If I asked you 10 years ago in 2001, “What do you think of Ric Flair?”, you’re first reaction would have been – “He still wrestles? Isn’t he like 60 years old?”
Sure, The Nature Boy was only half of what he once was during the last days of WCW. But stick a mic in his face and give him a ring to perform, and Flair would get the adrenaline pumping throughout the arena on his promos alone. His matches weren’t top shelf like they once were in his epic battles with Race, Rhodes, or Steamboat – to name a few. And we all knew he’d never hit that top turnbuckle move that he always got caught on and launched across the ring from. But we sure as hell popped with a loud “WHOOOOO” any time he laced into someone’s chest skin with a vicious backhand chop. The magic was that Flair was a living legend, and having the opportunity to see him perform was a privilege you’d be able to brag about years later while watching the new and inexperienced green meat cattle being rounded up by the WWE.
Now fast forward 10 years later to the present day. I ask you, “What do you think about Ric Flair?”. You’re first reaction might be, “He still wrestles? I thought he was dead!”. Then I’d respond and say, “Yeah, he’s still going strong in TNA”. Then you’d say, “What the fuck is TNA?”….but that’s another story and rant that I’ll save for another day.
It’s 2011, and Ric Flair looks like he’s a 180 years old. But for 180, he’s still in pretty good shape. The problem is, it just looks so unfair to watch somebody’s grandfather trying to keep up with these young stallions who are running (and flying) circles around him. Now don’t even try to come at me with the bullshit that he’s “passing the torch” to a younger generation. That torch was passed a long time ago when guys like Shawn Michaels were establishing themselves as icons. Ironically, Shawn Michaels put in a full career, is retired for over a year and is already inducted into the Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Flair is still bouncing and bleeding around the ring and trying to swing his dick with the younglings for a paycheck in a bush league company.
When you think back to the all-time greats, you relive the memories that made them larger than life and better than the rest. You can easily pinpoint certain matches, promos, and feuds that are etched in our minds and helped drive the passion we had for the business. Yet everyday that goes by that sees Ric Flair still competing as an active wrestler is not only depressing, but it’s tarnishing the legacy, the reputation and the respect I had for an individual who at one time was considered a “Wrestling God”.
Let’s keep it real – Ric Flair is only still wrestling because he’s HORRIBLE at managing money. He lives his gimmick, although he may argue that Ric Flair is anything but a gimmick. Call it whatever the fuck you want – gimmick, lifestyle, it doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is that he’s a broke old man who can’t do anything else to earn a living, so he’s cashing in on a name and reputation that is pretty much worn out and full of bad credit. Ric Flair has literally bankrupted his image.
Look at his body of work over the last 15 years. What has he really done? Keep in mind that it’s been 10 years since WCW folded – so his entire WWE run was nothing but charity work. And for the 5 years before WCW folded, Flair was booked as the n.W.o and Eric Bischoff’s bitch. So where exactly do you spot greatness? Other than his supposed retirement against Shawn Michaels, what the fuck has the great Ric Flair done in over a decade that’s worth remembering?
When I think of Ric Flair, I think of his run in the NWA and leader of the Horsemen. I think about flipping through Pro Wrestling Illustrated trying to learn more about this “real” world champion because I lived in Brooklyn, NY where our cable stations didn’t carry TBS or NWA programming. I remember him finally arriving to the WWE and getting tickets to Madison Square Garden to see the dream match between him and Hogan. I remember his return to WCW and his classic battles against Steamboat, Vader, and Rude.
But shortly after 1994, the memories stop. It was around that time, in the summer of 1994 that Hulk Hogan joined WCW. And once the red and yellow infected the WCW, Ric Flair became Hogan’s little bitch. How many different variations of the Horsemen were forced down our throat to keep Flair’s name alive? How many times was he banished from the company for misconduct only to return and have his head shaved and play a mental patient? How many wannabe wrestlers did he put over in the middle of the ring because “it was good for business”? As loved as he was and as much as he had accomplished, Ric Flair became a joke and a locker room punchline.
And if you think his in ring performances were nothing short of the shits, how about everything he’s been going through outside of the ring? What number marriage is he on these days? For a guy who claims to be the dirtiest player in the game, he doesn’t know shit about getting prenuptial agreements. Ric Flair will most likely have to wrestle till the day he dies so he can pay off these broads that pretty much own him. And for a guy who supposedly gets more ass than a toilet seat, he sure acts like a pimple faced virgin who falls in love and marries every chick who spreads eagle for him. Yeah, that’s a real “Nature Boy” – emphasis on the “boy”.
How about his road rage and constant physical altercations with random people? Is this the character of a legend? Or is it simply the reflection of a broken down old man who can’t come to terms and accept his life’s failures? Believe it or not, I’ve personally experienced being “physically victimized” by Flair over a miscommunication while working for WCW. These recent outbursts are nothing new – just an example of a man who believes his own hype and is a mark for himself.
And how can we forget his recent string of stiffing people for money. Wow! What has the world come to when the legendary Ric Flair becomes nothing but a two-bit money hustler? Ask Highspots what it was like dealing with Ric Flair who commanded an absurd $30,000 for a shoot interview and a handful of autograph appearances. Ask Ring of Honor what it was like being hustled for a large cash advance only to have the “legend” no-show or threaten to walk out unless he got more money. Let’s talk about how he nickel and dimes the fans for autographs after it was their admiration that made him the legend he thinks he is today. Let’s ask the boys in TNA how tired they’ve become of lending him money and having to cover his outrageous bar tabs. I bet it was fun doing round after round of Kamikazes until the bill came and the only thing Ric Flair felt when he stuck his hand in his pocket was his leg. It must have been nice in the beginning for the young stars to brag to their friends that they’re hanging out and getting shit-faced with Ric Flair, until it started happening all the time and he became nothing but nuisance. 
I know this article was brutally honest, but those are the key elements aren’t they? Brutal and honest. Why skirt around the facts and truth? Why make excuses? Why turn a blind eye? Why? Because he’s Ric Flair? Fuck that! Because he’s Ric Flair, he should be better! Because so many fans looked up to him as such an authoritative figure, he should be better! Because so many young wrestlers want to walk in his footsteps because of the legend he should be, he should be better! Because he was the epitome of what legends and champions are made of, he should be better! He’s Ric Fuckin’ Flair, dammit!
THIS is what Ric Flair will be remembered as. A legend who didn’t know when to walk away. A financially irresponsible man who spent more than he made. A bully who used his name and celebrity to strong-arm and manipulate those he encountered. A man who was endeared by the world and given an elaborate farewell by Shawn Michaels and the WWE, but whose ego and financial woes led him back into the ring to re-neg his retirement promise….
I’ve followed the legend of Ric Flair for over 30 years. I know what he was, but now I have a five year old son who’s heard me talk about Flair, and sadly, the only thing he’ll remember the legend as is a really old man who’s always yelling and looks like he needs to wear a bra in the ring. For me personally, I know how I’d like to remember Ric Flair…but I’m afraid that that he’ll go down in my memory as one of the saddest stories pro wrestling has ever told.
As hard as it was to read, I know what you say is true. I’ll always love Flair, but it’s hard to keep watching him on TNA (the wrestling retirement home or graveyard as I call it). Ric’s more of a lewd, one man comedy show than the gladiator he used t be, it’s truly sad.
You can dismiss the simplicity of my opinion, of the notion that I’m just a Ric Flair fan (I am), so therefore my opinion is invalid. I can’t even close to agreeing with all of this, but I do think there a couple of good points to be found here.
Unfortunately those points are ruined by a tone that reads like a whiny little kid who can’t stop the temper tantrum, because he didn’t get his way. This was a bitter, spiteful, shrill rant that served no purpose and offers no real insight or perspective.
Ric flair is the greatest! because of him millions of people around the world will turn on the tv just to see him.I think that if any one has had a personal problem with him should keep it there and don’t try to talk shit about him.I am a big wrestling fan and in have never ever seen ric flair in person but i admire him all the way and he has always been my favorite wrestler.
Ric Flair is only an embaressment to wathc. every match he bleeds like a pig, totally needlessly. The only reason he still is in the business is his bankrupcy. He cant even earn enough even if he “wrestles” til 80 to pay of his debts. I believed him when SM sweet chin musiced him into retiement but because he is living in his own world he has to keep working!
Awesome article!!!!!
How Dare you. Ric Flair is wrestling. Wrestling is Ric Flair. I adore his life style. Big Wheelin, Casino dealing ….
The man did it all. He won it all. The day he stops wrestling, is the day I stop watching wrestling.
REALLY THE NATURE LOSER RIC FLAIR REALLY HE CAN’T WRESTLE. RIC FLAIR HULK HOGAN AND JOHN CENA SUCK THEY SHOULD NOT BE IN THE SAME CADAGORY AS HHH HBK EDDIE GUERRIO CHRIS JERICO CHRIS BENOIT UNDERTAKER BATISTA GOLDBURG KURT ANGLE STING AU STYLES ANDRA THE GIANT SCOTT STIENER BOOMERS T KEVIN NASH TED DEBIASSSI DUSTY RHODES RODDY RODDY PIPER HURRICANE AND GOLDDUST
I watch Ric Flair every week on Impact (TNA) and he really shouldn’t be there. I understand that he’s a legend, but really? Every single time he picks up the mic, he goes off on this barely intelligible tangent about how he’s “god” and how everyone owes him respect because of how good he is (USED to be, if you ask me). If what this article says is true, he really should just retire quietly and get a job as Richard Fliehr. He is too old and withered to be doing this to himself and his legacy.
My husband ran into ric flair at a bar and ric signed an autograph for him I remember watching him on tv when i was a child . my husband told me that ric left 100 dollars at the bar and told a few VETS that were there to drink on the 100$ . he kept gettin up and talking to his wife on the phone As soon as my husband brought the autograGH TO ME i was like pshhh …. ric is washed up from a DRUNKEN rampage and is old and ugly he can take his WHOOOOOOO and shove it up his ass like i told my husband to do they both hang out in bars and stick their dicks in anything that will spreaD… So i put my husband down where i would put ric flair
Rick flair is exactly who he said he was in his promos check out his nwa promos he said he will do anything to stay on too he will not move out of the big house he will drive nothing but Mercedes Benz and rolls Royce.I ask you is he not the guy he portrayed on TV he is sticking to his word he will do anything to stay on top,he is and always will be the nature boy.
Ric Flair has earned the right to do anything he damn well pleases.
While Ric Flair has definitely tarnished what was once a legendary career, your piece comes across as an angry attack rather than a fair and balanced analysis. And then it all made sense when I got to this gem of a line:
“Believe it or not, I’ve personally experienced being “physically victimized” by Flair over a miscommunication while working for WCW.”
Whether legitimate or imagined, you feel he’s wronged you and you now have a personal grudge against him. This bias has heavily influenced your article and made it hard to accept at face value. You know what they say, haters gonna hate.
this rediculous
I watched wrestling in black/white at nana’s. I continued thru the 70′s & 80″s when things got amped..storylines, fueds etc. I watched the mcmahon’s wwf, the wccw “von erich’s” the fueds and stories were awesome, and finally the ric flair crew (sorry I don’t know the logo..hey i’m old gimme a break. I could stomach every storyline, personality and so on. Ric Flair ALWAYS struck me as he believed his own hype, that he lived it, breathed it.WHOO yea, actually NO and Flippin STOP IT!! I have to agree with this article, warts and all, it’s true. He should be kickin back by his pool with a loyal wife who saw thru the bs. Too bad he couldn’t see it. The 80′s are long gone, he should be gone too (retired I mean, not dead!)
Oh I get it. He hurt your feelings and this is your attempt to get the last word. I got nothing but respect for Ric and other icons of wrestling who made it what it is today. That industry is TOUGH and most are chewed up and spit out. I figure if God himself waits to the last moment to judge me, I probably shouldn’t cast a quick judgement on them. They’re just men. Pioneers and icons… but flawed, imperfect men. I’d love to see you step into the squared circle with Ric and tell him to his face how tragic he is. It’s easy to write crap and throw it on the web. Some folks might even believe it. But, you haven’t successfully hidden your venom and it taints the shreds of truth in your rant.
16 times world champion nuff said !!!!!
Disagree with the article. This is the second article I have ran across with someone in Ric’s business. You try doing what he has done well into you’re 60′s. Give the man some credit, he loves what he does for a living. Not many of us can say that. That stuff about his financial woes is none on anyones business.
i don’t care what you say Ric i was and still is the greatest heal ever to lace up a pair of boots no one else even comes close
Hmm… So you must know Ric personally to have all this accurate information. Lol..
Let me guess, you got most of your info from other websites.
He couldn’t possibly still be active in the wrestling biz because he loves it. Dude, have have you even watched any of his real interviews recently? The guy still cries over this business! He never really wanted to retire, and realized that when he did. It’s just too hard for him to walk away, and I can respect that. And the crap you spewed about wcw, the horsemen, etc, was ridiculous.Watch the horsemen DVD . It had nothing to do with keeping ric flairs name alive.
As far as debt.. Who cares? That’s his business. Wives? Again, that’s his business. Before putting the most negative spin you possibly can on his personal life… Try getting all your facts straight. And before you can do that, you’ll have to know the man himself… And we all know, that isn’t gonna happen.
Really !!!! DieHard Derek You are one sorry piece of stinking manure, Youve never accomplished anything in your sorry misrable life and never will you shit talking loser !! you Liar you should be ashamed, Ric Flair made Pro wrestling what it is today , WOOOO !!!!!!
Fuck this article & its writer. flair is a fuckin great. U can say he’s washed up but when have any of u been great at anything. ur great at sitting at computers & talking shit about ppl. ur all a bunch of bitchez. When ur half as important to ur line of wrk as him then talk shit other then that shut the fuck up. Put yo life on the table &see how ur judged u nerd ass bitch.
I watched Ric in the 80s,90s, 2000s and now. His image still has value. If I was advising him, I would put him into personal bankruptcy which would wipe out his debts. Second, the image thing is still a valuable asset and bankable. There are thousands of young men and women that want to get into the pro wrestling market. That is part of his strong point. I would set him up with a professional quality business manager who would manage his money but under some sort of plan that would keep tabs on the manager. Ric’s family should be able to help him there. Somehow, I would get him to leave the alcohol. In short, there is a lot left in the tank but he has to be willing to use it constructively.
Ric, The greatest ever, wrestler and entainmener, Can still put on a show and
stills shows the young ones how to do it.
Keep going Rick, if are just like THE TIDE keep rollin you are still # 1
So? Nobody’s perfect! As a fan who’s only concern is the character i see on tv, which should be the case for every ‘no life’ out there, i don’t wanna hear it. not my business.
Ric Flair’s the greatest wooooooo!
Ric Flair is the spirit of professional wrestling, he has given most of his life to this business and has entertained and inspired millions of people in a career spanning several decades. And yet some people can only find fault in him, for example his issues with money and alcohol. Can we honestly say that we have never been through difficult times, just because he is famous does that mean he can go through troubles like the rest of us? At the end of the day who are we to say when flair should retire ? yes he may not be as fit as he once was but wouldent we be more concerned if he was still being thrown around the ring like a man in his 20`s. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Neva u talk shit again asshole.
Damn what has happened in Ric Flairs personal life in my eyes he is and always be the greatest wrestler to ever live . Now if you are a true wrestling fan that is what you should remember. The man played his part better than anyone has ever done it. Now that he is having a few problems you so called fan turn your back on him. That really sucks and it shows that you do not know shit about wrestling or loyalty.So personally for the greatest wrestler entertainer that ever lived i say fuck u your sorry ass opinion. Long live Ric Flair and his wrestling legacy.Now that is true loyalty take a lesson from a true fan bitch.
RICK FLAIR IS A TRUE WRESTING LEGEND THAT HAS GIVEN HIS LIFE TO THE BUSINESS!
His personal life is his own, no one’s perfect, keep enjoying him while he’s still here!
DIEHARD DEREK you are totally right. Ric Flair is a piece of crap.. i hope he has a heart attack in the ring one day and dies. TNA WWE AND WCW all sucked ass. True Wrestling is ECW and ROH and NJPW. These so called “WWE hall of famers” are sell outs. ROH wrestlers actually give a shit about the fans. I’d take Kevin Steen over Hogan, Cena, Flair, and CM Fuck any day
Well .. Old man or not it sounds like he can still whip your ass !!
Sounds like you are throwing a verbal jab to counter your victimized incident .
At least you got the shit kicked out of you by a legend !!
I am a long time flair fan and I hate to see his decline also ..
However you are making cheep shots from behind a computer screen
some where .. Get a life .. Find some thing interesting to write about ..
That is if you have any talent !! What a joke .. I hope flair runs in to you again so he can finish what he started .
The man’s still working in his 60′s in a field where most don’t have what it takes in their 20′s. Somehow that’s portrayed as a bad thing? Perhaps what makes him the greatest
is that he loves his work and is the character he plays.
I’m sick !
I’ve added a view to this article
And for ONE REASON : because you mention the name of Slick Ric Flair
Too bad for you people who are jealous of a real man
Hogan was a clown, S. Michaels (did I spell correctly?) was the king of clowns, HHH was great but could not go further. You still have hope that John Cena (who is a real man and an amazing athlete) can replace the Naitch… too bad it won’t work
“YOU CANNOT BE LIKE THE NATURE BOY !!!”
WOOOOOOOOOOO there goes the man