I never had a problem announcing an unpopular decision. If I could explain it with logic, I could sell it. This LUGER/FLAIR main event decision at The Great American Bash 1988 was inexplicable. I knew as I made the announcement, throwing all of the heat on the athletic commission,... was a bunch of baloney.show more

Ouch, I never saw that. That one is tough. Was he even bleeding at all? It's hard to tell.

A trickle . . . gmc

I was there live and it was bad and confusing. Especially since there was barely any blood. We stopped going to the live shows for a while after that one.

A version of a “Dusty finish.” I was there live. So bad.

The athletic commission must not have been at Starcade ‘85.

It wasn’t well thought out. It’s a chicken finish. One of those classic splitting the middle deals where the champ is virtually and visually beaten but for whatever backstage reason they couldn’t think of another way to do it. You got Flair trapped in the submission. He’s not going anywhere. It was the same deal with Lawler and Kerry Von Erich in Chicago and that was worse because there www blood earlier on the show and it wasn’t stopped.

The TV director probably shouldn’t have had the camera shot on Luger when he was blading

That finish may have gone over better had Luger been bleeding more. In comparison to a normal NWA big match he had a paper cut.

Flair hold NWA hostage He should drop the belt in 87 to Nikita Koloff or 88 to Luger or sting where it was the right time When sting or Luger got the belt in 90 and 91 it was long past the time Flair always got a pass form the media who will blame any one but Flair

It would have helped if Lex was a better swordsman. 😉

I'll bet they wished that Lex was bleeding more to justify the call. I was a younger fan & totally ready to see Luger as Champion. So were the rest of the fans! Look at them jump & cheer! What a great summer...but what a horrible match finish. Look how Kerry bled against Lawler!

It might have worked if he was bleeding like a stuck pig but he barely had any flowing.

Always hated finishes like this. Starrcade 1997 was another bad finish.

People complain about WWF/WWE, but Crockett/NWA/WCW was always full of stupid finishes, for a company that prided itself on being "real"

You knew when Flair wore white trunks someone was gonna bleed

No contest due to the cut?

The timing was exceptional though and everyone sold it well. Quite the pop.

This was Dusty, right?

This one and Starcade 88 were two great matches between these two. At least at Starcade 88 you weren’t put in that situation lol

I was there, you could probably hear me cheer. Loved it lol

Who booked this nonsense? Dusty Rhodes?

Kinda liked it, honestly. It felt authentic at the time given how numerous States oversaw it like they do boxing.

Do you remember what Tommy Young was saying before you made the announcement?

Heya Sean . . . He was giving me the decision . . . gmc

Appreciate you responding back. Looking back at it, Tommy was very visual when he spoke to you about the decision.

You are absolutely correct . . . When you're working in a relatively small space and there are fans sitting way up in the rafters (and back then we did not have giant video screens in the arena), it is essential to be demonstrative with your body language . . . gmc

Totally agree with that. You two were and are the best!!!

B’More Arena, right?

Well, I'd think the Horsemen and Flair got some serious heat after that. Feel sorry for Lex and the fans here though.

Yeah that was an idiotic move by them.

That’s some great stuff right there

They needed a check on Virgil Riley Runnels.

Very screwy finish. Why did it happen like this ?, Were there any alternatives discussed before the match ?

There could be an argument that the failed blade job added to the "outrage" of the decision.