Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair (WWF - 1/9/1993)

The Rockers had some iron man matches with the Rougeaus on the house show circuit in 1989, but I’m pretty sure this is the first 60-minute singles iron man match in any promotion. How’s this for a hot take: this is not only Flair’s best WWF match, it’s also the best long Flair title match outside of Clash 6. Flair may have been past his prime here, but he was still more than capable of having a 60-minute match in his sleep. Accordingly, this is largely a Flair-style match, although Bret is far from a broomstick. In fact, his realistic selling is one of the key aspects of the match. It also helped that as the challenger, Flair didn’t have to worry about making his opponent look good and could just concentrate on having a great match. When you know going in that a match is going to go a certain length, one of the main challenges is keeping fans invested in the opening minutes. Flair's arm work didn’t really lead to anything, but it was interesting enough in its own right to serve as a fine time filler. Bret gets the first fall about 28 minutes in with a reverse roll-up, and the “real” match begins shortly afterward when Flair starts going after the leg. Flair winning two falls with the figure-four (albeit while grabbing the ropes for additional leverage) seems rather odd in an era when it was unheard of for top babyfaces to submit, let alone the world champion. But drama in Iron Man matches usually comes from the heel building up a lead and the face chasing him, and that’s probably the best way they could have built it up. This does meander at points, but it’s nothing too egregious. And neither wrestler ever seemed even remotely blown up, which is impressive.