Our match of the week this week is Ric Flair vs Alex Wright, on May 27, 1995 (air date), from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia (WCW).

This match was taped on either May 10 or May 11, 1995,  airing on May 27 on a hybrid edition of WCW Saturday Night that featured live outdoor matches from Charlotte and taped matches from a few weeks earlier from Center Stage.

This is the quarterfinals of the WCW U.S. Title tournament, which had been vacated when Vader was stripped of the title in April for viciously attacking and hospitalizing Dave Sullivan. The winner here was set to face Randy Savage, who defeated Steve Austin earlier in this show. Savage, wanting to get his hands on Flair for assaulting his father Angelo Poffo, attacks Flair, which prompts a DQ win for Flair. This, of course, means the two would be set to face off the next week in the semifinals, which is exactly what Savage wants. All of this is very unfortunate for young Alex Wright, who appeared to be on the verge of defeating the Nature Boy.

This was the first of a series of Flair/Wright matches on WCW Saturday Night, WCW Prime, WCW Worldwide, and WCW Nitro from 1995 through 1997. Flair enjoyed working with Wright, and always worked hard to get him over.

Watch & discuss at https://www.patreon.com/posts/match-of-week-1-61009952