Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee), better known by his ring name Nature Boy Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler currently with WWE on its RAW brand. He has been one of the leading personalities in professional wrestling since the mid 1970s and is considered to be among the elite names in the history of the industry. His total number of world title reigns is debated, with some arguing that he has had as many as twenty five world title reigns, while others only recognize sixteen.

Professional wrestling

NWA/WCW

After three years with the AWA, Flair joined the NWA affiliated Jim Crockett Promotions based in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. On the rise, he suffered a severe back injury in a October 4, 1975 plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina. Doctors told Flair that he would never wrestle again, but Flair proved them wrong by returning to active wrestling the next year.

Ric Flair won the United States Heavyweight Championship 4 times, then won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time by defeating Dusty Rhodes on September 17, 1981. Harley Race won the title from Flair in 1983. Flair regained the title at StarrCade 1983 in Greensboro, North Carolina in a steel cage match. Flair would go on to win the NWA title six more times. As the NWA champion, he defended his belt around the world, including frequent stops in the Carolinas, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Throughout the 1980s Flair became affiliated with The Four Horsemen stable. Flairs main rivals for the NWA title were Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Lex Luger, and Sting. Flair also feuded with Magnum T.A., Nikita Koloff, Ricky Morton of the Rock N Roll Express, and Kerry von Erich, among countless others. He was constantly seen with various valets such as Woman, Miss Elizabeth, Fifi, Sherri Martel and Baby Doll.

World Wrestling Federation

After a contract dispute with WCW head Jim Herd while still NWA/WCW champion, Flair left WCW, a group run by Ted Turner which had just separated from the NWA, in July 1991. Flair was offered a fifty percent pay cut and no longer got the option of booking power. Herd wanted to make Lex Luger the top star and wanted to make Ric Flair a midcard star despite the fact that he was still a huge draw. Flair disagreed, and a week before the 1991 Great American Bash, Herd fired him. According to Flair, Herd also wanted him to change his appearance (i.e. by cutting his hair and wearing a diamond earring) in order to change with the times.

During Ric Flairs first run in the WWF, he took the Big Gold Belt with him and was billed as the Real World Heavyweight Champion. This is because Herd refused to return the $25,000 deposit that Flair had put down on the belt itself, plus interest. The NWA required the NWA World Champion to place a $25,000 deposit on the belt to ensure that the champion wouldnt leave the Alliance with the belt. Since Flair did not receive his deposit, he felt that it was still his property. WCW tried to sue the WWF to regain it, but the case was thrown out of court. Eventually, Flair returned it to WCW in exchange for the original $25,000 deposit, plus $11,000 interest. In the meantime, Flair wore an old WWF World Tag Team title belt that was blurred out on television.

In September 1991 Flair began his first run in the WWF, winning the WWF Title in a thirty-man Royal Rumble. Feuding with Randy Savage, Flair also won another WWF Title before leaving the company. At the end of his run, Vince McMahon and Flair himself simply felt that Flair was no longer needed in the WWF. McMahon thought that Flair did everything he could in the WWF, and Flair was ready to go back to WCW. McMahon and Flair amicably ended Flairs contract with Flair ultimately losing a loser leaves town match to Mr. Perfect on Monday Night Raw. Flair has often referred to the eighteen-month stint as a highlight of his career.

Second WCW run

Flair returned home to WCW in February 1993, hosting a short-lived talk show in WCW called A Flair For the Gold as a compromise to work around a no-compete clause in his previous WWF contract. He could appear on TV but not wrestle. Arn Anderson would sit at the bar, and Flairs maid Fifi, would always be cleaning or bearing gifts. Flair would briefly hold the NWA World title once again before WCW finally left the NWA in September 1993.

Later in 1993, WCW planned to have Sid Vicious win the WCW World title at Starrcade 1993, but following Sids firing for his part in a violent altercation with Arn Anderson, Flair was inserted into the role and defeated Big Van Vader for the title.

Flair later feuded with Hulk Hogan upon Hogans arrival in WCW in June 1994 and 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. Flair would have several more title reigns in the subsequent years. Flair would continue to be a key player in the dying days of WCW until its demise in March 2001.

When WCW was purchased by the WWF, Flair was the leader of the heel group called the Magnificent Seven with Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Road Warrior Animal, Rick Steiner, Lex Luger, and Buff Bagwell. Flair lost WCWs final match on the March 26, 2001 edition of Nitro to his longtime rival Sting in a very emotional match.

World Wrestling Entertainment

After a brief hiatus from pro wrestling, Flair returned to the WWF in November 2001 as the on-camera co-owner of the company. He turned face by joining forces with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Flair later turned heel again by turning on Austin. When Austin walked out on the company, Flair turned face once again after an altercation with Vince McMahon. McMahon, who purportedly only had control of SmackDown! at the time, challenged Flair (the onscreen owner of RAW) to a match for exclusive ownership of WWE. Flair lost the match when Brock Lesnar charged the ring, knocking him unconscious and allowing McMahon to make the cover. Flair remained on RAW as an occasional wrestler and eventually turned heel by betraying Rob Van Dam and joining forces with World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, with whom he later formed the stable Evolution.

During 2003, Flair had a short-lived feud with Shawn Michaels which began when Michaels took Kevin Nashs side against Triple H, his archrival. The two would go at it whenever they were accompanying their friends to the ring, and this led to a legendary confrontation at Bad Blood 2003, which led to Flair winning thanks to Randy Ortons interference. In 2004, Flair lost to Shelton Benjamin at Backlash 2004, in an effort to avenge several losses by Triple H to Benjamin. Later that year, Flair lost to Randy Orton, who had been violently kicked out of Evolution, in a steel cage match at the first Taboo Tuesday event.

Several months after Batista left Evolution, Flair returned to RAW on August 22, 2005. He was interviewed on Carlitos Cabana and turned face by attacking the host Carlito. Flair would align himself with Shawn Michaels in a feud with Carlito and Michaelss new rival Chris Masters. After Flair was brutally attacked by Carlito backstage, the two had a match at the 2005 WWE Unforgiven event for Carlito’s Intercontinental Championship, a belt Flair had never won. Ric Flair made Carlito tap out to the figure four and won his first Intercontinental Championship.

Several weeks after his title victory, Triple H turned on Flair after a victory in a tag match against Masters and Carlito. Triple H would later claim Flair was a shell of the wrestler he was once was and he wanted to put Flair out of his misery. At Taboo Tuesday 2005 Flair defeated Triple H to retain his Intercontinental Championship in a Steel Cage Match. The two met again at Survivor Series 2005 in a Last Man Standing match. This time, Triple H defeated Flair after three Pedigrees, a sledgehammer shot to the back, and a screwdriver in the face.

On February 20, 2006, Flair lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin after being hit twice with an oxygen tank and a T-bone suplex.

On February 27, 2006, Flair defeated Carlito in a Money in the Bank WrestleMania 22 qualifying match. Carlito was the one who suggested the WM22 contest, but he was pinned by Flair after choking on a apple due to a kick to the face by the Nature Boy. Flair used the ropes and got a secure pin. He will participate in the Money in the Bank match, with the other two known participants being Rob Van Dam and Shelton Benjamin.

On March 6, 2006 Ric Flair faced Shelton Benjamin in a rematch for the intercontinental title. During the match, however, Benjamin accidently thumbed the referee in the eye, causing a disqualification win for Flair. Flair, frustrated, pummeled Benjamin with kicks and then grabbed Mamas oxygen tank and hit Benjamin with it, similar to what Benjaim did 2 weeks earlier.

Legacy

Despite his age and his less-than-chiseled physique, Ric Flair can still take on wrestlers half his age, at least in kayfabe. Even though he is long past his prime as a main-eventer, he still serves a purpose by getting in the ring and making younger wrestlers look good. Flair is over in the ring due mostly 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 legendary shouting of Wooo!

In a tradition started by the vocal fans of ECW during a time when the WCW management was thought to be unjustly holding Flair down, anytime a wrestler delivers a hard back hand chop to the chest of his opponent, fans yell Wooo! in tribute to Flair, whose stiff chops often made his opponents chest raw or even bloody. This tradition long outlived any controversy it was meant to protest and has carried over to WWE and almost all other North American promotions.

Since the late 70s, he has worn ornate, fur lined robes of many colors with sequins, and since the mid 80s, his approach to the ring was often 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). The look and sound complements his cocky in-ring persona.

Late in 2003, WWE released a three-DVD retrospective of Flairs career (focusing mainly on his career prior to 1993), The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection. It became WWEs fastest-selling video package up to that time.

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! Flair is an icon in the Carolinas on a par with Michael Jordan and Richard Petty, and he has made the Charlotte area his home since the days of the Crockett promotion. His name has been mentioned from time to time as a possible candidate for governor of North Carolina.

It seems to be unknown as to how many times Ric Flair has held a world championship. WWE promotes Flair as a 16-time world champion, but many records show that he has won a world title a higher number of times. Though little controversy still surround this, Ric Flair still holds the record of the most world titles held by an individual in professional wrestling.

Controversy

Ric Flair has often been the subject of controversy.

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. Hart responded that Flair had spent the majority of his career in the NWA/WCW which he stated is and always has been second rate to the WWF. Flair spent two years in the WWF prior to 2001, losing the WWF championship title to Hart in 1992.

Flair has also had issues with Mick Foley, whom he attacked in his autobiography, writing I dont care how many thumbtacks Mick Foley has fallen on, how many ladders hes fallen off, how many continents hes supposedly bled on, hell always be known as a glorified stuntman.

This was in response to what Foley said about Flair in his autobiography Have a Nice Day!: Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it.

Flair also has legitimate animosity towards Kevin Von Erich.

In 1998, Flair was sued by WCW for no-showing an event. Flair had been working without a contract since February of that year and had refused to sign a new one, citing differences between the document and the terms he had previously agreed to work under. Seeing that he wasnt needed for any WCW television tapings at the time, Flair decided not to show up at a particular WCW Thunder taping. He instead watched his son Reids amateur wrestling tournament. That particular night, WCWs booking committee decided out of nowhere to reform the Four Horsemen, and announcers repeatedly stated that he would be on the show with a big surprise. When Flair failed to show up, WCW management (led by Eric Bischoff) became upset and filed a $2 million lawsuit against him for damages, saying he signed a letter of intent to re-sign with WCW. He later filed a suit of his own in response, but the matter was settled out of court. Ric Flair finally returned to television in September 1998.

On May 5, 2002, a number of WWE wrestlers and management members flew from Great Britain to the United States following the end of a European tour, which concluded with the Insurrextion pay-per-view event in the United Kingdom. World Wrestling Entertainment was hit with a sexual harassment suit by Sportjet flight attendants stemming from the alleged actions of Ric Flair, Dustin Runnels, and Scott Hall among others. The lawsuit alleged that Flair, wearing only his robe, flashed everyone and forced an attendant to touch his crotch.

Personal information

Flair does not know his birth name. In a chapter of his autobiography 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 Childrens 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) and a theater writer (mother). 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.

The pilot of the private jet involved in Flairs 1975 plane crash languished in a coma for a year before dying. It was discovered after the accident that the pilot was flying on a suspended license. Flair later sued the pilots estate for damages and won.

Flair is sometimes seen attending the Carolina Hurricanes NHL ice hockey games at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. At many home games when the Hurricanes score a goal, a short video appears on the arenas Jumbotron monitors, with Ric Flair saying: Thats a Carolina Hurricanes Goal! Wooo! Wooo Wooo! The appearance is very popular amongst Hurricanes fans.

Flair has been active in North Carolina Republican politics, most notably supporting Jesse Helms.

Flair has appeared in three motion pictures: The Wrestler (1974), Body Slam (1987), and Sting: Moment of Truth (2004).

Flairs son David Flair is also a professional wrestler. Flairs younger son Reid Fliehr 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. He was billed as their cousin in the various NWA territories and WCW.

Roddy Piper was the best man at Flairs second wedding.

Jim Crockett, Jr. was the best man at Flairs first wedding.

In May 2005, Flairs wife Beth filed for divorce, citing steroid and alcohol abuse, in addition to incidents where he slapped, kicked, choked, and bit her. Flair has been ordered to pay Beth $20,000 a month until the divorce in finalized. The judge overseeing the divorce is considering freezing Flairs assets because he spent $92,000 for a ring for his new girlfriend. Flair contends that he and his wife lived well beyond their means and racked up substantial debt to the IRS and other creditors. Flair owed the government more than $1 million in 1997, and the IRS is now seizing more than $200,000 of his salary in 2005 to cover the owed taxes.

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 motorists sport utility vehicle. That left the motorist with bruises and a dent in his Toyota 4Runner. Flair was charged with injury to personal property and simple assault and battery, both misdemeanors. This incident has been ridiculed on WWE programming, most notably by the wrestler Edge.

On the March 2, 2006 edition of Mick Foleys WWE.com blog Foley is Blog, Foley mentioned that while recently sitting next to Flair on an airplane, Flair told him that he will probably run for North Carolina governor in the next election. These plans are unconfirmed by Flair himself. This also hints that a long time off-sceen feud with Foley may be over.

In wrestling

Nicknames
* Ramblin Ricky Rhodes
* Nature Boy Ric Flair
* Slick Ric
* Space Mountain
* Naitch
* The Nature Boy
* The Dirtiest Player in the Game
* The Real World Heavyweight Champion

Quotes
* Wooooo!
* Whether you like it or not, learn to love it, because its the best the best thing going!
* Im the limousine ridin, jet flyin, kiss stealin, wheelin dealin, son of a gun!
* To be The Man, you gotta beat the man.
* Its the oldest ride in the park, but its still got the longest line!
* I can go Wooooo! all night long!

Finishing and signature moves
* Figure four leglock
* Backhand chop
* Chop block
* Elbow drop to the knee
* Inverted atomic drop
* Knee drop
* Shin breaker
* Stalling butterfly suplex

Signature illegal moves
* Kick to groin
* Low blow
* Thumb to the eye
* Testicular Claw

Flairs failing moves
Flair has gained a measure of notoriety for his (kayfabe) inability to successfully execute certain moves without being thwarted.

* His most notable failing move involves his repeated failed attempts to execute a move off the top turnbuckle. Whenever Flair scales the top turnbuckle, he is almost inevitably pushed off the top rope to the floor below, knocked off balance so he crotches himself on the turnbuckle, or, most commonly of all, bodily hurled from the top rope to the mat. However, there are at least ten instances in which Flair has successfully performed an aerial maneuver, all but four of them taking place in 2005 or later:
o StarrCade 1983, when he executed a flying body press on Harley Race to win his second NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
o Flair defeated Barry Windham at Slamboree 1994 with the flying body press to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Title.
o During WCW World War 3 1997, Flair competed in a no holds barred match for the WCW United States Championship against the late Curt Hennig. At one point, he leaped from the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring onto the back of Henning.
o The May 19, 2003 episode of WWE Raw, when Flair hit Triple H with a flying double axe handle during a match for HHHs World Heavyweight Championship
o The 2005 Unforgiven pay-per-view, when he executed a flying overhand chop on Carlito during a match where Flair would go on to win his first WWE Intercontinental title
o The September 19, 2005 episode of Raw, the night after Unforgiven, when he executed a flying overhand chop on Carlito during a successful Intercontinental Title defense
o The 2005 Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view, when he executed a flying overhead chop on Triple H during their Cage Match
o The November 7, 2005 episode of Raw, when he executed a flying overhead chop on Rob Conway during another successful Intercontinental Title defense
o The New Years Revolution 2006 pay-per-view after several eye pokes to both Lita and Edge
o The February 6, 2006 episode of Raw, when he executed a flying overhead forearm on Triple H in a Road to WrestleMania Tournament Match

A variation of this is the Flair Flip, when he goes over the top rope and lands on his feet on the ring apron. He then invariably attempts to run along the apron to a turnbuckle. Almost invariably, he will either be clotheslined by his opponent before reaching the turnbuckle or will make it to the turnbuckle and climb up it, only to suffer the same fate (typically to be pushed off, crotched, or thrown down).

* The Flair Flop: Flair, after attempting but failing a strenuous move or because hes tired, will execute a face-first bump, often followed by a begging-off routine (The mere sight of a fifty-plus-year-old wrestler asking mercy is quite humorous to the crowd.), followed by a low-blow or eye poke (maintaining his dirtiest player in the game reputation).

Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance
* 10-Time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
* 5-Time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion
* 3-Time NWA World Tag Team Champion, with Greg Valentine twice, and Blackjack Mulligan once
* 4-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion, with Rip Hawk once, Greg Valentine once, and Big John Studd twice
* 3-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion
* 2-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Champion
* 1-Time NWA Missouri Heavyweight Champion

World Championship Wrestling
* 8-Time WCW World Heavyweight Champion
* 2-Time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion
* 1-Time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion

World Wrestling Entertainment
* Hall Of Fame (Class of 2008)
* 2-Time WWE Champion
* 1-Time WWE Intercontinental Champion
* 2-Time World Tag Team Champion (with Batista twice)
* 1992 Royal Rumble winner

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
* He was ranked # 2 out of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
* 1975 Rookie of the Year
* 1978 and 1987 Most Hated Wrestler
* 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1992 Wrestler of the Year
* 1983 Match of the Year against Harley Race
* 1984 Match of the Year against Kerry Von Erich
* 1986 Match of the Year against Dusty Rhodes
* 1989 Match of the Year against Ricky Steamboat
* 1987 Feud of the Year (Four Horsemen against Super Powers & Road Warriors)
* 1988 Feud of the Year (against Lex Luger)
* 1989 Feud of the Year (against Terry Funk)
* 1990 Feud of the Year (against Lex Luger)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
* He is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 1996)
* Wrestler of the Year award renamed the Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award, partly in his honor
* 1980 Most Charismatic Wrestler
* 1982 Wrestler of the Year
* 1982 Most Charismatic Wrestler (tied with Dusty Rhodes)
* 1983 Wrestler of the Year
* 1983 Most Charismatic Wrestler
* 1983 Match of the Year (vs Harley Race)
* 1984 Wrestler of the Year
* 1984 Most Charismatic Wrestler
* 1985 Wrestler of the Year
* 1986 Wrestler of the Year
* 1986 Most Outstanding Wrestler
* 1986 Match of the Year (vs Barry Windham)
* 1987 Most Outstanding Wrestler
* 1988 Match of the Year (vs Sting)
* 1989 Wrestler of the Year
* 1989 Most Outstanding Wrestler
* 1989 Feud of the Year (vs Terry Funk)
* 1989 Match of the Year (vs Ricky Steamboat)
* 1990 Wrestler of the Year
* 1990 Best Heel
* 1991 Best Interviews
* 1992 Wrestler of the Year
* 1992 Best Interviews
* 1993 Most Charismatic Wrestler
* 1994 Best Interviews

Others
* The visitors at PWInsider.com voted him the greatest heel of all time in 2005.
* He is a member of the Wrestling Informer Hall of Fame (inducted in 2002).
* Flair, along with Kurt Angle and Bret Hart are the only wrestlers to hold the WWE Championship, WWE Intercontinental Championship, WCW Championship and WCW United States Championship.