Flair's Background
Richard Fliehr was born in Memphis, Tennessee on February 25, 1949. He moved to Edina, Minnesota, grew up there and went on to play offensive guard in college at Minnesota.
Ric Flair debuted in professional wrestling in the AWA in 1972, after being trained by the legendary Verne Gagne. After about 2 years in the AWA, Flair left for the NWA. In 1975, Flair and a few other wrestlers were in a plane crash somewhere in North Carolina. Flair's back was broken in the crash, but he returned to the ring the next year.
Early NWA Years
Flair's first title in the NWA was the U.S. Heavyweight Title. He won it from Bobo Brazil in September of 1977. He lost the U.S. Title later that that year, but then teamed up with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles. They beat Ole and Gene Anderson in November of 1977 for the titles. They were stripped of the titles early in 1978. In May of that same year, Flair defeated Mr. Wrestling to capture the U.S. Title for a second time. On December 18, 1978 Ricky Steamboat won the U.S. Title from Flair in Toronto, but Flair won it back from Steamboat on April 1, 1979. Then on August 12, 1979 in Greensboro, NC, Flair recaptured the World Tag Team Titles with Blackjack Mulligan. After they won the titles from Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke, Flair vacated the U.S. Title so he could concentrate on the tag team scene. The very next month, Jones and Von Raschke won the tag titles back from Flair and Mulligan. This would be the last time "The Nature Boy" held a tag team title.
Now, with Flair concentrating mainly on singles competition, he won the U.S. Heavyweight Title for the fourth time. He defeated Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka on April 19, 1980 in Greensboro, NC to begin this title reign. On July 26, in Charlotte, NC, Flair lost the title to Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, but regained it from his former partner on November 24 in Greeneville, SC. On January 27, in Raleigh, NC, Rowdy Roddy Piper put an end to Ric's fifth U.S. Title reign.
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship
On September 17, 1981 history was made. Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes in Kansas City, Missouri to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This was just the beginning of the now famous Flair/Rhodes feud. Dusty was suspended from the NWA in late1982 or early 1983. Then a masked man, known as the Midnight Rider, came onto the scene (who everyone knew was Rhodes). The Midnight Rider won the title from Flair on February 9, 1983. When the President of the NWA told the Midnight Rider to remove the mask, the title was returned to Ric Flair. Then, on June 8, 1982, Harley Race defeated Flair for the World Title in St. Louis, Missouri.
On November 24, 1983, the NWA held the first ever Starrcade in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was here, where Flair won the NWA Title for the second time from Harley Race. During an International tour, on March 21, 1984, Race regained the title in New Zealand. But, just two nights later, Flair won the World Title for a third time by defeating Race in Singapore.
At a show in Irving, Texas, Flair lost the Championship to Kerry Von Erich on May 6, 1984. Just a few weeks later, on May 24, Flair regained the title during their tour of Japan. This time, Flair kept the World Title for over two years. Then, on July 25, 1986, Flair's long time nemesis, Dusty Rhodes, defeated Ric in Greensboro, North Carolina. After holding the title for only 13 days, Rhodes lost the title to Flair on August 7 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Nature Boy's fifth title reign lasted a little over a year. Then on September 25, 1987, Ron Garvin won the title in Detroit, Michigan. It took Flair only two months to regain the title from Garvin. He started his sixth title reign in Chicago, Illinois on November 26, 1987.
After holding the World Title for a little more than a year, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat ended Flair's sixth title reign on February 20, 1989 in the same city where he started it, Chicago, IL. On May 7, at Wrestle War '89, Flair won the title back from Steamboat in Nashville, Tennessee. After this match, Terry Funk attacked The Nature Boy. Flair was out of action for about 6 months, after Funk piledrove him through a time keeper's table. Flair returned to battle Funk and the rest of Gary Hart's stable. Not able to take them on alone, Flair recruited Sting, Ole and Arn Anderson to reform the 4-Horsemen.
The Horsemen battled Hart's men on many occasions, almost always coming out on top. After they had taken care of Hart's stable, the NWA Championship Commitee awarded Sting a shot at the World Title. The Horsemen confronted Sting, and told him to refuse the title shot or leavethe Horsemen. When he refused, and demanded the match, the Horsemen warned him to watch his back. Soon there after, Sting was sneak attacked in the locker rooms and had a seriously damaged knee. When Sting returned to the ring, at the 1990 Great American Bash (July 7), he won the World Heavyweight Championship in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Formation of World Championship Wrestling
On January 11, 1991, Ric Flair defeated Sting to win the World Title for the eighth time. This wrestling organization the left the NWA and formed World Championship Wrestling. Flair was then recognized as the first WCW Heavyweight Champion of the World, taking place of his NWA World Title. While touring Japan, Flair lost to Tatsumi Fujinami on March 21 in controversial fashion. The decision was later reversed and the WCW Title returned to Flair, but World Championship Wrestling recognized Fujinami as the NWA champion. On May 19, 1991, Flair won the NWA Title for the ninth time by defeating Fujinami in St. Petersburg, Florida. After a conflict with Virgil Runnels (who we know as Dusty Rhodes), the top booker for WCW at that time, Flair signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation in mid-1991. After doing this, he was stripped of both the WCW and the NWA World Titles. This was the first time the NWA Title had ever been vacant.
The World Wrestling Federation Title
Flair entered the WWF, taking his World belt with him (he owned it at the time), proclaiming himself to be the real World Heavyweight Champion. He took on Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as his executive consultant and Mr. Perfect as his trainer. Eventually, Flair sold his belt back to WCW. After a couple of controversial WWF Title changes between the Undertaker and Hulk Hogan, the President of the WWF declared the title vacant and announced that the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble would be the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
The Royal Rumble was held in Albany, New York on January 19, 1992. After drawing number three, Flair proved why he has been called "the 60-minute man". Flair outlasted the other 29 WWF superstars (eliminating the British Bulldog, Big Boss Man, Randy Savage & Sid Justice) to win the Royal Rumble and the WWF World Title for the first time. He was in the ring for just over an hour, setting the record for the longest time in the ring in a Royal Rumble. He held the title until April 5 that same year, when he lost to "Macho Man" Randy Savage in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In Hershey, PA, Flair won the title back from Savage on September 1, 1992 with a little help from newcomer Razor Ramon. He held the title for just over a month, when Bret "The Hitman" Hart defeated him on October 12. After this, Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair had a dispute and split up. Flair and his new discovery, Razor Ramon, had a series of matches with Mr. Perfect and Savage. This feud eventually led to a loser leaves WWF match between Flair and Perfect. Flair lost this match and made his way back to World Championship Wrestling.
Flair returns to WCW
When Flair returned to World Championship Wrestling, Barry Windham, former partner in the 4-Horsemen, held the NWA Title and Big Van Vader was the WCW champion. Flair first went after the title which he had held nine times before, the NWA World Title. He won it from Barry Windham in Biloxi, Mississippi on July 18, 1993 for his tenth and final NWA title reign. He then lost it to Rick Rude in Houston, Texas on September 19 of that same year. In September of 1993, the NWA Title became known as WCW International World Title. Flair had several rematches with Rude, but was never able to beat him for the title due to disqualification finishes.
Ric Flair then got into a feud with Big Van Vader, which led to their big match at Starrcade 1993. Flair put his career on the line against Vader's World Title. On December 27, in front of his hometown audience, Flair defeated Vader to win the WCW Title for the second time. Then on June 23, 1994, "The Nature Boy" beat Sting for the WCW International World Title in Charleston, South Carolina. This was the first time Flair won the International World Title, but this match unified the two titles into the World Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title. Flair kept the WCW Title until he was defeated by Hulk Hogan on July 17, 1994 in Orlando, Florida.
Flair and Hogan had a series of matches, leading to Flair putting his career on the line for a shot at the World Title. Hogan defeated Flair in this very controversial match. Flair reappeared on the scene, managing Vader during his feud with Hogan early in 1995. Because of Flair's constant interference in Hogan's matches, he asked the WCW Executive Commitee to reinstate Flair as an active wrestler.
After Vader was defeated by Hogan at the Bash at the Beach '95, Flair came into the ring and verbally attacked Vader. Arn Anderson, Ric's long time friend, came to Flair's aid when Vader started to attack. This led to a handicap match at the Clash of the Champions - Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Vader. Vader defeated Flair/Anderson, getting the pin on Arn. Flair was furious that they had lost and verbally attacked his best friend.
The New 4-Horsemen
Over the next few months we were brought to believe that Flair and Anderson's longtime friendship had come to an abrupt end. At Fall Brawl '95, we saw the first match between "The Nature Boy" and "The Enforcer". This match was a see-saw battle. When it appeared that Flair was about to apply the figure-four. Brian Pillman came to the ringside area and jumped on the apron. Flair went over and punched Pillman. Brian retaliated by kicking Flair in the head with his cowboy boot, setting up Flair for the DDT. Over the next month, Flair begged Sting to be his partner against Anderson and Pillman. After figting them alone, Sting saw that Flair was a man of his word. The match was signed for Halloween Havoc.
Early that evening, Flair was supposedly attacked by Arn and Brian. When it came time for the match, Sting came to the ring alone. Sting controlled the beginning of the match but, as time went on, Anderson and Pillman took control. Then the croud erupted as "The Nature Boy" came running down the aisle in his street clothes, with his head bandaged. When Sting was able to get to his corner and make the tag, Flair entered the ring, ran off of the ropes and nailed his partner. They triple-teamed Sting and left him lying in the ring. On their way back to the locker rooms they did an interview with Mean Gene, stating that the Horsemen were back!
The Road Back to the Title
At Starrcade 1995, in Nashville, Tennessee, the WCW Championship Commitee decided to have a triangle match of the top contenders (the winner getting a title shot immediately after). The match was set...the winner of Sting vs. Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair would receive the shot at Randy Savage's World Title. Flair started the match against Sting, then battled against Luger. Then trapped between Sting and Luger, Flair tagged in Sting to fight his best friend. Nearing the end of the match, Luger got Sting in the Human Torture Rack. When Lex lifted Sting, the ref was hit and knocked out. Flair came into the ring, clipping the knee of Luger from behind, knocking his opponents out onto the floor. Flair helped the referee up and he gave them the ten-count.
Jimmy Hart came down to ringside and offered to be in Flair's corner during the World Title match. Flair accepted. Flair and Savage battled back and forth, until the Macho Man got Jimmy Hart's megaphone. He nailed Flair on the head and climbed the ropes. He nailed a bloody Ric Flair with the flying elbow. As Jimmy Hart distracted the referee, Pillman, Chris Benoit (the newest member of the Horsemen), and Anderson entered the ring. "Double A" nailed Savage with a foreign object, and layed Flair on top for the pin. Flair was now the WCW Heavyweight Champion of the World for the third time.
At the January, 1996 Clash of the Champions, Hogan and Savage surprised everyone with the appearance of Woman and Miss Elizabeth. Woman turned on them that night, another set up by the Horsemen. On the January 22 edition of Monday Nitro, Savage won the World Title back from Flair in Las Vegas, NV. A rematch was scheduled for Superbrawl VI, in St. Petersburg, Florida, in a steel cage. Flair came to the ring with Woman, and Savage with Elizabeth. Late in the match, Woman had Savage and the referee distracted at one side of the cage. Flair walks over to the door, to Miss Elizabeth, who gives him her high-heel shoe. Flair nails Savage and gets the pin. He leaves the ring with the World Title, Woman, and Elizabeth. Flair's fourth title reign lasted until April 22, 1996, when the Giant defeated him on Monday Nitro in Albany, Georgia.
1996 to Flair's Disappearance (early 1998)
On Monday Nitro, Ric Flair taunted and flirted with Deborah McMichael (wife of former Chicago Bear Steve McMichael) for weeks. After this, and verbally attacking McMichael himself on several occasions, McMichael recruited Kevin Greene of the Carolina Panthers to help him battle the 4-Horsemen. The match was set - Flair & Anderson vs. McMichael & Greene.
McMichael & Greene were accompanied to the ring by Randy Savage and their wives. Flair & Anderson were accompanied by Benoit, Elizabeth & Woman (Pillman left WCW after a dispute with booker, Kevin Sullivan). About halfway through the match, Liz and Woman chased Deborah & Greene's wife back to the locker rooms. As Kevin Greene was in the ring getting pummeled by the Horsemen, Liz and Woman came back to the ring along with Deborah McMichael. Deborah was carrying a briefcase which she handed to her husband on the outside of the ring. Steve opened it to find a 4-Horseman T-shirt and it was full of money. About that time Greene was crawling to the corner to get the tag. McMichael looked at his friend, looked at the money, then nailed Greene with the briefcase. Flair got the pin, then the 4-Horsemen pounded on Greene and Savage, and left them lying helpless in the ring.
Soon thereafter, Flair was awarded a shot at the U.S. Heavyweight Title. On July 7, 1996, in Daytona Beach, Florida, Ric Flair defeated Konnan to win the U.S. Title for the sixth time. All of this happened just about the same time that Scott Hall & Kevin Nash started the New World Order. The Horsemen were given the chance to destroy the NWO in the WARGAMES, but Sting & Luger asked to be part of the team so they could help in defeating NWO before it got too strong. Benoit and McMichael agreed to step down and let Sting and Luger be on the team. Then, at Fall Brawl, after Sting came down and entered the ring, he left his three teammates to fight four men. Luger eventually gave up and the Horsemen were cost the win because of Sting & Luger.
Flair held on to the U.S. Title for four months, until he received a shoulder injury while facing Kensuki Sasaki in Japan. In a lame attempt to make the NWO look stronger, Bischoff made it appear that Flair was attacked by the NWO on Monday Nitro. On television, He still claims that the NWO put Flair out of wrestling. Because of this injury, Flair had to vacate the U.S. Title in November of '96.
Flair had surgery to repair his shoulder and has been rehabilitating for the last three months. On the March 10 edition of Monday Nitro, during Piper's interview, the Horsemen came out and confronted Piper. Flair asked Piper to take the Horsemen as his partners at Uncensored and Piper accepted. Now Piper, McMichael, Benoit & Jarrett will be the Independent team in the 12-Man match. After this match, Flair came out on Nitro, saying that Piper dropped the ball. It now appears that instead of getting his deserved shot at Hogan, he will be stuck in a pointless feud with Roddy Piper. Let's hope that WCW thinks on this one and gives Flair a clean win over Hogan before he has to retire.
At Slamboree, in Charlotte, Ric Flair made his return to the ring. He, Roddy Piper & Kevin Greene (of the Carolina Panthers) faced Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & Syxx. In this match, Flair was in his old form. He started the match and dominated while he was in the ring. NWO took control for a few minutes, but Flair/Piper/Greene ended up on top. The match ended by Flair applying the figure-4 on Hall, Piper applied the sleeper on Nash, and Greene powerslammed Syxx. On Nitro the next night, Flair agreed to wrestle Syxx one on one. During the match, the NWO attacked Flair. The Horsemen had been kicked out of the building earlier that night, so Flair was left helpless. After the beating, Nash said he wouldn't rest until he put Flair and Piper out of wrestling. The next week on Nitro, Hall and Nash came out and said they wanted to defend the Tag Team Titles against Flair and Piper. This match happened at The Great American Bash. During the match Flair chased Syxx back to the locker room, leaving Piper alone to be defeated by Hall and Nash.
When confronted by Piper on Nitro, Flair told him the decision he made was best for Piper, himself, and the team. The next week, Piper questioned Flair again. This time, it not only brought Flair to the ring, but also Benoit and McMichael. When Mongo and Benoit confronted Piper, The Hot Rod attacked the 2 men, leaving Flair to choose between the Horsemen or his friend. Flair went after Piper, and was knocked down...when he did his famous beg in the corner...keeping Piper distracted long enough for Mongo to nail him with the briefcase. Benoit applied the Crippler Crossface while Flair and Mongo stomped away at Piper's head. As Nitro went to a commercial, the Horsemen were leaving the ring...and Piper was out. After weeks of each member being on their own, this appears to be the rebirth of The Four Horsemen.
Flair comes Back!!
After a long abscence, Ric Flair finally made his presence felt on the Big Show w/ John Boy and Billy on September 11, 1998. he was there to announce that no matter what it took, he would get in the building at Nitro that Mondy night.
Monday night rolled around. James J. Dillon had been spotted earlier in the night wearing a tuxedo...causing some suspicion. In the third hour of Nitro, Dillon comes out and says:
I would like to ask the enforcer Arn Anderson to come to the ring!
"The Enforcer" Arn Anderson made his way down the aisle, appearing to be wearing all black. When he enters the ring, Dillon says:
I had a private conversation with you since you and I last appeared publicly in a ring such as this. And I feel that I owe it...I owe to you, I owe it to all these great fans, and I owe it to myself ... To share with them publicly what I said to you, privately. And that is the fact that I owe you an apology for the things that I said to you. But my intensions were good. I mean't well. Quite frankly, a friend doesn't say to another friend the things I said to you, or put you in the position that I put you into. And for that, I owe you an apology and I hope that you will accept my forgiveness.
Arn takes the microphone, and lets his jacket fall open to reveal he is also dressed in a tux. He says:
Can you smell it, J.J.? Take a breath, can you smell it? When 15,000 people blow a roof off a place, that's what pop smells like. Take a bow! What you said to me is what all those people have been saying to me for a year and a half -- and only a true fan would say that. They said, "Arn Anderson, stand up and be a man -- like you've always been!" And I couldn't hear those words, because something was in the way. And I'm going to start at the beginning, because you have to start at the beginning ... because tonight is a new beginning for The Four Horsemen. And when I was a kid like all kids, people asked you, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There was no gray area for me. Always knew I wanted to be a wrestler. And when that finally happened to me, it was the proudest day of my life. And then in 1986, I started coming to the these towns -- just like Greenville, South Carolina -- as a Horsemen. And my life changed forever. And the doors that opened for me, I had never dreamed of. And wrestling the greatest wrestlers in the world -- in a town like this and all across this country -- showed me who I was. And everyday that I walk up since then, I tried to up-hold the standards, that we -- you and I and the rest of us -- set for ourselves. About a year and a half ago, I layed down on an operating table, and when I woke up, Arn Anderson -- the wrestler -- was dead. And I thought to myself, "How could I be a Horsemen if I couldn't be a wrestler?" Well, the fact is, I questioned my mind. (Crowd starts chanting "We Want Flair") Trust me, everybody is going to get it -- what they want tonight...Bischoff, Eric Bischoff...And when I thought I could no longer be a Horsemen, Chris Benoit came to me first. And he said, "This could all happen." And with that prelude, I would like to bring the other three Horsemen down right now. Steve "Mongo" McMichael, come on down! (Mongo enters the ring) Chris Benoit, come on down! (Benoit enters the ring) Dean Malenko, come on down! (Malenko enters the ring) Now, before we go any further, Chris Benoit, you got this thing rolling, and I'm going to go on record saying, that if there's a finer wrestler in all land than you, I don't know who it is. Your intensity the first time I saw you wrestle, made you something special. You are something special in my eyes. You knew what it was to be a Horsemen. You will carry that tradition way past the year 2000. "Mongo" McMichael, you're a hard-headed. A lot of times, you're hard to be around. But the fact is, in my eyes, you're all man. You're surving all pro. And when this is all and done, if I've got anything to say about it, you will mean to this sport what you meant to the sport of football. Now Dean Malenko, I've been out here yacking for the last 10 years about what it meant to be a Horsemen -- work ethic. Respect for the buisness, respect for each other...respect for the people that came before us. And while I was yacking the last year, and the last couple of months, you were out there fighting for the rights of The Four Horsemen. You exemplify exactly what a Horsemen has always meant -- over-achievement. Being the very best you could be, each and every day of your life, whether you were sick, or hurt, or whatever the case may be. And it makes me proud. Now, and I'm going to say it one more time. I said, that you didn't get it -- well, I didn't get it. Because if there was ever a Horsemen, it makes me a little misty eyed, and real proud to call you this day ...The finest thing I can call you this day -- that's a Horsemen. Ladies and gentleman, for the year 2000, we're going to do exactly what all of you people across this nation have asked us. "Arn Anderson, bring back the Horsemen." And I feel it fair to tell you, I'm not going to be responsible for what happens next. Because, we don't wear white hats. We are not nice guys. And I can tell you this -- heads are going to roll! So, I've said it. Be careful for what you wish for, because now you have it. Oh, what a goof! What a goof! You know, I get accused of getting racked in the head a few times, and have a little touch of alz-heimers. My, God, I almost forgot the fourth Horsemen. Ric Flair, get on down here!
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair makes his way to the ring to thunderous applause. A misty eyed Ric Flair climbs through the ropes, and hugs each member of The Four Horsemen. Arn Says, "Greeneville, I give you the champ."
Flair tries to speak over the applause, but has to wait.
My, God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm almost embarrassed by the response, but when I see this...but when I know I spent 25 years trying to make you happy every night of your life, it was worth every damn minute of it! (Ric pauses and his tears seem to vanish) Now, someone told me the Horsemen were having a party tonight in Greenville! Could that be true? That the most elite group, that Eric Bischoff said was dead, is alive and well? Bischoff, this might be my only shot. But, I got to tell you, I'm going to make it my best. Is this what you call a great moment of TV? That's wrong, because this is real! This is not bought and paid for! It's a real life situation! Just like the night in Columiba, South Carolina, when you looked at me, tears in my eyes, and said, "God, that's good TV." That was real! Arn Anderson passed the torch! It was real, dammit! You think Sting would of been crying in the dressing room, like I was on TV, if it wasn't real? This guy (points to Arn), my best friend, is one of the greatest performers to ever live. And you...you squashed him in one night. Then you get on the phone and tell me, "Disband the Horsemen. They're dead." "Disband the Four Horsemen." You know what? I looked at myself in the mirror the next day, and I saw a pathetic figure that gave up and quit. And for that I owe you, the wrestling fans...I owe these guys...an apology. Because, it won't happen again, where we let Bischoff disband what you think... (Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ringside area) ...(to Eric) You're an overbearing a$$hole. You're obnoxious, overbearing...Abuse of power! You...abuse of power! Cut me off! (Bischoff yells from the aisle) You will never wrestle here again! (Flair yells back) Abuse of power! You suck! I hate your guts! You are a liar, you're a cheat, you're a scam! You are a no good son of a bitch! Fire me! I'm already fired! Fire me! I'm already fired! (The show then quickly cut to a commercial break.)
Check back for updates of the Ric Flair page.
A special thanks to Stephen Tart for my Ric Flair banner.
This page is in no way affiliated with any professional wrestling organization or wrestler.
Get your own Free Home Page
