Ric Flair

Ric Flair
Born	February 25 1949 Memphis, Tennessee
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	"Nature Boy" Ric Flair Rick Flair Black Scorpion
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	243 lb (110 kg)
Trained by	Verne Gagne
Debut	December 10 1972

Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee), better known by his ring name "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler currently with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its RAW brand. He has been one of the leading personalities in professional wrestling since the mid 1970s. For much of the run of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) he was considered their flagship wrestler. While he may not have reached the level of fame that Hulk Hogan did, Flair inspired many of today's top professional wrestlers such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels and hosts more. He is recognized by WWE as a 16-time world heavyweight champion, but his actual tally of world championship varies by source. Many credit him with defining the role of the cocky heel in professional wrestling.

AWA/NWA (1972-1986)

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Ric Flair in the NWA.

Ric Flair trained under Verne Gagne in Minnesota and spent his first three years with Gagne's American Wrestling Association Afterwards, he joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliated Jim Crockett Promotions. On the rise as a promising young brawler, he suffered a severe back injury in an October 4 1975 plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina. Doctors told Flair that he would never wrestle again, but Flair would return to active wrestling the next year. The crash did force Flair to change his wrestling style, which led him to create the "Nature Boy" style he would use throughout his career.

Flair won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship five times, then won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time by defeating Dusty Rhodes on September 17 1981. Harley Race won the title from Flair in 1983. Flair regained the title at StarrCade 1983 in Greensboro, North Carolina in a steel cage match. Flair would go on to win the NWA title six more times. As the NWA champion, he defended his belt around the world. Flair lost the title to Race and won it back in the span of three days in New Zealand in March 1984. At the first David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium, Flair was pinned by Kerry Von Erich. Flair regained the title 18 days later in Japan. He then reigned for two years, two months, and two days, losing his title to Dusty Rhodes on July 26, 1986 at The Great American Bash. Flair regained the title two weeks later.

World Championship Wrestling (1986-1991)

By 1986, wrestling promoter Jim Crockett had consolidated the various NWA member promotions he owned into a single entity, running under the banner of the National Wrestling Alliance. Controlling much of the traditional NWA territories in the southeast and midwestern United States, Crockett looked to expand nationally, and built his promotion around Flair as champion. During this time, Flair's bookings as champion were tightly controlled by Crockett, and a custom championship belt was created for Flair.

Flair lost the NWA World Championship in Detroit to Ron Garvin on September 25 1987. Garvin would hold the title for two months before losing to Flair on November 26 1987 at WCW's first pay-per-vew event, StarrCade in Chicago.

In late 1988, booker Dusty Rhodes proposed that Flair lose the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Rick Steiner in a short match at Starrcade '88. Feeling that Rhodes had always conspired to make him look weak as champion, Flair refused, and threatened to leave WCW if Rhodes was not removed as booker. Rhodes was fired for various issues within the company, and former JCP booker George Scott was given his role as booker.

Scott immediately negotiated to bring in Ricky Steamboat for a series of matches. On February 20 1989 in Chicago, Steamboat pinned Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This prompted a series of rematches, where Steamboat was presented as a "family man" (often accompanied by his wife and young son), while Flair opposed him as an immoral, fast-living "ladies man". Following a best-of-three falls match with Steamboat that lasted just short of the sixty-minute time limit (and ended with a disputed finish where Steamboat retained the title) at Clash Of The Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun on April 2 1989, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7 at WrestleWar '89. This match has been cited by many as one of the greatest wrestling matches in history, and was voted 1989's "Match Of The Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Flair was attacked by Terry Funk after the match when Flair refused to grant Funk a title match, telling Funk that he had spent too much time in Hollywood. The attack reached its conclusion when Funk gave Flair a piledriver through a table. Months later, a "recovered" Flair returned to competition in an emotional match against Funk at the Great American Bash. The two continued feuding through the summer, leading to an I Quit Match at Clash Of The Champions IX: New York Knockout. Before the match, Funk stated that he would shake Flair's hand if he lost, a promise he kept when he shouted "Yes, I Quit!" after being in Flair's figure-four leglock.

In July 1990, Flair dropped the title to Sting in what the wrestling world at the time believed was a changing of the guard. Flair wasn't finished winning NWA World Titles, however. He regained the title from Sting on January 11 1991. Prior to this reign, WCW split their recognition of a world heavyweight champion from the NWA, and Flair was subsequently recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion, while still being recognized as NWA World Champion. On March 21, 1991, Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Flair in a controversial match in Tokyo. While the NWA recognized Fujinami as their new champion, WCW did not because Fujinami had backdropped Flair over the top rope in a violation of WCW rules. On May 19, 1991, Flair defeated Fujinami at SuperBrawl in St. Petersburg, Florida to reclaim the NWA title and retain the WCW title. In doing so, he became a nine time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, breaking Harley Race's record.

In the summer of 1991, Flair had a contract dispute with WCW president Jim Herd, who wanted him to take a substantial pay cut. Herd had removed Flair as head booker in February 1990, and wanted to reduce Flair's role in the promotion even further, despite the fact that Flair was still a top draw. According to Flair, Herd also proposed changes in his appearance (i.e. by cutting his hair and wearing a diamond earring) as well as his in-ring name in order to "change with the times", a move that Kevin Sullivan equated with "changing Babe Ruth's (uniform) number" as an example of unnecessarily altering a legend. Flair disagreed with the proposals, and two weeks before the 1991 Great American Bash, Herd fired him. Flair's popularity in WCW would be proven during his absence, as broadcasts were often punctuated by unignorable chants of "We Want Flair!"

World Wrestling Federation (1991-1993)

Flair signed with the WWF in August 1991, and began appearing on television the next month. Initially, he appeared on WWF shows with the "Big Gold Belt", calling himself "The Real World Heavyweight Champion". WCW sued Flair in an attempt to reclaim the belt, but Flair claimed that he owned the belt in lieu of the $25,000 deposit paid by NWA champions upon winning the title, which had not been returned to him when he was fired from WCW. The matter was settled later that year, with Flair's deposit being returned to him along with interest.

Led by his "financial advisor" Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and his "executive consultant" Mr. Perfect, Flair repeatedly issued challenges to WWF notables like Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan, and at the 1992 Royal Rumble, he won the Rumble Match to claim the vacant WWF Championship. Flair drew number three in the Rumble match, and lasted a then-record 59 minutes, last eliminating Sid Justice with help from Hulk Hogan, who had been eliminated by Justice seconds earlier.

After a planned program with Hogan was scrapped due to Hogan's hiatus following the WWF's steroid scandal, Randy Savage challenged Flair for the WWF title at WrestleMania VIII. Flair taunted Savage by claiming that he had a prior relationship with Savage's wife, Elizabeth, and that he had the (non-existent) pictures to prove it. Savage defeated Flair for the title at WrestleMania. In July 1992, as Savage prepared to defend the title against The Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam, Flair and Mr. Perfect sowed distrust between the two by suggesting that they would back one or the other during their match. They actually attacked both Savage and Warrior, injuring Savage's knee sufficiently that Flair exploited it to regain the title in a match on September 1. Due to an inner ear injury that affected his equilibrium, his second reign would be short-lived, as he lost the title to Bret Hart on October 12.

Flair teamed with Razor Ramon to take on Savage and Perfect at the 1992 Survivor Series and appeared in the 1993 Royal Rumble. After losing a Loser Leaves Town Match to Mr. Perfect on an episode of Monday Night Raw, Flair returned to WCW. On the Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD, Flair described his first stint with the WWF as "the greatest year and a half of my career, outside the time I spent with Arn and the Four Horsemen".

World Championship Wrestling (1993-2001)

Flair returned to WCW in February 1993, and hosted a short-lived talk show in WCW called A Flair For The Gold as a compromise to work around a no-compete clause in his previous WWF contract, since he could appear on television but not wrestle. Arn Anderson usually appeared at the bar on the show's set, and Flair's maid Fifi (portrayed by WCW front office employee Sharon Sidello) cleaned or bore gifts. Flair briefly held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a tenth time before WCW finally left the NWA in September 1993.

WCW planned to have Sid Vicious win the WCW World title at StarrCade 1993, but Sid was fired after a violent real-life altercation with Arn Anderson in London. Flair was placed in the match, which was held in his adopted hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. The match was billed that if Flair lost, he would retire from wrestling. The match, which was one of Eric Bischoff's first opportunities to impress WCW management, would end with Flair using a chop block and roll-up on the gigantic Vader to win the title. In June 1994, Flair defeated Sting in a unification match, merging the WCW International Championship with the WCW World Championship.

Flair later feuded with Hulk Hogan upon Hogan's arrival in WCW in June 1994, losing the WCW World Championship to him in July. Flair lost a retirement match to Hogan at Halloween Havoc 1994. Flair took a few months off before returning as a wrestler and part-time manager in 1995. He and Randy Savage renewed hostilities when Savage arrived in WCW late in 1994, and their feud continued off-and-on for almost two years with each wrestler winning the WCW World Championship from each other at different times. Flair assaulted Savage's father Angelo Poffo, defeated Savage in a steel cage at SuperBrawl VI to win the WCW World title, and took a large amount of his money when Savage was betrayed by Elizabeth. Flair even defeated Konnan on July 7 1996 at Bash at The Beach to win the United States Championship. He vacated it in November of that year due to an injury.

In April 1998, Flair became embroiled in a dispute with WCW president Eric Bischoff when he failed to appear at a televised event. Bischoff had placed Flair on the show only three days prior, and Flair had earlier requested time off on the same night to see his son Reid wrestle in a Greco-Roman wrestling tournament. Bischoff filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Flair, and kept him off television for over 5 months. He returned on September 14 1998 to reform the Four Horsemen (along with Steve "Mongo" McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit) in Greenville, South Carolina. During his return speech, Flair would shoot on Bischoff, saying that Bischoff didn't care about the fans and kept shouting the words "abuse of power". Flair feuded with Bischoff for several months afterward, eventually winning the "Presidency of WCW" from Bischoff. He used his power to make a WCW title match with Hulk Hogan at 1999's Uncensored, which he won. However, during this time, WCW gave Flair an unusual gimmick that played on Flair's tendency to ramble incoherently during his interviews, with the explanation that Flair was going insane and that his reign as "President of WCW" really meant that he was, in his own mind, the President of the United States of America. Flair would be sent to a mental institution and his status as WCW President was dissolved, although Flair would return later with the gimmick seemingly scrapped. Flair would win the WCW World Championship twice during 2000, WCW's last full year of operation.

When WCW was purchased by the WWF in March 2001, Flair was the leader of the heel group called the Magnificent Seven. Flair lost the final match in Nitro history to Sting on March 26 2001. Following the loss, he did not wrestle at all for the rest of the year, although he did receive offers to wrestle on the independent circuit.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001-present)

After a long hiatus from pro wrestling, Flair returned to the WWF in November 2001 as the on-camera co-owner of the company. Flair reappeared on Monday Night RAW following the end of the "WCW/ECW Invasion" that culminated in a "Winner Take All" match at Survivor Series 2001 won by the WWF. Flair's new on-screen role was that of the co-owner of the WWF, with the explanation that Shane and Stephanie McMahon had sold him their stock in the company prior to purchasing WCW and ECW. The "co-owner" angle would culminate in early 2002, when the WWF was split into competing "brands", with Flair taking control of the "RAW" brand, while Vince controlled "SmackDown!". After Steve Austin abruptly left the WWE, while in a program with Flair, a match was hotshotted between Flair and Vince for sole ownership of the WWE, which McMahon won.

Flair would later turn heel (then face, then heel again) over the next two years, before joining Triple H's "Evolution" stable. Flair won the World Tag Team Championship with Batista twice in 2003-04. At the 2005 WWE Unforgiven event, Flair defeated Carlito for Carlito’s Intercontinental Championship, a belt Flair had never won. With the win, he became the fourteenth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history (Intercontinental, Tag Team, and World Titles,) as well as the first man to win the Intercontinental Title after a reign as WWE Champion since Chris Jericho (in 2004). On February 20 2006, Flair lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin. Flair took some time off in mid-2006 to rest and marry for the third time, and returned in June to work a program with Mick Foley that has played off their legitimate past animosity.

Legacy

Despite his age and his less-than-chiseled physique, and even though he is long past his prime as a "main-eventer", Flair is still able to step in the ring and make younger wrestlers look good. Flair became over with the crowd, often due to his in-ring antics, including cheating ways (earning him the distinction of being "the dirtiest player in the game"), his trademark strut and his shouting of "Woooooo!". While his charisma has never been in question, Flair's moveset has become very limited in recent years, mainly punches, chops, and various devious manuevers. Some exceptions where he has stepped outside this small package of moves include a Monday night contest against Kurt Angle in July 2005, an intercontinental championship match at Unforgiven 2005, and a Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania 22.

In a tradition started by the vocal fans of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during a time when the WCW management was thought to be unjustly holding Flair down, anytime a wrestler delivers a hard back hand chop to the chest of his opponent, fans yell "Woooooo!" in tribute to Flair, whose stiff chops often made his opponent's chest raw or even bloody. This tradition long outlived any controversy it was meant to protest and has carried over to WWE and almost all other North American promotions. The chant has since become a tribute to Flair instead of the original connotation of being a mockery of Flair.

Since the late 1970s, he has worn ornate, fur lined robes of many colors with sequins, and since the early 80s, his approach to the ring was usually heralded by the playing of the "Dawn" section of Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra (famous for being used in the motion picture 2001: A Space Odyssey). The look and sound complements his cocky in-ring persona.

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The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD.

Late in 2003, WWE released a three-DVD retrospective of Flair's career (focusing mainly on his career prior to 1993), The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection. It became WWE's fastest-selling video package up to that time.

On May 19 2003, Flair lost his World Heavyweight Championship match to Triple H. After Raw went off the air, most of the people who were backstage came out to honor Flair, including Vince, Shane, and Stephanie McMahon. Triple H then appeared, and after a stare down, he placed the World Heavyweight Championship belt on Flair's shoulder and embraced him. Flair then gave a speech thanking everyone for the tribute.

Flair released his autobiography, To Be the Man, in July 2004. The title is taken from one of his catchphrases, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man!" Flair is an icon in the Carolinas on a par with Michael Jordan and Richard Petty, and he has made the Charlotte area his home since the days of the Crockett promotion.

WWE promotes Flair as a 16-time world heavyweight champion, but many records show that he has held more. Although some controversy still surrounds this, Ric Flair still holds the record of the most world heavyweight championships held by an individual in professional wrestling.

Controversy

Bret Hart

In 2004, Flair engaged in an off-screen rivalry with Bret Hart, in which both claimed to be the best wrestler of all time and accused each other of performing the same routines in most of their matches. In Flair's autobiography, Flair criticizes Hart over exploiting the death of his brother, Owen Hart and the controversy surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. Hart responded that Flair had spent the majority of his career in the NWA/WCW which he stated "is and always has been second rate to the WWF".

Shane Douglas

Flair has had a long running feud with "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. Douglas accused Flair of sabotaging his push in the NWA/WCW after getting a solid push and a rub from both his tag team partner Ricky Steamboat and Flair. Flair, in turn, would respond that Douglas was always the guy that would blame his shortcomings on others. He called Douglas out as well as accused him of steroid abuse during a broadcast of the Internet radio show WCW Live! in which he said that he would meet him anytime and anywhere if he "took the needle out of his ass". They were able to come to a working relationship during Douglas' last stint with WCW, but there is still no love lost between the two men.

Mick Foley

Flair has also had issues with Mick Foley, whom he attacked in his autobiography, writing "I don't care how many thumbtacks Mick Foley has fallen on, how many ladders he's fallen off, how many continents he's supposedly bled on, he'll always be known as a glorified stuntman." He also took shots at Foley's physique.

This was in response to what Foley said about Flair in his autobiography Have a Nice Day!: "Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it." This was in reference to how poorly Foley thought he was booked during his WCW career when Flair was on the booking committee.

The bad blood between Flair and Foley continued when backstage during the production of WWE Raw, Flair extended his hand to Foley to let bygones be bygones. Foley responded in kind, saying that he wouldn't shake his hand, but wanted Flair to sign a copy of his book ,To Be the Man, for charity, which further angered Flair. It should be noted that in More than Just Hardcore, Terry Funk's memoir of his life in the ring for several promotions, that he strongly disagreed with Flair's perspective, citing Foley's years of developing his craft and his commitment to selling his opponent's moves no matter how importantly placed Foley was in any promotion's roster, significant because of Funk's impeccable credentials as a wrestler and legitimately tough guy who does not hesitate to "put over" his opponents.

In 2004, on a tour of the UK to promote the upcoming WWE Backlash pay-per-view, Flair was involved in a radio interview in which he bashed Mick Foley and his abilities. This move was widely criticized by the British wrestling press as Foley had a match with Flair's associate Randy Orton at Backlash and many felt that he should have built up the match more.

In 2006, the two men would get involved in an on-screen feud on WWE television regarding their past, despite the fact that Foley has stated on his blog on WWE.com that the two have come to an understanding in real life and are on good terms with each other now.

Hulk Hogan

Many have debated as to whether Hogan or Flair is the greatest professional wrestler of all-time. Many point to Hogan's ability to draw sell-out crowds throughout his career, but they also point out to the fact that he had little actual wrestling ability. Flair, on the other hand, was the NWA's flagship to the WWF's Hogan, and that he actually was considered one of, if not the, best catch wrestlers of his era. He won Match of the Year honors versus Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat based on actual wrestling, whereas Hogan won Match of the Year honors against Andre the Giant, The Ultimate Warrior, and (with Mr. T) Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff based on hype and atmosphere.

In Flair's autobiography, Flair was enraged after an angle that involved both men. While Flair was held back by members of the nWo, Hogan would attack his son, David Flair. However, Hogan legitimately injured him as he nailed David with several very stiff shots with his trademark weightlifting belt even though it was agreed Hogan would not hit him more than 2-3 times.

1998

In 1998, Flair was sued by WCW for no-showing an event. Flair had been working without a contract since February of that year and had refused to sign a new one, citing differences between the document and the terms he had previously agreed to work under. Thinking that he wasn't needed for any WCW television tapings at the time, Flair did not show up at the April 9, 1998 WCW Thunder taping. He instead watched his son Reid's amateur wrestling tournament. That night, WCW's booking committee decided to reform the Four Horsemen, and announcers repeatedly stated that he would be on the show with a "big surprise." When Flair failed to show up, WCW management (led by Eric Bischoff) filed a $2 million lawsuit against him for damages, saying he signed a letter of intent to re-sign with WCW. He later filed a suit of his own in response, but the matter was settled out of court. Ric Flair returned to WCW television in September 1998.

2002

On May 5 2002, a number of WWE wrestlers and management members flew from Great Britain to the United States following the end of a European tour, which concluded with the Insurrextion pay-per-view event in the United Kingdom. World Wrestling Entertainment was hit with a sexual harassment suit by Sportjet flight attendants stemming from the alleged actions of Ric Flair, Dustin Runnels, and Scott Hall among others. The lawsuit alleged that Flair, wearing only his robe, flashed everyone and forced an attendant to touch his "Little Nature Boy".

2003

On March 17 2003, Flair confronted Eric Bischoff about Bischoff's poor treatment of him while they were in WCW and angrily challenged him to a fight while in Bischoff's office before an episode of RAW. The altercation was broken up by backstage officials who then told Vince McMahon about the incident. McMahon was not happy with Flair's conduct and told him that it was unprofessional. For his part, Bischoff has tried multiple times to apologize to Flair for the past, but Flair has refused to forgive him, saying in his autobiography "He knows I'll never forgive him".

Personal information

Flair does not know his full birth name. In the opening chapter of his autobiography To Be the Man, titled "Black Market Baby," he notes that his birth name is given on different documents as Fred Phillips, Fred Demaree, and Fred Stewart. The chapter title is a reference to the fact that the Tennessee Children's Home Society, the agency with which he was placed for adoption, was revealed in 1950 to have fraudulently induced thousands of mothers to give up their children for adoption. The future Ric Flair was adopted when he was six weeks old by a physician (father) and a theater writer (mother). At the time of his adoption, his father was completing a residency in gynecology in Detroit. Shortly afterwards, the family settled in Edina, Minnesota, where the young Richard Fliehr lived throughout his childhood. He later attended Wayland Academy, a coeducational boarding school in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

The pilot of the private aircraft (a Cessna 310) involved in Flair's 1975 plane crash languished in a coma for a year before dying. It was discovered after the accident that the pilot was flying on a suspended license. Flair later sued the pilot's estate for damages and won.

Because of the injuries suffered in the plane crash, Flair is rarely observed bumping flat on his back, as the vast majority of wrestling performers are trained to do.

Flair is sometimes seen attending the Carolina Hurricanes NHL ice hockey games at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. At home games when the Hurricanes score a goal, a short video appears on the arena's Jumbotron monitors, with Ric Flair saying: "That's a Carolina Hurricanes Goal! Wooo! Wooo Wooo!"

Flair has been active in North Carolina Republican politics, supporting Jesse Helms. He has recently expressed an interest in running for the position of Governor of North Carolina, although he previously stated in his autobiography that his sordid past would preclude any involvement in politics.

Flair has appeared in three motion pictures: The Wrestler (1974), Body Slam (1987), and Sting: Moment of Truth (2004).

Flair's son David is also a professional wrestler. Flair's younger son Reid is an accomplished high school wrestler and made several appearances on WCW television along with his sister Ashley and half-sister Megan.

Flair is not related to the Andersons, though he was billed as their cousin in the various NWA territories and WCW.

In May 2005, Flair's second wife Beth filed for divorce, citing alleged steroid use and alcohol abuse, in addition to incidents where he allegedly slapped, kicked, choked, and bit her. Flair contends that he and his wife lived well beyond their means and racked up substantial debt to the IRS and other creditors. Flair owed the government more than $1 million in 1997, and the IRS garnished more than $200,000 of his salary in 2005 to cover the owed taxes.

In December 2005, a magistrate issued arrest warrants for Flair after a road rage incident that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which Flair allegedly got out of his car, grabbed a motorist by the neck, and kicked the door of the motorist's sport utility vehicle. Flair was charged with injury to personal property and simple assault and battery, both misdemeanors. This incident was ridiculed on WWE programming, most notably by the wrestler Edge. The charges were dropped after the witnesses failed to show for a scheduled court appearance.

Flair was married for the third time to his girlfriend, fitness trainer and model Tiffany VanDemark, on May 27 2006 at Grand Cayman. The wedding was attended by WWE stars Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Gregory Helms, and The Big Show. Before departing on his honeymoon, Flair signed a reported three-year contract extension with WWE.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

• Figure four leg lock
• Backhand chop
• Chop block
• Elbow drop to the knee
• Inverted atomic drop
• Knee drop
• Shin breaker
• Stalling butterfly suplex

Signature illegal moves

• Low blow
• Thumb to the eye
• Testicular claw

Flair's "failing" moves

Flair has gained a measure of notoriety for his inability to successfully execute certain moves without being thwarted.

• His most notable "failing move" involves his repeated failed attempts to execute a move off the top turnbuckle. Whenever Flair scales the top turnbuckle, he is almost inevitably pushed off the top rope to the floor below, knocked off balance so he crotches himself on the turnbuckle, or, most commonly of all, bodily hurled from the top rope to the mat. Recently he has achieved these moves although for most of his professional career he had been unable to achieve these trademark moves. It should be noted that most of the time Flair failed to finish these moves, he was a heel, or facing longtime rival Sting; Flair as a face has hit a knee drop from the top rope multiple times.
  A variation of this is the "Flair Flip," when he goes over the top rope and lands on his feet on the ring apron. He then invariably attempts to run along the apron to a turnbuckle. Almost invariably, he will either be clotheslined by his opponent before reaching the turnbuckle or will make it to the turnbuckle and climb up it, only to suffer the same "fate" (typically to be pushed off, crotched, or thrown down). Flair rarely has done this in recent years.
• The "Flair Flop": Flair, after attempting but failing a strenuous move or because he's "tired," will execute a face-first bump, often followed by a "begging-off" routine, followed by a low-blow or eye poke (maintaining his "dirtiest player in the game" reputation). As a measure of respect, both Triple H and Billy Gunn emulated the "Flair Flop" during their careers (without the begging off and eye poke).

Other Signature Moves

• Throwing an object down (such as a jacket) and subsequently dropping an elbow onto it.

Nicknames

• The Nature Boy
• Slick Ric
• Naitch
• The Dirtiest Player in the Game
• The "Real" World Heavyweight Champion
• The 16 time World Heavyweight Champion (note: this nickname has changed throughout the years according to how many World Championships he had to his credit, and according to most records he is a 22 time World Champion.)
• The Sixty-Minute Man
• The Man
• Wheelin'Dealing, Kiss stealin', Jet Flying, Limousine Ridin', Son of a gun
• Space Mountain (as in 'Space Mountain may be the oldest ride, but it's still got the longest line, Woo!')

Managers

• Debra
• James J. Dillon
• Hiro Matsuda
• Woman
• Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
• Curt Hennig
• Miss Elizabeth
• Jimmy Hart

See also

• List of championships and accomplishments won by Ric Flair

References

• Where Flair got the "Nature Boy" name
• Ric Flair at TheSmokingGun.com
• Ric Flair career bio at Wrestleinfo.com
• A record of Flair's title victories

External links

• WWE Profile
• Ric Flair at IMDb