Ric Flair Picks the Real ‘Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ Ahead of WWE Backlash

WWE’s decision to push the Edge vs. Randy Orton match at Backlash as the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” has been a topic of ridicule in recent weeks. Both Orton and Edge thought the line was a rib when they first heard about it and Twitter is riddled with wrestling fans poking fun at it, but WWE has refused to back down from the claim. They’ve even gone so far as to call up legends like Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle to come on Raw, agree with WWE’s claim and then make their pick for who wins. However, it looks like “The Nature Boy” is changing his tune.

Here’s what Flair said on Raw on a couple of weeks back — “So the WWE reaches out to Naitch. And they say, ‘Naitch, what in your opinion will be the outcome of what many consider to be the greatest wrestling match ever, Edge vs. Orton?’ I said to myself, ‘Ever since I quit limousine riding and jet flying, kiss stealing and wheelin’ dealin,’ and hung up my tights, the greatest in-ring performer today is Randy Orton. My main man, and the man who will beat Edge at Backlash.”

And here’s what he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday:

Flair’s trilogy of matches with Ricky Steamboat in the late 80s is viewed by many as the greatest trilogy of matches ever, particularly their 2-out-of-3 Falls Match at Clash of Champions VI in 1989. WWE even slotted that match at No. 4 when they picked the “100 Best Matches to Watch Before You Die,” trailing only Steamboat vs. Randy Savage at WrestleMania III, Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 and The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25. Flair pops up on that top 100 list 14 times, including all three of his matches with Steamboat. Meanwhile Edge appears on the list five times, while Orton appears four times.

Edge admitted in an interview with ESPN this week that he wishes WWE hand’t decided to set the bar so impossibly high with their marketing.

“If I were to look at it on paper and go right, first proper wrestling match back in nine and a half years and they want to bill it as the greatest wrestling match ever … I mean, that’s pretty pressure filled,” Edge said. “But I can’t look at it that way, I really can’t. I just have to understand that it’s promotion and it’s hype. I always go out with a mindset to try and have the best match that I’ve ever had. So I don’t look at it in terms of a contest — will it measure up to Steamboat vs. Savage or will it measure up to Shawn [Michaels] and [The Undertaker]. All I can do is measure up against myself, and especially at this juncture in my career, I’m just happy to be out there.

“This shouldn’t even be happening. Let alone for the company, and let’s call it straight, Vince, to think that he can bill this the ‘Greatest Match Ever.’ Would I have preferred they not billed it as that? Absolutely. But I also know there are times where heels get dug in the sand and there’s no changing it,” he added.