Ric Flair

Ric Flair
Born	(1949-02-25) February 25, 1949 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Ric Flair The Black Scorpion
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	243 lb (110 kg)
Billed from	Charlotte, North Carolina
Trained by	Verne Gagne Hiro Matsuda
Debut	December 10 1972
Retired	March 30 2008

Richard Morgan Fliehr (pronounced "Fly'-er") (born February 25 1949, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) better known by his ring name, Ric Flair, is a retired American professional wrestler. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair is among the most well known wrestlers in the world, has been one of wrestling's biggest stars since the late 1970s, and is considered by many insiders and fans as the greatest wrestler in history. Flair is recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a 16-time World Champion, although his actual tally of world championship reigns varies by source. In World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he also had two stints as a booker—from 1989-1990 and again in 1994.

According to WWE, Flair is an eight-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Champion, six-time WCW Champion and two-time WWE Champion. He was also the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Early life

Ric Flair was born on February 25 1949. Various places have been given for his birthplace; in his autobiography Flair claims he was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His birth name is not known due to a scandal at the Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis. His adopted parents named him Richard Fliehr.

As a teen, Flair took a job as a lifeguard at a local pool, where he received his first exposure to the wrestling business when he met the legendary Vachon brothers. In both 1966 and 1968, Flair won the state private school wrestling championship; and he was then recruited to the University of Minnesota on a football scholarship, where he played alongside Greg Gagne, the son of Verne Gagne. Flair dropped out of college before receiving his degree, and he then worked as a bouncer at a nearby club, where he met Olympic weightlifter Ken Patera, who was preparing for a ring career at Verne Gagne’s wrestling school. Patera introduced Flair to Verne Gagne, who agreed to take him on as a member of what would be perhaps the single greatest training class in wrestling history (in addition to Ric Flair and Ken Patera, the group also included Greg Gagne, the Iron Sheik and Jim Brunzell).

Career

American Wrestling Association

Under the tutelage of Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson, Fliehr made fast progress; and in 1972, he made his debut, battling George Gadaski to a 10-minute draw while adopting the ring name “Ric Flair.” Then weighing nearly 300 pounds with short brown hair, Flair scarcely resembled his future “Nature Boy” image; but he drew attention with his charismatic personality and ring endurance.

National Wrestling Alliance

In 1974, Flair left the AWA for Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic region in the National Wrestling Alliance; and he soon captured his first title when, on February 8 1975, he beat Paul Jones for the Mid-Atlantic TV Championship. On October 4 1975, however, Flair’s career nearly ended when he was in a serious plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina that took the life of the pilot and paralyzed Johnny Valentine (also on board were “Mr. Wrestling I” Tim Woods, Bob Bruggers, and promoter David Crockett). Flair broke his back in three places; and at age 26, he was told by doctors that he would never wrestle again. Flair conducted a rigorous physical therapy schedule, however, and he returned to the ring just six months later, where he resumed his now-legendary feud with Wahoo McDaniel in February 1976. The crash did force Flair to change his wrestling technique away from the power brawling style he had used early on, which led him to adopt the "Nature Boy" style he would use throughout his career.

Groomed by Jim Crockett Jr. as his future top star, Ric Flair won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Bobo Brazil on July 29 1977; and during the next three years, he held five reigns as U.S. Champion while feuding with Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Mr. Wrestling II, Jimmy Snuka, and Greg Valentine (with whom he also formed a championship tag team). Flair, however, reached elite status when he began referring to himself as “the Nature Boy,” which incited a notorious 1978 feud with the original “Nature Boy,” Buddy Rogers, who put Flair over in a now-famous encounter.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1981–1986)

Then on September 17 1981, Flair reached the top of the mountain when he beat Dusty Rhodes for his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In the following years, Flair eventually established himself as the promotion’s main franchise in the midst of emerging competition from Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation. With his outlandish wit and entertaining interview style, Flair embodied the role of the World Champion- sporting bleached blond hair, elegant jewelry, designer suits, and elaborate custom robes while dishing out his trademark chops and feared Figure Four Leglock. All the while, Flair taunted his opponents with his famous “Wooo!” shout while boasting and said many famous quotes like “To be 'The Man,' you gotta beat the man!" and "and whether you like it or not, learn to love it, ‘cause it’s the best thing going today!”

In 1982, Jack Veneno and Flair had a series of matches. Veneno defeated Flair for the World Title, but the NWA did not recognize this change. Flair also wrestled matches with Ricky Steamboat throughout the year.

Harley Race won the title from Flair in 1983, but Flair regained the title at Starrcade 1983 in Greensboro, North Carolina in a Steel Cage match; afterwards, Race and Flair fought in many different matches in early 1984.

Flair won the NWA title, officially, seven 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 eighteen days later in Japan.

He then reigned for two years, two months, and two days, losing his title to Dusty Rhodes on July 26 at The Great American Bash 1986; Dusty had been a notable foe in Flair's career, and both men began a famous feud with one another after Flair helped break Dusty's leg on September 29 1985. Flair regained the title two weeks later. Flair defended his titles against opponents like Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Kerry Von Erich, Jay Youngblood, Sting, Jimmy Garvin, Magnum T.A., and Dusty Rhodes throughout his career, as well.

The Four Horsemen

Main article: Four Horsemen

In the spring of 1985, the tag team of Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson began aiding Ric Flair (whom they claimed as a “cousin”) in attacks against Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and Sam Houston. A few weeks later, the Andersons interrupted Houston’s match against Tully Blanchard, and the three heels combined to rough up the youngster while sending a message to the rest of the NWA. Shortly thereafter, Flair, Blanchard, and the Andersons formalized their alliance, calling themselves the Four Horsemen, with Blanchard’s manager J.J. Dillon also coming on board. Upon the group’s inception, it was clear that the Horsemen were unlike any heel faction that had ever existed. The four rule breakers immediately used their strength in numbers to decimate the NWA’s top fan favorites while controlling the majority of the championship titles; and over the years, there would be various incarnations of the group, including Lex Luger, Barry Windham, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, and even Sting.

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.

In 1987, Flair and Barry Windham had a series of matches for the NWA World Championship. Flair defeated Windham at the Crockett Cup tournament and they fought to a time limit draw in January. Flair lost the NWA World Championship due to his flamboyant ways in Detroit to Ron Garvin on September 25 1987. Garvin held the title for two months before losing to Flair on November 26 1987 at WCW's first pay-per-vew event, Starrcade, in Chicago, Illinois.

In early 1988, rising star Sting had challenged Flair to a match at the first ever Clash of Champions. Flair accepted, and fought Sting to a 45 minute time-limit. The match is known as the match that made Sting a huge star in the NWA. 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 when no agreement could be met regarding the finish to the scheduled main event between him and Lex Luger. 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 a booker.

Scott immediately negotiated to bring in Ricky Steamboat for a series of matches. On February 20, 1989, at Chi-Town Rumble 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, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7 at Wrestle War '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 (serving as a judge for the match, as per its stipulations) after the match when Flair refused to grant Funk a title match, telling Funk that he had spent too much time in Hollywood and out of wrestling, and was not a listed title contender. The attack reached its conclusion when Funk gave Flair a piledriver onto the judges' 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 and eventually Flair reformed the Four Horsemen, with the surprise addition of longtime rival Sting, to combat Funk's J-Tex Corporation. This led 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. Flair then kicked Sting out of the Horsemen upon his challenge for the NWA Championship, resulting in a revived feud between the two which had to be delayed due to Sting injuring his knee, forcing WCW to slot Lex Luger as Flair's main challenger until Sting returned. On July 7 1990, Flair dropped the title to Sting at the Great American Bash.

After being unmasked as the Black Scorpion at Starrcade 1990, Flair regained the title from Sting on January 11, 1991, in front of a near empty house due to the blizzard conditions in the New York City area. 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 an eight 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 shaving his hair, wearing a diamond earring and going by the name "Spartacus") as well as his in-ring name in order to "change with the times," a move that Kevin Sullivan equated with "changing Mickey Mantle'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 was proven during his absence, as broadcasts were often punctuated by unignorable chants of "We Want Flair!" While Flair had left for the WWF he was still recognized as the WCW World Champion until July 1 1991, when the title was officially vacated. Though, the NWA does not recognize this entire run as a whole as Flair had lost an NWA title bout against Tatsumi Fujinami on March 21 1991 in Japan (in a non-WCW matchup). Flair then regained the NWA title from Fujinami on May 19 1991 on SuperBrawl I (in a title fight according to NWA, but non-title fight according to WCW), but since Fujinami was never recognized by WCW to have beaten Flair before for the Championship title and thus he was never recognized as a WCW Champion, the title was then stripped from Flair on July 1 1991.

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 Heenan and his "executive consultant" Mr. Perfect, Flair repeatedly issued challenges to WWF notables like Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan, wrestling a team led by Piper at Survivor Series 1991 and helping The Undertaker defeat Hogan for his WWF Title that same night.

At the Royal Rumble 1992, 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. In so doing, Flair joined Buddy Rogers as the only men to win the WWF and NWA World Championships in their careers.

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 kayfabe taunted Savage by claiming that he had a prior relationship with Savage's wife, Elizabeth, and that he had the pictures to prove it (which were later revealed to be doctored photos). 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 and injured Savage's knee sufficiently, an injury that Flair exploited to regain the title in a match with Savage 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, 1992.

Flair teamed with Razor Ramon to take on Savage and Perfect at the Survivor Series 1992.

After losing a Loser Leaves The WWF match to Mr. Perfect on an episode of Monday Night Raw,, Flair appeared in the 1993 Royal Rumble (although the match with Perfect had been taped six days prior, it did not air until the following night) and then fulfilled his remaining house show commitments, making his last appearance on February 10, 1993, before returning 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. Arn Anderson usually appeared at the bar on the show's set, and Flair's maid, Fifi (portrayed by Wendy Barlow), 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. After WCW's withdrawal, however, the NWA dropped recognition of Flair's tenth reign, leaving him with nine official NWA World Heavyweight Title reigns.

WCW planned to have Sid Vicious win the WCW World title at Starrcade 1993 in a match against Vader, 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 ended with Flair using a chop block and roll-up on the gigantic Vader to win the title. The match was a huge success and it made Hulk Hogan, who in Flair's book, admitted he cried while watching the match, come to WCW.

In June 1994, Flair defeated Sting in a unification match, merging the WCW International World Heavyweight 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 and took a few months off before returning as a wrestler and part-time manager in 1995 (explained on-air by having Flair nag Hogan for months until Hogan agreed to let Flair come back). 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 defeated Savage in a steel cage at SuperBrawl VI to win the WCW World title, which saw Savage betrayed by Elizabeth in favor of Flair. Flair also defeated Konnan on July 7 at Bash at the Beach 1996 to win the United States Championship. He vacated it in November of that year due to an arm injury.

Flair played a major role in the New World Order storyline in late 1996 and throughout 1997. He and the Horsemen often took the lead in the war against Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan. Flair feuded with Roddy Piper, Syxx, and his old nemesis, Curt Hennig, in 1997 after Hennig was offered a spot in the Four Horsemen only to turn on Flair and the Horsemen at Fall Brawl '97. Hennig punctuated the act by slamming the cage door onto Flair's head.

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. He made a surprise return on September 14 1998 to ceremoniously reform the Four Horsemen (along with Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit). During his return speech, Flair did a shoot on Bischoff, saying that Bischoff did not care about the fans and kept shouting the words "abuse of power" and "Fire me! I'm already fired!" Flair feuded with Bischoff for several months afterward, culminating in a First Blood cage match at Uncensored 1999 against Hulk Hogan where both Bischoff's presidency and Hogan's WCW World Heavyweight Championship were on the line. Despite being the first to bleed, Flair won the match by submission thanks to biased referee Charles Robinson, who counted Hogan out. Robinson would be nicknamed "Lil' Naitch," idolizing Flair and officiating all of Flair's matches in his favor. As on-air "president," Flair began abusing his power much like Bischoff had, favoring heels over faces and even awarding the WCW United States Championship to his son David and resorting to whatever means necessary to keep David U.S. Champion. Flair eventually formed a stable of followers which included Roddy Piper, Arn Anderson, and the Jersey Triad to keep things in order. Flair's reign as president came to an end on the July 19 episode of Nitro, facing Sting for the WCW presidency. During the course of the match, Sting had Flair in his Scorpion Death Lock, but with the referee knocked out no decision could be reached. A returning Eric Bischoff came to the ring and began ordering the timekeeper to ring the bell, which he eventually did, awarding the match and the presidency to Sting (who promptly gave it up upon receiving it).

Flair won 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. During the final episode of Nitro, he gave a speech regarding the company's greatness. Later in the night, Flair lost the final match in Nitro history to Sting on March 26 2001.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

2001–2004

A bloody Flair at WrestleMania X8.

After a hiatus from pro wrestling, Flair returned to the WWF in November 2001 as the on-camera co-owner of the company. Flair reappeared on 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 to a consortium (namely Flair) prior to purchasing WCW and ECW. Flair's feud with Vince McMahon led them to a match at the Royal Rumble 2002 in a Street Fight, where Flair defeated McMahon. That match was Ric Flair's first match since his return to the WWF. Flair also wrestled The Undertaker at WrestleMania X8 in 2002 where Flair lost a bloody brawl. From then, the "co-owner" angle culminated 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 WWE while in a program with Flair, a match was hotshotted between Flair and Vince for sole ownership of WWE, which McMahon won, thanks to interference by Brock Lesnar.

Flair later turned heel (then face, then heel again) over the next two months, before joining Triple H's "Evolution" stable. Flair won the World Tag Team Championship with Batista twice in 2003-04.

2005–2008

At Unforgiven 2005, Flair defeated Carlito for the Intercontinental Championship, becoming the thirteenth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history. He defended the title in a feud with Triple H before losing it to Shelton Benjamin. Flair then took some time off in mid-2006 to rest and marry for the third time; he returned in June to work a program with Mick Foley that played off their legitimate past animosity. Flair defeated Foley at SummerSlam in an "I Quit" match.

Subsequently, he was involved in a rivalry with the Spirit Squad on Raw. On November 5 2006 at Cyber Sunday, he captured the World Tag Team Championship from the Squad with Roddy Piper. On the November 13 edition of Raw, Flair and Piper lost the Tag Titles to Rated-RKO, due to a disc problem with Piper and had to be flown immediately back to the USA as soon as Raw was off the air. On November 26 2006 at Survivor Series, Flair was the sole survivor of a match that featured himself, Ron Simmons (replacing an injured Piper), Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter versus the Spirit Squad. Flair then left television due to his divorce hearings. On the December 11 2006 edition of Raw, Flair returned to team up with DX again. They defeated Rated-RKO and Kenny Dykstra.

Flair became a mentor for Carlito in 2007.

Ric Flair then became a team with Carlito after Flair said that Carlito had no heart. Ric Flair defeated Carlito in a match after which Carlito realized that Flair was right. Flair then became a mentor of Carlito. The two faced off in a Money in the Bank qualifying match which ended in a no contest after The Great Khali attacked both men. Flair and Carlito got a second chance in a Money In the Bank Triple Threat qualifying match against Randy Orton, who won. Flair and Carlito got yet another chance when they both competed in a battle royal for Edge's spot, and Flair appeared to have won the battle royal when Edge, who had faked a knee injury earlier in the match, ran into the ring and eliminated Flair. Flair and Carlito faced off against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a #1 contender's match for the World Tag Team Championship but were defeated. After weeks of conflict between Flair and Carlito, the team split up when Carlito attacked Flair during a match. At Judgment Day, Ric Flair defeated Carlito with the Figure four leglock. His career was put at risk following a match with Randy Orton on June 4 2007.

On the June 11 edition of Raw, Flair was drafted from Raw to SmackDown! as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. He briefly feuded against Montel Vontavious Porter and rejoined forces with Batista to feud with The Great Khali.

After a three month absence, Flair returned to WWE programming on the November 26 edition of Raw to announce that he would "never retire." Mr. McMahon retaliated by announcing that the next match Flair lost would result in a forced retirement. Later in the night, Flair defeated Orton after a distraction by Chris Jericho. It was revealed on the 15th anniversary of Raw that the win or retire ultimatum only applied in singles matches. Since then, Flair had won many "career threatening" matches, which includes victories over Triple H, Umaga, MVP, Mr. Kennedy, and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

On March 29 2008, Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2008 by Triple H. The day after, Flair wrestled his final match at WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, Florida on March 30, 2008, losing to Shawn Michaels after being hit with Sweet Chin Music.

On Raw the next day, Flair delivered his farewell address. Afterwards, Triple H brought out many current and retired superstars to thank Flair for all he has done, including Shawn Michaels, some of the Four Horsemen and even The Undertaker. This event represented a rare moment in the WWE when kayfabe was broken as both the heels and the faces came out to the ring together.

Legacy

"Woooooo!"

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 limited in recent years, mainly punches, chops, back body drops and various devious maneuvers (this is due mainly to his age and years of competition taking a toll on his body). Some exceptions where he has stepped outside this small package of moves include a Monday Night Raw contest against Kurt Angle in June 2005, an Intercontinental Championship match at Unforgiven 2005, and a match with Triple H in December 2007.

In a tradition started by the vocal fans of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and Shane Douglas during a time when the WCW management and Flair was thought to be unjustly holding a large amount of wrestlers down, anytime a wrestler delivered a hard back hand chop to the chest of his opponent, fans yelled "Woooooo!" to mock Flair, whose knife edge chops often made his opponent's chest raw or even bloody. This tradition long outlived any controversy and has carried over to WWE and almost all other North American promotions. The chant has since become a tribute to Flair.

Since the late 1970s, he has worn ornate fur-lined robes of many colors with sequins, and since the early 1980s, 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). Both are signature of the extravagance and grandeur that his trademark character represents.

On May 19 2003, Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a match against Flair. 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!"

On the February 18, 2008 edition of RAW, Shawn Michaels announced Flair as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008. The induction ceremony took place on March 29 2008, with Triple H inducting him. This made him the first person to be inducted while still an active competitor.

On March 24th, 2008, Mayor Bob Coble, of Columbia, SC, declared March 24th to be Ric Flair Day in Columbia. Flair also received the key to the city.

On the March 31st, 2008 edition of Raw, Ric Flair made his farewell speech, which led to Triple H introducing various people from Ric Flair's past, such as The Four Horsemen, Ricky Steamboat, and others who came out to give an emotional farewell. Afterwards, the entire WWE roster came out to say thank you to Flair. The Undertaker also came out off air and bid him farewell, out of respect.

On April 8th, Flair was on the John Boy and Billy radio show and he announced he is currently writing another book.

Real-life feuds

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. Flair also makes mention in his biography that he personally "never saw dollar signs" on Bret Hart in reference to what he claims as Bret being a poor draw in the United States.

Shane Douglas

Flair has had a long running feud with Shane Douglas. Douglas accused Flair of sabotaging his push in the NWA/WCW after getting a solid push and a rub from his tag team partner Ricky Steamboat. Flair, in turn, responded 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.

Mick Foley

Flair has also had issues with Mick Foley. In his 1999 autobiography Have a Nice Day!, Foley said, "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. Flair responded in his autobiography, writing, "I do not 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 will always be known as a glorified stuntman."

In 2006, the two men got involved in an on-screen feud on WWE television regarding their past, despite Foley's statement 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.

In wrestling

Flair and Shawn Michaels delivering Knife edge chops to Mikey

• Finishing and signature moves
  • Figure four leglock
  • Knife edge chop, usually with Flair shouting "Wooooooooo!"
  • Chop block, usually as a setup for the Figure four leglock
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Belly to back
    • Double arm
    • Vertical
  • Elbow drop
  • Inverted atomic drop
  • Running jumping knee drop
  • Shin breaker, usually as a setup for the Figure four leglock
  • Small package rollup

• Signature illegal moves
  • Various roll-ups while holding tights or with his feet on the ropes
  • Thumb to the eye
  • Low blow
  • Eye rake
  • Testicular claw

• Other signatures
  • Shouting "Woooooooo!".
  • His confident strut.
  • Throwing an object down (such as his suit jacket or Mick Foley's autobiography, due to their rivalry) and subsequently dropping an elbow onto it.
  • The "Flair Flop," where after being pummeled (usually in the corner), he will confidently stride out and look to have regained his composure, only to flop flat on his face.
  • Offering to shake his opponent's hand before the match begins. Just before his opponent grabs his hand, he'll pull back, strut, & then say, "Woo!"
  • After being floored to the mat, holds his hands up whilst kneeling down submissively and begs his opponent not to strike him (often yelling "Nooo!" in the process); thus catching them off-guard, and usually then resulting in a low blow or a thumb to the eyes.
  • Being caught and thrown off the top turnbuckle whenever he tries a move from there.
  • Being thrown towards the turnbuckle, flipping over the top rope and landing on the apron, followed by one of two things: 1. Flair runs along the apron to the next available corner, climbs to the top rope where, almost always, he will be grabbed by his opponent and body slammed back into the ring; or 2. Flair runs along the apron towards the next corner, but is clotheslined (either by his opponent or an opposing partner in a tag match) before he gets to the corner.

• Nicknames
  • "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
  • Naitch (Short for "Nature Boy")
  • The Dirtiest Player in the Game
  • The Man
  • Limousine ridin', jet flying, kiss stealin', wheelin' dealing, son of a gun
  • Space Mountain
  • The Sixty-Minute Man - In reference to the numerous times he wrestled to the sixty minute time limit common to World Title matches during his heyday.

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

• Wrestlers managed
  • David Flair
  • Triple H
  • Batista
  • Randy Orton
  • Carlito

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Central States Wrestling
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling | Jim Crockett Promotions | World Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
  • NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Rip Hawk (1), Greg Valentine (1) and Big John Studd (1)
  • NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Television Championship (1 time)
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (4 times)¹
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)²
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (3 times) - with Greg Valentine (2) and Blackjack Mulligan (1)
  • WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)³ (Last)
  • WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • WCW World Heavyweight Championship (7 times) (First)

• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)⁴

• St. Louis Wrestling Club
  • NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • WWF Championship (2 times)
  • World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Batista (2) and Roddy Piper (1)
  • WWF Royal Rumble (1992)
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)
  • Triple Crown Championship (13th)

• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
  • (Class of 2005)

• St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame
  • (Class of 2007)

¹Flair did win the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Championships five times and the five reigns were recognized even after World Championship Wrestling took control over the championship and renamed it the WCW United States Championship in 1991. After WCW's purchase by WWE, the lineage of the championships were kept and used to give the WWE United States Championship a prestigious history. However, WWE does not recognize some of the reigns of some wrestlers when the title was still the Mid-Atlantic NWA United States Championship. As of now, only four of Flair's five reigns with the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) are officially recognized by WWE.
²His last four reigns with the championship were after Jim Crockett, Jr. sold his promotion to Ted Turner in November of 1988, which became World Championship Wrestling. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended exclusively in WCW until WCW's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1993.
³Title reigns aren't recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment.
⁴He won the title for the third time in Kallang, Singapore. Records are unclear as to which promotion hosted the event.

Personal life

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), Richard Reid Fliehr, and a theater writer (mother), Kathleen Virginia Kinsmiller. 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.

Flair's son David is a semi-retired professional wrestler. Flair's younger son Reid, who signed a developmental contract with WWE near the end of 2007, is an accomplished high school wrestler and made several appearances on WCW television along with his sister Ashley and half-sister Megan.

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 is sometimes seen attending the Carolina Hurricanes NHL ice hockey games at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. When the Hurricanes score, one of a couple of videos appears on the scoreboard. One shows Flair in a Hurricanes jersey saying, "That's another Carolina Hurricanes goal! Woooooo!" Flair is also seen in the open segments of every Carolina Panthers home game. He ends his segment with his trademark "Woooooo" in which the crowd usually imitates. Flair is also a big fan of the South Carolina Gamecocks, and has appeared in the pregame video for the Gamecocks.

Flair has appeared in several motion pictures including: The Wrestler (1974) and Sting: Moment of Truth (2004).

Flair became a grandfather in 2004 when his eldest daughter, Megan Fliehr-Ketzner, gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Morgan Lee Ketzner on May 9.

On May 27 2006, Ric married his third wife, fitness competitor Tiffany VanDemark.

In September 2007, Flair opened a financial business called Ric Flair Finance.

Politics

Flair has long supported Republican political candidates in North Carolina politics. In 2000, Flair explored the possibility of running for Governor of North Carolina, but never filed the papers.

In the 2008 presidential race, Ric Flair declared his support for the Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. He said of Huckabee, "[Huckabee] is a quality person, self-made, a great family man and he has a great vision for our country. And I'm here to excite the crowd."

References

• Flair, Ric (2005). Ric Flair: To Be the Man. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0743491815. OCLC 60523429. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. ISBN 0061031011.
• Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen. Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2007. OCLC 144971907.
• 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
• Ric Flair Finance

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