Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair

[6.0] "A very good albeit it extremely basic cage match. It is well worked with good selling. It just does nothing remotely different or special. The cage spots are all pretty well used, but absolutely unoriginal. If you don't mind matches that don't even try to innovate, you might tolerate this one more than me. I still enjoyed it a good bit, but it was too stock for me to rate very high."

[8.0] "A forgotten gem in some ways. A main event of a PPV that goes 10 minutes between Orton & Flair doesn't sound the greatest. Then you realize that it is in a steel cage, and this is 04, so they can bleed? Yeah, this is gonna be good. And it was. Flair and Orton just punch and chop each other for 10 minutes, and it is great. They throw each other into the cage, making the other one bleed, and Flair is trying every dirty trick in the book to get the win. Low blow early in the match, to another low blow, to a brass knuckle shot, but Orton stays alive. So Flair, while trying to escape from the cage, grabs the chair and looks to hit Orton with it, one final trick, but RKO 1-2-3. Perfect finish and a really fun match. Good watch, and I do recommend. **** (4)"

[7.0] "This was a fairly decent match. It was bloody and Ric played the match well against the much younger Randy. The ending was good and the match while not amazing was still fun"

[8.0] "Ric Flair with a great old man performance. The only thing lacking is a lengthier shine segment on the bout, but Flair's input is stellar. He is coward old man stooging at the beginning. He tries to escape, but when he can't a cheap transition (eye poke, then the low blows to cut off the comeback and the brass nuckles for a near far) gets to show how vicious and bitter of a man he is. Orton really puts over the Nature Boy and his aggression. When Orton finally comes back, , he is also great. He pays Flair back in full. Ric shows ass, bleeds, sells like he is a lost old man. Flair tries every little dirty trick in the book, he is as aggressive as they come and nothing does it. Simple, yet so effective."

[7.0] "Another great way to put The Legend Killer over. Flair is plain dirty and vicious here, Orton shows some good fire, they both bleed buckets, loved the brass knuckles spot and the kickout, and what a great post-match moment with Orton earning Flair's respect. *** 1/2+"

[8.0] "Shave off like 6-7 minutes off Kane/Snitsky and add it to this, please. I thought these two really beat the hell out of each other in what limited time they had. I think this went a long way to give Orton some cred after quite a brutal loss to HHH at Unforgiven."

[7.0] "Lots of blood which I didn't feel this match earned to be honest especially at like 10 minutes long. It felt rushed. Still a good match with a solid ending. What they told in 10 minutes was good so I will give them that, it felt like a 20 minute classic squeezed down. Still enjoyable for what it was."

[7.0] "Best match of the PPV 100% Flair giving his age of 55 shows good work and the ending is really good i think, great respect shown at the end and good way to end the show."

[10.0] "Ric Flair had a big chip on his shoulder tonight. He wasn't just representing Evolution, or looking to beat up and punish Randy Orton some more, he was out to see if he still got it at his old age. Ric Flair masterfully conveyed the grey zone of being a dirty cheater and a tired old man. In the following years after this match we see the theme of Ric Flair of him still having what it takes to lace up the boots. And this match delivered this message 4 years before his last Wrestlemania match. 5/5"

[8.0] "A tremendous bout for its run time. It wastes no time in getting to the meat of the match and continues like that for its entirety. One of those matches that displays how emotion and intention can have such an emphatic message to the offense that is used. There was nothing flashy here in terms of their offense, simply fundamentals, blood, and dirty tactics that pack a punch. You've got a youthful wrestler who wants to prove himself against a veteran who in contrast is trying to prove he's still in the fight. There is a spot in this match early on where I feel serves as a snapshot that encapsulates the essence of it. Flair was gunning to escape the cage only for Randy to spring up the top rope, flair then drops him by giving him a trademark poke of the eyes, and instead of leaving the cage, he goes back down and you can only assume he wants to pridefully humble the young cocky Randy, and he does as Flair goes on to make him bleed after that. Very nice story told here with good psychology. ****"

[6.0] "It was a good match, but this whole PPV felt like a special edition of RAW and because of that it didn't have a main event feeling, plus it was following the world title match. But still they did well, they made it look brutal with all the blood and Flair still moved fantastically for his age."

[6.0] "This was a really good match despite being only 10 minutes long. Flair and Orton wasted no time beating the shit out of each other. Intense and bloody fight. Loved all of Flair's cheap tricks and trying to escape the cage at any given moment. Very fun match. ***1/4"

[8.0] "This was a really fun and bloody steel cage match. Flair gave an awesome performance here and Orton gave a really good babyface performance. The match is pretty short but they made good use of the time they had. The post-match embrace was a great moment. ****"

[8.0] "This was actually a great main event. Never stalled at any point, both of them bled profusely. I thought it was a solid wrestling match that felt like a fight in the steel cage and thats a great thing. Flair was more than twice the age Orton was and was at the tail end of his career, yet he was fully motivated at that point in his career and it really showed in this match. He made Orton look a million bucks in there and the embrace at the end was a great moment to end the show."

[9.0] "Main event of the first Taboo Tuesday, and the final singles PPV main event of Ric Flair, if you'd like an interesting tidbit. I assume this was placed over the Triple H main event due to his challenger Shawn Michaels having an extremely bum leg. Regardless of the reason, I approve because this match definitely blew the title match out of the water. Part of Orton's big split from Evolution, here he faces his former mentor and perhaps the ultimate legend in Ric Flair in a very bloody cage match. Flair may have been 55 here and obviously past his best, but he still had strengths to pull on, namely great chops and punches and a willingness to bleed out all his blood to make the match as good as he could make it. I think he succeeded admirably, and this was a very fun main event on a very weak PPV. The slim 11 minute runtime was welcome as it forced both guys to work with gritty urgency, and avoid Flair running out of gas or Orton relying on lengthy chinlocks. Very good stuff here."

[9.0] "It's weird, I find myself saying things like "underrated" or "slept on" a lot on here, but that's maybe because I only feel compelled to rate the matches I think are getting a raw deal, haha. This is a forgotten classic! Randy Orton's finest hour as a babyface in 2004, and possibly to this day. Ric Flair's last great heel performance, the last time Flair was the Flair we knew and loved in the 80's. Well not me, I was barely alive. Anyway. HIDDEN GEM in all caps, awesome match, every bit as good as Taboo Tuesday v HHH the following year"

[8.0] "The prevailing narrative these days is that Orton's face run in 2004 was a failure, but I really don't believe that is true. The crowd is firmly behind him here - just look at the number of pro-Orton signs in the crowd. Orton and Flair have a violent and physical matchup here that is quite a bit better than I remember. I love Orton's punches against Flair's chops, it really feels like a good ol' pro wrestling style brawl. The moment in the back half of the match where both men are bloodied and Orton is just teeing off against Flair on the apron is awesome. They got quite a lot out of their pretty short run time, and I think fans of this style might find this to be a bit of a hidden gem."

[7.0] "Orton had a good performance. Nice hard hitting bloody affair but Flair was passed his prime but delivered a good performance. The match was a good showcase for Orton."

[6.0] "Flair's fightling style was irritating there. 90% of his offense were punches and chops. However, the action didn't stall and Orton made it watchable."

[7.0] "Ric Flair, infamously way too old for this stuff, still managed to call back to the good old days in this classic style cage match. Kept brisk and not allowed to go over its time, this also benefits from both men getting colour (honestly, I'm shocked that Orton bled before Flair did). Orton wins Flair's respect, but this is sadly reset next Raw."

[8.0] "This match went a bit over 10 minutes and Orton, Flair put all those minutes to good use. They both sent each other into the cell a lot, as a result, both of them bled buckets in this match. Flair was a great heel in this trying to escape the cage any chance that he got and the underhanded tactics that he used all match long. Flair thought he had the match won after using the brass knuckles on Orton, but Orton kicked out and hit the RKO after for the win.***3/4"

[7.0] "If there was any doubt that Ric Flair no longer had "it" then that doubt was gone after this match. This was pretty short, but it was a very brutal and bloody brawl. The moment of respect between the two after the match was very special as well."

"6.5/10 is my rating for this match. This match should have lasted way longer but for its time it was pretty good."

[7.0] "The dirtiest player in the game strikes again! This is a bloody brawl where the legend killer is looking for another victim."

[8.0] "For the allotted 10 minutes, this match ended up being pretty damn great. They had a hectic, bloody brawl and made great use of the stipulation, using the cage to brutalize one another. I also really enjoyed Flair's antics, as he was constantly hitting Randy with low blows, eye pokes, brass knucks, anything to give him an advantage. After a brutal affair, Randy managed to hit Ric with the RKO, finally earning the Nature Boy's respect in the process. The post-match sequence was surprisingly touching too, with Randy embracing Ric after the hard-fought war they just engaged in. Despite all the hell Evolution put Randy through, Ric had still been like a role model to him, and it makes sense for them to respect and care about one another. Great match. ****"

[9.0] "Just an awesome high octane, bloody cage match from bell to bell. Short yet super intense, the length of this was just perfect. This is an easy contender for Flair's best WWE match post-2000s. He was generally pretty average during that time period but this was awesome and had a great storyline & payoff as well. A really underrated classic in my book."

[10.0] "It was only 10 minutes and man this was incredible. The wrestling was great and the brutality was quite a scene."

[8.0] "For a match that was only 10 minutes long, this was pretty damn awesome. Loved the entrances, Orton not doing anything flashy, coming down to the ring completely focused. The wrestling was great, the two going ham on each other, punching their skulls open, throwing each other into the cage. Flair trying to be sneaky and escape the cage whenever he could. And the embrace at the end was great. ****"

[10.0] "What a bloody awesome match. This was some of the 10 best minutes in a wrestling match you can ever get. It was raw, intense and brutal, and got nice storytelling with Naitch trying to use his old tricks to survive, but ultimately costing him in the end. It was 10 awesome minutes, and this match is more than worth a watch . ****1/4"

[8.0] "A really good match centered around Ric Flair proving that he is still the man. And he sure put on a quality performance - and Orton really looked good too. Fun, fun stuff. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Collision between the mentor and the star, a Steel Cage match with almost no rules. It was the perfect chance for Randy Orton to beat a legend in one his favorite stipulations. Not a memorable match, but still a good Orton vs Flair. ***3/4"