WWE Superstar Classic Action Figures

” Wooooooo !!! To be the man, you have to beat the man !” quotes Ric Flair, possibly one of the most well know professional wresters in history. “The Nature Boy”,widely recognized as the 16 time World Champion (8 times NWA, 6 times WCW, and 2 times WWE), is both a hated and popular wrestler throughout his 36 year career. His legends and legacy has indeed left a major impact in professional wrestling today.

Ric Flair was born on February 25, 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee. As a young age, he moved around the country from Edina, Minnesota to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Before becoming a full time professional wrestler, He took on jobs such as lifeguard at a local pool to working as a bouncer at a club. After winning the state private school wrestling championship, he was recruited by the University of Minnesota. However, he shortly dropped out and met Olympic weightlifter Ken Patera, who later introduced him to Verne Gagne of the Verne Gagne’s wrestling school.

While most wrestling fans wrestling fans remember Flair for his bleached blond golden hair, handsomely looking figure, and slick wrestling style, he was quite the opposite in his early career in the 1970s. Back then, he was more of a power brawling wrestler who weighted nearly 300 pounds with short brown hair. However, he was already able to draw attention with his ring endurance and charismatic personality, which is a trademark of his career.

Flair soon left the AWA for Jim Crockett’s National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) after little accomplishment with Verne Gagne. Since then, “The Nature Boy” was able to call this his home and established a legacy. Unfortunately, things took a dreadful twist when his occupation was nearly finished in a dangerous plane crash that occurred in Wilmington, North Carolina. At a young age of 26, he shattered his back in three different locations and was informed not to wrestle once more by the physicians. Flair, nonetheless, demonstrated resolve and courage by performing thorough physical therapies and made his triumphant return in six months. Though he returned to the ring, the injuries forced him to switch his wresting method to the slick technique wrestling fanatics recognize today.

In 1978, Ric finally reached the top elite class when he started referring himself as “The Nature Boy”, which started a heated rivalry between him and the original “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers. In the following few years, he became the main draw for NWA and won several NWA World Championships while fending off top stars such as Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Harley Race and more. It was around this time that Flair started to embrace the role of “The Nature Boy” wrestling fans know today, sporting bleached blond hair, expansive suits, elegant jewelry, and astonishing custom robes while chopping away the competitions with his trademark chops and making opponents tapping out to his figure four leglock.

“The Nature Boy” helped created one of the most recognized factions in wrestling known as the Four Horseman in 1985. Tully Blanchard, and Ole and Arn Anderson formed the initial party. This infamous band employed their rule breaking tactics and number to obliterate NWA’s superstars while maintaining most of the championship titles. This party would soon after resurfaced at WCW with various affiliates.

After Crockett left NWA, he formed the World Championship Wrestling and built his promotion around Flair as the champion. It was here in WCW that Flair brought out the best in superstars such as Sting, Barry Windam, Lex Luger, Terry Funk, and the Steiner Brothers. A dispute with WCW president Jim Herd in the spring of 1991 promoted Flair to leave WCW and joined its main rivalry, Vince McMahon’s WWE.

After his arrival, Ric Flair quickly established himself as an elite by winning the 1992 Royal Rumble and winning the WWE title from Randy Savage few months later. Fans who were hoping for a dream match between Flair and Hogan were disappointed when Flair quickly exited WWE after a brief stint. Upon returning he rapidly regain the top spot by winning the WCW title from Vader at Starrcade 1993. In June 1994, he at last partake in the ultimate showdown with Hulk Hogan, that drew high ratings and viewerships. For the rest of the years, he reformed the Four Horseman to battle the New World Order (NWO). Because WCW’s backstage politics and them wanting to promote newer and fresher stars such as Goldberg, Flair’s later days with WCW was very underutilized and very forgettable.

Ric Flair took a short break from wrestling after the buyout. He returned to WWE as the on-camera co-owner of the company, shocking owner Vince McMahon and started a feud with him. Flair afterward became a major corner stone in Triple H’s Evolution, serving as a counselor to youthful stars Bastisa and Randy Orton. After the group’s dismissal, Flair was all over WWE’s TV shows battling young and upcoming stars while trying to promote them. At Wreslemania XXIV, Flair finally wrestled his last match, losing to Shawn Michaels in one emotional match that was voted by Professional Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) as the Match of the Year.

While most respect Flair, few others have different opinions of him. Canadian wrestling legend Bret Hart was not pleased when Ric Flair, in his autobiography, criticizes Hart for over-exploiting the death of Owen Hart, and the Montreal Screwjob, while also claming Hart was not a money-making draw in wrestling. Another displeased with Flair was the Hardcore legend Mick Foley. Flair, in his book, mentions that Mick will always be a glorified stuntman instead of a real wrestler. Legend Bruno Sammarito once quoted he has no respect for Ric Flair since Flair said that Sammartino cannot draw any money outside of New York.

Although he cannot please everyone, “The Nature Boy” still have clearly established his legacy in the wrestling business. Followers today pay tribute to him by shouting “Woooooo!” whenever a wrestler performs a knife-edge wrestling chop to the opponent’s upper body, which was one of his signature move. It does not matter if wrestling fans remember him as the “limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing son of a gun” or his outlandish wits and entertaining interview style with his bleached blond hair and elaborate robes, Ric Flair is indeed, a wrestling legend like no other and certainly the only one deserving of a Woooooo!!!