Being the great ring surgeon that he was, it wasn’t surprising when “Nature Boy” Ric Flair decided to try his hand at plastic surgery.  Perhaps it was his father’s own career at a doctor that inspired Flair or it could have been the frustration Flair felt after being embarrassed by Morton on television that drove him over the edge.  Either way, the night that he broke into the medical profession was a moment that Ricky Morton of the Rock and Roll Express would never forget.

The Rock and Roll Express had become an overnight sensation upon their arrival in Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP).  The lightning fast tag team saw their popularity skyrocket as soon as they entered JCP, quickly becoming heartthrobs to the legions of teenage girls that followed their every move.  It wasn’t long before they caught the attention of NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.  Flair quickly got on their bad side when he began mocking the Rock and Roll Express’ fans calling them little girls in their training bras.

Morton and Gibson confronted Flair during an episode of World Championship Wrestling (the promotion’s flagship show which aired every Saturday night on Superstation TBS).  Ricky Morton took the lead and admonished Flair for turning his back on the fans.  Morton pointed out how the fans had made Flair, a sentiment the Nature Boy found himself disagreeing with.  Flair brushed off Morton’s comments, telling him that he didn’t need anyone else.  Disgusted by Flair’s contempt for the fans, Morton grabbed Flair’s designer sunglasses and crushed them in front of Flair.  Flair attacked Morton but soon found himself in the ring and at the mercy of the tag team specialist.  By the end of the confrontation, Flair was on his back as Morton embarrassed the champion in front of the fans on national television.

Enraged at Morton’s actions, Flair set out to exact his revenge.  Flair stalked Morton, waiting for the right moment to get the payback he felt was owed to him.  Finally, the moment came during a match between Gibson and Flair.  During the match, Flair’s allies Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard jumped into the ring (along with manager James J. Dillon) and held Morton down, allowing Flair to jump off the second rope and drive his knee into the back of Morton’s head, causing a break to Morton’s nose.  This was Flair’s warning to Morton to stay away from him, a warning that Morton chose to ignore.

As serious as the nose break was, Morton stood his ground and fought with Flair again.  This time, Morton pinned Flair during a (non-title) match, further embarrassing the champion.  Flair finally snapped and rallied his allies to attack Morton in the Rock and Roll Express’ dressing room.  Joined once more by Anderson, Blanchard, and Dillon, Flair laid out Morton’s tag team partner Robert Gibson before turning his attention to Morton.

In a move reminiscent of an attack by Flair on Ricky Steamboat years earlier, Flair took Morton’s face and ground it into the dressing room floor.  Only the timely intervention of Morton’s friends prevented the Nature Boy from turning Morton’s face into hamburger.  Even so, Morton’s face was now injured, an end which Flair no doubt relished and which was made clear in a promo he cut after the attack.

During the promo, Flair talked about how he’d reduced Morton to nothing more than an itty bitty “Ugly Duckling” and that there wasn’t a woman in the United States who’d want to lay down with him now.  The arrogant Flair cut down Morton, saying how he’d thought he was going to be something but that he found out what a cold place the world of professional wrestling could be.  The promo was classic Flair and it was followed by an equally effective promo by Morton.

Morton showed up on Superstation TBS with his left side of his face heavily bandaged.  Morton promised that every dog has his day and Flair would be no exception.  From there, the two would battle across the South as Morton challenged Flair for both revenge and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.  While Morton would get a measure of revenge (and put on some very entertaining matches in the process), he came up short when it came to winning the ten pounds of gold.  Nevertheless, Ric Flair learned the truth of the old adage, don’t judge the fight by the size of the dog in the fight; judge the fight by the size of the fight in the dog.

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