Ric Flair
Ric Flair: The Nature Boy – The Man, The Myth, The Standard of Professional Wrestling
"To be the man... you've got to beat the man!"
"Woooo!"
Professional wrestling has produced icons.
It has produced cultural phenomena.
It has produced larger-than-life heroes and unforgettable villains.
But there has only ever been one Nature Boy.
One man who wore custom-made robes that shimmered like royalty beneath the arena lights. One man who made excess an art form. One man who convinced generations of fans that being the World Heavyweight Champion was not merely holding a championship—it was living a lifestyle.
That man is Ric Flair.
For more than five decades, Flair became the measuring stick by which greatness was judged. Wrestlers came and went. Promotions rose and fell. Territories disappeared. Television changed. Entire generations of fans grew older.
Ric Flair remained.
He wasn't simply one of wrestling's greatest performers.
He became professional wrestling itself.
From Plane Crash Survivor to Wrestling Immortal
Before becoming "The Nature Boy," Richard Fliehr was simply another young athlete trying to find his place in the world.
Training under the legendary Verne Gagne, Flair quickly showed remarkable charisma and natural athletic ability. Then, in 1975, everything nearly ended.
A devastating plane crash left him with a broken back. Doctors questioned whether he would ever wrestle again.
Many careers would have ended there.
Ric Flair's had barely begun.
Forced to alter his wrestling style because of the injury, Flair abandoned the power-based approach of his youth and reinvented himself as the technical master the world would come to know.
Ironically, tragedy helped create one of wrestling's greatest performers.
Becoming "The Nature Boy"
Inspired in part by the original "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, Flair transformed himself into something wrestling had never truly seen before.
Designer suits.
Tailor-made robes adorned with feathers and sequins.
Limousines.
Private jets.
Rolex watches.
Beautiful women.
Champagne.
He wasn't pretending to be wealthy.
He convinced audiences that he genuinely lived that life.
His famous declaration became legendary:
"To be the man... you've got to beat the man!"
It wasn't arrogance.
It was a challenge.
The Entrance
The arena lights dimmed.
Then came the unmistakable opening of Richard Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra."
A spotlight found the aisle.
Out walked Ric Flair, draped in magnificent robes that looked less like wrestling attire and more like royal garments.
Every step radiated confidence.
Every pose demanded attention.
Then came the sound.
"Woooo!"
Perhaps the most recognizable shout in wrestling history.
Fans shouted it.
Opponents mocked it.
Entire sports stadiums echoed it.
One word became synonymous with excellence.
The Finishing Move
Figure-Four Leglock
Few submissions are as iconic.
Flair wrapped his opponent's legs into a four-shaped knot before applying relentless pressure to the knees and ankles.
The move was elegant rather than spectacular.
Painful rather than flashy.
For decades, countless opponents surrendered to the hold.
Even when they escaped, they rarely walked away unharmed.
Signature Arsenal
Flair's offense wasn't built around impossible athletic feats.
It was built around perfection.
Knife-edge chops that echoed throughout arenas.
Delayed vertical suplex.
Atomic Drop.
Sleeper Hold.
Back suplex.
Knee breaker.
Eye rake.
Low blow when the referee wasn't looking.
Then there were the moments every fan anticipated.
Flair would climb to the top rope.
The audience knew exactly what was coming.
His opponent would throw him back to the canvas.
Every.
Single.
Time.
It became one of wrestling's most beloved traditions.
The Greatest Heel Ever?
Many argue that Ric Flair is the greatest heel professional wrestling has ever produced.
The evidence is overwhelming.
He cheated.
He manipulated referees.
He begged for mercy.
He poked eyes.
He ran away.
He used brass knuckles.
He interfered.
He complained.
Yet somehow...
When the championship was at stake...
He transformed into one of wrestling's toughest competitors.
His ability to make fans genuinely hate him while simultaneously respecting his brilliance remains almost unmatched.
Could He Be a Babyface?
Absolutely.
Whenever fans appreciated greatness over villainy, Flair naturally became beloved.
As an aging veteran fighting younger opponents, audiences admired his resilience.
By the 2000s, many fans cheered him simply because they knew they were witnessing history.
The Four Horsemen
If Evolution defined the Ruthless Aggression Era...
The Four Horsemen defined an entire generation.
Alongside legends like Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and others through different lineups, Flair led perhaps the greatest faction wrestling had ever seen.
They dressed like champions.
They acted like champions.
Most importantly...
They won like champions.
Every dominant wrestling faction that followed owes something to The Four Horsemen.
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)
Long before WWE became the global giant, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship represented the pinnacle of professional wrestling.
Ric Flair carried that championship across America, Canada, Japan, Australia and beyond.
He wrestled heroes in every territory.
Everywhere he went, local fans believed their hometown favorite could finally defeat the arrogant champion.
Sometimes they did.
Most often...
Flair escaped with the title.
This travelling champion philosophy helped build wrestling across multiple generations.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
When WCW emerged as WWE's greatest rival, Ric Flair remained its emotional heartbeat.
Whether battling for championships or defending WCW itself, Flair represented the company's soul.
His rivalries with younger stars helped create new legends while preserving his own.
WWE
Although his greatest years occurred elsewhere, Flair still created unforgettable moments in WWE.
His partnership with Triple H in Evolution introduced him to a new generation.
His retirement storyline became one of WWE's finest pieces of storytelling.
TNA and Beyond
Even after leaving WWE, Flair continued contributing to professional wrestling through TNA, mentoring younger stars and proving that charisma does not fade with age.
Very few performers have remained relevant across so many decades.
Championships and Accomplishments
Trying to count Ric Flair's championships has become one of wrestling's great debates.
Depending on recognition across promotions, he is often acknowledged as either a 16-time or 21-time world champion.
Among his accomplishments:
Multiple-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Multiple-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
WWE Champion.
Royal Rumble Winner (1992).
WCW International World Heavyweight Champion.
United States Champion.
World Tag Team Champion.
First man inducted twice into the WWE Hall of Fame (individually and as a member of The Four Horsemen).
Widely recognized as one of the greatest world champions in wrestling history.
Championships followed Ric Flair because championships needed Ric Flair as much as Ric Flair needed championships.
Greatest Rivalries
Dusty Rhodes
The working man's hero versus the limousine-riding champion.
Perhaps the defining rivalry of the territorial era.
Ricky Steamboat
Technical perfection.
Their trilogy in 1989 remains one of the greatest series of matches ever wrestled.
Sting
WCW's franchise hero versus its greatest champion.
Their rivalry spanned generations.
Lex Luger
Power against experience.
Youth against legacy.
Hulk Hogan
The face of WWE against the face of WCW.
Two wrestling empires collided.
Triple H
Mentor.
Friend.
Eventually rival.
Their relationship became one of WWE's defining stories of the 2000s.
Shawn Michaels
Their emotional farewell at WrestleMania XXIV produced one of wrestling's most heartbreaking moments.
"I'm sorry.
I love you."
Sweet Chin Music.
Three seconds later...
An era ended.
Greatest Matches
Among countless classics:
Ricky Steamboat – Chi-Town Rumble (1989)
Ricky Steamboat – Clash of the Champions VI
Royal Rumble (1992)
Sting – Great American Bash
Terry Funk – I Quit Match
Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XXIV
Harley Race series
Dusty Rhodes series
These matches are required viewing for anyone who wants to understand professional wrestling.
On the Microphone
Ric Flair may be the greatest promo in wrestling history.
No script.
No cue cards.
Just emotion.
His interviews were electric.
He laughed.
He cried.
He shouted.
He strutted.
He pointed to his expensive watch.
He spoke about private jets, Rolexes, alligators, diamonds and beautiful women.
Every promo felt completely authentic because Flair believed every word he said.
Even today, countless wrestlers borrow his cadence, intensity and confidence.
The Legacy
It is almost impossible to overstate Ric Flair's influence.
Modern wrestling is filled with pieces of him.
The extravagant entrances.
The expensive suits.
The championship obsession.
The marathon main events.
The emotional interviews.
The arrogant champion.
The dramatic kick-outs.
The desperate cheating.
The larger-than-life personality.
Without Ric Flair, there is no Triple H as we know him.
No Evolution.
No Horsemen blueprint.
No countless wrestlers inspired by his style across America, Japan and Mexico.
His fingerprints are everywhere.
The Greatest of All Time?
Every generation has its candidates.
Hulk Hogan made wrestling global.
Stone Cold Steve Austin ignited the Attitude Era.
The Undertaker became wrestling's greatest character.
John Cena carried WWE for over a decade.
Kurt Angle may have been the greatest pure wrestler.
But if the question is this:
Who best represents the very essence of professional wrestling?
The answer still echoes through arenas around the world.
A feathered robe glitters beneath the lights.
The championship rests proudly on his shoulder.
He lets out one final triumphant cry.
"WOOOOOO!"
And for a moment, every wrestling fan—young or old, casual or lifelong—knows exactly who has arrived.
The limousine-riding...
Jet-flying...
Kiss-stealing...
Wheelin'-dealin'...
Son of a gun.
The Nature Boy.
Ric Flair.
And for more than fifty years, he didn't just define greatness.
He was the standard by which greatness itself was measured.
