9. Sting & Ric Flair vs. Dick Slater & The Great Muta (Clash Of The Champions 8)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1a5zh6_ric-flair-sting-vs-great-muta-dick-slater-clash-of-the-champions-viii-09-12-1989_sport To understand why Sting was tag teaming with his old nemesis Ric Flair so much in 1989, we must rewind to the start of that summer. At the Great American Bash in June, Sting defended his television title against the Great Muta. The match ended in controversial fashion (Sting was initially declared the winner, but a replay showed Muta's shoulder up) and the television title was declared vacant. Later on in the same show, Ric Flair defended his world championship against Terry Funk. Funk and Muta were both being managed by Gary Hart at the time as part of the group known as the "J-Tex Corporation." After Flair earned the victory over Funk, Muta came down and attacked him to avenge his fallen partner. Surprisingly, it was Sting who came down to the ring to help out Flair. The stage was set for a feud between these four men that would last for several months. Well, maybe we should say five men, as Dick Slater had to substitute in place of Funk for this bout at Clash of the Champions 8 in September 1989. Slater had been a main event level star in Mid South and Mid Atlantic Wrestling during the early 1980s, and he eventually made the leap to the WWF in 1986. While wrestling for McMahon, he didn't receive much of a push and was mostly a jobber for more established wrestlers in the company (Don Muraco, most notably). Slater's final run in wrestling came in WCW, and this match at Clash of the Champions was generally considered his first high profile match during this period. While he was a last minute replacement for Funk, this match was actually slightly better than the match Muta and Funk had with Flair and Sting the following month at Halloween Havoc.