WWE: 10 Awesome Matches That Showcased Great Ring Psychology

3. Terry Funk vs Ric Flair - Clash Of The Champions IX (1989)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkLtItxkbXQ Is there a better seller in wrestling than Terry Funk? After watching this legendary Clash Of The Champions encounter you may very well struggle to come up with anyone who can match the Funkster's ability to capture his audience's emotions with his trademark wails of agony.The finish to this match, where Flair finally locks in the figure four leglock ends with with Funk in utter desperation: he screams and grabs referee Tommy Young, screaming in pain, trying to do anything buy say those words. Anybody who thinks that wrestlers can't act needs to watch this performance. Funk : "No... No... Never! Never! Oh God! God Dammit! Never! No... Arrgh! My leg... My leg is breaking! It's breaking... Aarrggghhh!!!! Y... Ye.... Yes, I quit!". Terry came in to this match a ruthless heel, who had mercilessly beat Flair to within an inch of his life and put him out of action with a neck injury after not receiving a title shot from The Nature Boy. His actions leading up to this point were the very epitome of the unhinged, dangerous villain. Or as the man himself put it, "middle aged and crazy". But there was not a person watching who did not feel sorry for the sheer desperation of a man forced to give up his pride. The finish is magical, but there's more to this battle than the end. The build to that moment is brilliantly orchestrated. All the technical finesse we'd expect from Flair is gone and all we're left with is two men beating the crap out of each other. There must be five or six moves in this whole match, but for this bout, that's exactly what needed to happen. This is about hatred, not arm locks. Another thing you may notice is there are no 'near-falls' in this match. They are simply beating the other man down until they can trap him and force those words out of him. When Flair finally hits the figure four, you know it's over. It's pure, simplistic brutality. This should be required viewing for anybody who wants to understand how to pull their audience into a feud.