Ric Flair (born February 25, 1949 and named Richard Morgan Fliehr upon his adoption several weeks later), is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its RAW brand.
He has been one of the leading personalities in professional wrestling since the mid 1970's. For much of the run of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was considered their flagship wrestler. Flair inspired many of today's top professional wrestlers such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels and hosts more. He is recognized by WWE as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, but his actual tally of World Championship reigns varies by source. He is often credited with creating and defining the role of the cocky heel in professional wrestling.
Despite his age and his less-than-chiseled physique, and even though he is long past his prime as a "main-eventer", Flair is still able to step in the ring with younger wrestlers and make them stars. 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 always been limited, and has become even more so in recent years, mainly punches, chops, and various devious manoeuvers. Some exceptions where he has stepped outside this small package of moves include a Monday night contest against Kurt Angle in July 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 delivers a hard back hand chop to the chest of his opponent, fans yell "Woooooo!" in mockery to Flair, whose stiff 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(In Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 any time a wrestler does a chop the fans yell the signature Wooooo!) instead of the original connotation of being a mockery of Flair.
Since the late 1970s, he has worn ornate, fur lined robes of many colors with sequins, and since the early 80s, 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). The look and sound complements his cocky in-ring persona.
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.
A Ric Flair DVD will be released within the next year entitled "Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen".
On May 19, 2003, Flair lost his World Heavyweight Championship match to Triple H. 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.
K-1 competitor Bob Sapp pays tribute to Flair during his ring entrances by coming to the ring in a feather sequined robe to the tune of Also sprach Zarathustra.
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.
WWE promotes Flair as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, but many records show that he has held more. Although some controversy still surrounds this, Ric Flair still holds the record of the most World Heavyweight Championships held by an individual in professional wrestling.
He has been one of the leading personalities in professional wrestling since the mid 1970's. For much of the run of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was considered their flagship wrestler. Flair inspired many of today's top professional wrestlers such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels and hosts more. He is recognized by WWE as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, but his actual tally of World Championship reigns varies by source. He is often credited with creating and defining the role of the cocky heel in professional wrestling.
Despite his age and his less-than-chiseled physique, and even though he is long past his prime as a "main-eventer", Flair is still able to step in the ring with younger wrestlers and make them stars. 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 always been limited, and has become even more so in recent years, mainly punches, chops, and various devious manoeuvers. Some exceptions where he has stepped outside this small package of moves include a Monday night contest against Kurt Angle in July 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 delivers a hard back hand chop to the chest of his opponent, fans yell "Woooooo!" in mockery to Flair, whose stiff 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(In Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 any time a wrestler does a chop the fans yell the signature Wooooo!) instead of the original connotation of being a mockery of Flair.
Since the late 1970s, he has worn ornate, fur lined robes of many colors with sequins, and since the early 80s, 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). The look and sound complements his cocky in-ring persona.
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.
A Ric Flair DVD will be released within the next year entitled "Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen".
On May 19, 2003, Flair lost his World Heavyweight Championship match to Triple H. 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.
K-1 competitor Bob Sapp pays tribute to Flair during his ring entrances by coming to the ring in a feather sequined robe to the tune of Also sprach Zarathustra.
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.
WWE promotes Flair as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, but many records show that he has held more. Although some controversy still surrounds this, Ric Flair still holds the record of the most World Heavyweight Championships held by an individual in professional wrestling.
Ric Flair sites at Celebrity Link
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