Stylin' and profilin', the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair has been entertaining wrestling fans since his professional debut in 1972. Born February 25, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Flair has held 13 world heavyweight championships. He is the leader of the Four Horsemen and claims to know - and frequently employs - every dirty trick in the sport. His flamboyant and over-the-top ring persona has endeared him to wrestling audiences everywhere, but especially in his home state of North Carolina He is also said to be a genuinely good guy despite his heel antics, always willing to help an up-and-coming wrestler further his career. "If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man."

"Whoo!"

THE MAN.

Ric Flair is a professional wrestler. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1949, but he has lived most of his life in North Carolina and is regarded as a native of that state. He debuted in 1972 and has spent nearly all of his professional career in the NWA (which became World Championship Wrestling in 1991 or so).

Back in the mid-seventies, Flair was actually built--a far cry from the slim figure he's known for today. In tribute to Buddy Rogers, the original "Nature Boy", Flair took the nickname as his own. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair quickly became a mainstay in the NWA.

In 1975, Ric Flair was in a plane crash with Johnny Valentine, Bob Bruggers and "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods. Modern medical science said that he'd never wrestle again, but he returned to the ring just months later with no ill effects.

In 1986, Flair first formed the Four Horsemen with Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson--the most famous wrestling stable of all-time. The Horsemen would go on to have countless incarnations over the years, but Flair was the backbone of the team and a member of every version.

In 1989, Ric was involved in what many consider to be the single greatest wrestling match of all time--an incredible thirty-five minute match with Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Title at WrestleWar '89. The two would feud for years both before and after this match, with nearly every match an instant classic.

Flair was booking the NWA during this period (1989). He was accused of shameless self-promotion (constantly booking himself as champion and in the main event), but it sure made some great matches to watch during that period--Flair vs. Sting, Flair vs. Steamboat, Flair vs. Luger, Flair vs. Funk...Flair was carrying anything on two legs to great matches during this period. He was forced to step down as booker in March of 1990 and replaced with Ole Anderson.

Flair left WCW (which had eaten the NWA by this time) in 1991. WCW offered him a 50% pay cut and greatly reduced booking power, including revoking his "veto clause" over World title changes, and wanted to put Lex Luger on top for the next year. Flair disagreed, considering it a slap in the face after years of loyalty and hard work, and the week before Great American Bash 1991 he was either fired or quit, depending on who you ask. He showed up in the World Wrestling Federation in October of 1991 and was immediately put on top of the federation.

He showed up in the WWF *with* his NWA World Title, because he technically owned the title belt (sort of). He got sued over this and eventually returned it, but it was quite a spectacle--with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as his manager, he was promoted as "The REAL World's Champion", and just the sight of the NWA belt on WWF TV instantly antagonized fans.

He won the 1992 Royal Rumble in what most consider to be the best Rumble ever, winning the vacant WWF Championship in the process. He held onto the belt until Wrestlemania VIII that summer, when Randy Savage beat him in a terrific match.

Flair's WWF contract expired in 1993, and, ever loyal to WCW, Flair opted to return there. By all accounts, McMahon and Flair mutually agreed to part ways and they remain on amicable terms.

Flair was again given booking power in late 1993 after an absolutely ATROCIOUS year of booking by Eric Bischoff, which lost WCW millions of dollars and is generally considered to be the worst year of wrestling in modern history. He almost immediately booked himself to win the WCW World Title from Vader, and went on to enjoy few months on top...

...until the summer of 1994, when WCW lured Hulk Hogan away from the WWF. He was immediately pushed to the main event, and many of his friends--Jim Duggan, Randy Savage, Brutus Beefcake--were hired and pushed. Flair was pushed to the backburner (except when he was being fed to Hogan).

Flair stayed loyal to the company (just about the only person more loyal to WCW is Sting), even when his role as heel stable-leader of the Four Horsemen became trivialized due to the coming of the nWo in 1996. Ric's son, David Flair, debuted in WCW in 1999, prompting Flair to become more involved again after taking off for much of 1998 (and being sued by WCW for no-showing a Thunder after being off the booking sheets for months).

He stayed until the end, wrestling Sting in the last match of the final taping of WCW Nitro on March 26, 2001, after which time WCW as a seperate entity ceased to be--the company had been bought out by the WWF the previous day.

He has not wrestled since.


THIRTEEN TIME WORLD CHAMPION
  • 8 NWA World Titles
  • 1 WWF Championship
  • 4 WCW World Titles

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair. As his name lets you know he has a flair for theatrics and the dramatic. Some of the most memorable things about him were the things he said. In that vain I bring you a collection of Ric Flair Quotes...

  1. "Sting, you've got only the second best body in professional wrestling! Whoo!"
  2. "It's so hard to be humble when you're looking as good as Ric Flair! Whoo!"
  3. "To be the man, you've got to beat the man! Whoo!"
  4. "I'm a kiss stealin', wheelin', dealin', jet-flyin', limousine ridin', stylin' and profilin' son of a gun! Whoo!"
  5. "I'm gonna walk down the aisle in style and profile."
  6. "Whether you like it or you don't like it, learn to love it because it's the best thing goin' today. Whoo!"
  7. "Being the man and staying the man are two different things. Whoo!"
  8. "Put it in the bank, it's as good as gold. Whoo!"
  9. "I'm the dirtiest player in the game. Whoo!"
  10. "Diamonds are forever, and so are the horsemen! Wooo!"

You got some you remember? /msg them to me and I'll add them.

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