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Ric Flair
PartyCasino.com
Ric
Flair and Greg
Tingle (Media Man director and founder) - Sydney,
Australia November 2009
News
Ric
Flair completes successful Hulkamania Let The Battle
Begin tour of Australia in November 2009
Ric
Flair fronts North Carolina Education Lottery Wooooo!
ticket campaign
NC
Education Lottery Website
News
Wrestling
News Entertainment News
Article
Wrestlers and Arnold Schwarzenegger Gambling,
Poker Connection - 4th May 2009
(Credit:
Gambling911)
Ric
Flair recently signed a deal to be a spokesperson
for the lottery in the Carolinas... The Shelby,
NC Star ran a story noting that Ric, David, and
Reid Flair are scheduled to appear on Saturday
at the Rec Center for a charity show to raise
for the Shelby City Parks and Police Department.
If he attends this would be Reid's first public
appearance since his arrest last weekend.
"This
is of course totally the opposite direction to
Jesse Ventura's stance on gambling, at least publicly,"
notes Media
Man, Greg Tingle.
Tingle
made reference to Ventura's support of an online
gambling enterprise, BetUS.com, where he was a
paid spokesperson for more than two years. Interestingly
enough, the state of Minnesota for which Ventura
served as Governor, announced last week it will
try to block access to online gambling websites
from citizens of that state.
Then
there is California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
a one time friend of both men, who reportedly
would support an initiative in his state to legalize
online poker.
In
November 2004, an advertisement began airing in
California featuring Ventura. In it, Ventura voices
his opposition to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's
policies regarding Native American casinos, the
very casinos that stand in the way of the proposed
poker legislation. Schwarzenegger and Ventura
have not spoken in years, according to reports.
In
September 2005, Ventura announced on The Mike
Malloy Show that he was leaving the U.S. and planned
to "have an adventure". In late October
2005, he went on the The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch
and reiterated that he was leaving the U.S. due
to, among other things, censorship. He has since
moved to Baja California, Mexico.
Profile
Biography
RIC
FLAIR
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 243 lbs.
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Finishing Move: Figure-four Leglock
Career Highlights: World Tag Team Champion; NWA
Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion (w/Rip Hawk, Greg
Valentine & Big John Studd); NWA Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight; NWA Mid-Atlantic TV Champion; NWA
World Tag Team Champion (w/Greg Valentine &
Blackjack Mulligan); NWA Missouri Heavyweight
Champion; NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship;
NWA/WCW Champion; WWE Champion
To
be a World Champion means you are the very best at
what you do. To earn the title on more than one occasion
is to be among the very best in sports entertainment.
To hold the Championship 16 times and still be one
of the biggest names in the business nearly three
decades after first setting foot in the ring, is to
earn a distinction that puts you in a category of
your own ... "Living Legend." All of this
--and more-- describes Ric Flair.
His
combination of flamboyance, athleticism and toughness
has made him a true legend. Whether he is "styling
and profiling", mixing it up in the ring or simply
lending his expertise at ringside, Flair's contribution
to this business is constant and his legend grows
every time he enters an arena. The respect for Flair
is boundless, not only do chants of "Woooo!"
rain from all corners of the arena every time he is
within sight of the fans, but every time a Superstar
--any Superstar -- chops an opponent, fans chant,
"Woooo!" in honor of Flair.
Some
call Flair, "The Dirtiest Player in the Game."
Others refer to him as simply "The Nature
Boy." No matter what nickname he has earned,
Flair is one of the cagiest competitors to ever
step in the ring and it seems that the legend
will continue to grow for a long time to come.
Along with Triple H,
Randy Orton and Batista, Flair is currently enjoying
a run as a member of Evolution, which could be
the most dominating partnership since the Four
Horsemen of the 1980s. More than 20 years after
first entering the ring, Flair continues to be
at the top of his game.
(Credit: WWE Official
website)
Profile
Ric
Flair
Richard
Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949) better
known by his ring name Ric Flair, is an American
professional wrestler signed to World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE) on its SmackDown! brand, but
also competes for the RAW brand. Also known as
"The Nature Boy," Flair is among the
most well known wrestlers in the world and has
been one of wrestling's biggest stars since the
early 1980s. Flair is recognized by 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, Fliehr 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, Fliehr
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 AWA kingpin
Verne Gagne. Fliehr 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 Fliehr 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, Jim Brunzell, and
Bob Bruggers).
Career
AWA
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.
NWA
In
1975, 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. However, on October 4, 1975,
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 3 places; and at age 26, he was told by doctors
that he would never wrestle again. However, Flair
conducted a rigorous physical therapy schedule;
and he triumphantly returned to the ring just
6 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). However, Flair would reach
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 would eventually establish
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 blonde 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’ve got to
beat the man" and "and whether you like
it or not, learn to love it, ‘cause it’s
the best thing going today!”
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 would fight in many different matches
in early 1984.
Flair
would go on to win 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 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 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 would engage in many different matches throughout
his title reigns, and face many 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
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 rulebreakers 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.
Flair
lost the NWA World Championship due to his flamboyant
ways 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,
Illinois.
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 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
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
through 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 in what the wrestling world
at the time believed was a changing of the guard.
Flair was not finished winning NWA World Titles,
however.
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",[7] 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 would
be 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.
He also became the fifteenth man to hold the WWF
Championship.
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 (Kayfabe) 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 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 Survivor Series 1992.
Ric
Flair appeared in the Royal Rumble 1993. 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. 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, 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
would end with Flair using a chop block and roll-up
on the gigantic Vader to win the title. The match
was a huge success and used to draw Hulk Hogan,
who in Flair's book admitted he cried while watching
the match, into 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 1994. Flair
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
even 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
would play 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 would feud 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) in Greenville,
South Carolina. During his return speech, Flair
would 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,
eventually winning the "Presidency of WCW"
from Bischoff. Ironically, (in kayfabe) this led
Flair to abuse his own power, even calling himself
the President of the United States by accident.
He then made a WCW title match with Hulk Hogan
at Uncensored 1999, which he won due to a biased
referee in Charles Robinson. Robinson would be
nicknamed "Lil' Naitch," idolizing Flair
and officiating all of Flair's matches in his
favor. 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. During the final episode of Nitro, He gave
a powerful 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-Present)
2001-2004
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 would also wrestle The
Undertaker at WrestleMania X8 (2002) where Flair
would lose a bloody brawl. From then, 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 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
would later turn 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-Present
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. on February 20, 2006.
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 a "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. He would
become a victim of a conchairto by Rated-RKO and
(kayfabe) was just sent to the hospital on the
November 27, 2006 edition of RAW. 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.
Ric
Flair would then become a team with Carlito after
Ric Flair said that Carlito had no heart. Ric
Flair defeated Carlito in a match after which
Carlito realized that Flair was right.[33] 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 WWE 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 six 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, Ric Flair defeated Randy 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.
On New Years Eve, 2007, Flair faced Triple H in
a "Win or Retire" match, which Flair
won after William Regal attacked Flair with a
set of brass knuckles, thus, Flair won the match
via disqualification.
Legacy
Despite
his age, less-than-chiseled physique, and being
past his prime as a "main-eventer,"
Flair is still a capable performer. 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.
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 Money in the Bank ladder match at
WrestleMania 22.
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, as 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.
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).
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, 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!"
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, 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.
Mick
Foley
Flair
has also had issues with Mick Foley. In his 1999
autobiography Have a Nice Day!, Foley said that
"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.
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), 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 Flair was also a professional wrestler.
Flair's younger son Reid Flair 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
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.
Flair's
son, Reid Fliehr, has signed a developmental contract
with WWE.
Political
views
Ric
Flair has 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."
Also,
in one WWE Magazine issue, Ric Flair said that
he may run for Governor of North Carolina. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Website
World
Wrestling Entertainment
Profiles
WWE
News
Ric
Flair wrestles Shawn Michaels
at WrestleMania 2008
Ric
Flair in legends Match at WrestleMania 2009
Ric
Flair inks Lottery deal in Carolina's - May 2009
Flair
rumoured to return to WWE for more matches - May
2009
Flair
to wrestling Hulk Hogan on Australian wrestling
tour - September 2009
Global
Gaming Directory and Media Man Australia does
not represent Ric Flair
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