over Kobe.
What happens when you have both of those worlds play off together, one on one, a game of HORSE? You get one of the best damned sights you'll ever see in your life. I have no issue calling this the greatest match ever right now.
Before I really get into the meat and potatoes, I want to specifically shout out these two little freaks who have sent me two matches that showcase exactly what I want from wrestling. Gramsci for submitting the Sangre Chicana vs. Perro Aguayo match, which only had audio in the right ear, and was a punch-drunk fan cam, and lucharaisedme for this. There's nothing better than a hot brawl, one that feels so hateful, with this consistent level of stooging, this driven level of passion, a desire for damage that both men want to inflict onto one another, and a cheap sense of victory. Especially when you can just sit down and absorb this in a vacuum.
I love that how you can really feel this fight energy, there is this palpable sense that it is still professional wrestling at the heart, The punches, the wound work, Flair's chops, every little bit down to the usage of the branding iron. Terry Funk wants to kill Ric Flair in this old school brawl that only two of the best of American wrestling can provide.
I love that Funk is the one working heel here, being the first to strike, trying to damage the injured neck of Flair, doing everything that he can in order to claim that NWA World Heavyweight Championship, even if one of his arms is dangling for a minute or two off of a Flair piledriver. I love how out of control Funk is, even if he's trying to play the coward the entire time. Not only that, but I love that even in the roll up finish, Flair has to earn it all at every chance, Funk would never let him off easy.
I love the damn near career-ending thing where Funk wants to land this brutal piledriver on exposed concrete, and Flair babyface fires his damn way out of it with a god-damned backdrop, something so basic, yet so good. Even when Funk dives on Flair and nixes the head and neck, and Flair is screaming in pain, there is some form of expression in it, there is beauty in that. They put all the careful, intimate brushstrokes on the canvas.
I'm higher on this than the I Quit, as even though that is great as well, there's something that hits all the notes in this one just a bit heavier for me. You can't deny the fire when the fire is calling for you.
Mind you, I didn't even mention the post-match brawl. Watch that, that's something else that's damn good as well.
Greatest match ever? Hell yeah.