Ric Flair: Difference between revisions

 

{{quote|''"If wrestling can be considered an art form, then [Ric Flair] is using oils, and the many others merely water colors."''|'''[[Jim Ross]]''', ''Starrcade 1988''}}

In the "sport" of [[Professional Wrestling]], there are wrestlers, there are superstars, there are legends... and then there's [[Ric Flair]] (real name Richard Morgan Fliehr, born in 1949). With a career spanning four decades (starting in 1972), sixteen (at least) World Championships, legendary matches and feuds with some of the biggest names in the business, and a retirement sendoff that will likely never be duplicated in either scope or emotional impact on the fans, Flair is one of the most famous professional wrestlers who has ever lived, and is arguably one of the three biggest performers in the history of the industry (the other two being [[Hulk Hogan]] and [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]]).

 

 

* [[Also Sprach Zarathustra]]: Became his entrance music, and is pretty much universally associated with him in pro wrestling.

* [[Badass Grandpa]]: After his return to WCW in 1998, Flair was pretty much this for the next decade.

* [[Badass Long Robe]] / [[Badass Longcoat]]: A sparkly, ''befeathered'', occasionally-pink ring robe. And yet [[Real Men Wear Pink|still manages to look masculine]].

** Flair's ''[[Wrestlemania]] 24'' "retirement" match. [[Shawn Michaels|"I'm sorry. I love you."]]

* [[Blood Is the New Black]]: Whole hospital refrigerators could be filled with the bags of blood [[Ric Flair]] has bled over the course of his career. One of the most common images of him is with his hair dyed solid red and his face a red mask.

** [[Bloody Hilarious|"I'M ALL OUT OF MILK!" *blades* *eats cereal*]]

* [[Calling Your Attacks]]: Flair would often telegraph his figure-four leglock by exclaiming, "Now, we go to school!" Some of his best opponents, such as [[Bret Hart]], were [[Genre Savvy]] enough to reverse when he did that, though.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: A ton. Being in the business for four decades tends to allow you that luxury. Among his most famous:

** And, of course, "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: Flair turned on Sting more times than almost humanly ''possible.'' He turned on [[Vader]], [[Curt Hennig|Mr. Perfect]], [[Randy Orton]], [[Batista]], and even turned on fellow Horsemen [[Chris Benoit]] and Dean Malenko, in a way, with his David-centric behavior. Perhaps the most triumphant example of this trope, though, was during the 1992 Royal Rumble, when he gave The Barbarian a high-five, circled around in front of him and ''immediately'' gave him a knife-edge chop.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: As [[Fighting Dirty|"The Dirtiest Player in the Game"]] as well as an avid fan of [[Groin Attack|nut-shots]], this trope fits him to a T.

* [[Cool Old Guy]]

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Especially after [[Hulk Hogan]] joined WCW, and during the Monday Night Wars.

* [[Eye Poke]]: One of his signature moves.

* [[Face Fault]]: The "Flair Flop", in which Flair would get hit a few times, stagger forward, then fall flat on his face.

* [[Flung Clothing]]: Some of his promos towards the end of [[WCW]] would see him rip off his suit until he was down to his underwear... and to add salt to the would, he would drop elbows on his suit jacket.

** According to pretty much everyone, Flair was fond of doing this while partying too.

* ''[[God]]'' [[A God Am I|Am I]]: In TNA, he literally thinks that he is the wrestling form of ''God''. Not ''a'' god. '''God.'''

* [[Good Is Dumb]]: Inverted, as Flair would famously lure Sting (aka "[[Fan Nickname|the dumbest man in wrestling]]") into the Four Horsemen and then turn on him, kicking him out of the group. And he did it '''twice.'''

* [[Groin Attack]]: Pretty much every heel during Flair's heyday used the Low Blow. Flair [[Trope Codifier|turned it into an art form.]]

* [[Intergenerational Friendship]]: With [[Shawn Michaels]] and [[Triple H]], the former of which wrestled Flair in his WWE "retirement" match and the latter inducted him into the Hall of Fame.

* [[Large Ham]]

* [[Leitmotif]]: ''[[Also Sprach Zarathustra]]'', Flair's famous entrance theme.

** [[The Coats Are Off]]

* [[Lovable Rogue]]

* [[Mad Eye]]: Oh my god, Naitch's crazy-eyes must be seen to be believed.

** [[Friendship Moment|Like the matching Rolexes he and ShawnMichaels bought to commemorate his last WWE match]].

* [[Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught]]: Again, he wasn't called "The Dirtiest Player in the Game" for no reason.

* [[Pixellation]]: When Flair brought the NWA Title to the WWF, it was pixellated due to legal reasons, and it was explained that Flair's NWA Title was not sanctioned by the WWF.

** The full story here is that Flair, like every NWA champion, had put down a $25,000 deposit on the belt. Since he kept winning, his deposit was never returned. When he was fired/resigned from WCW (without having been made to drop the title), the deposit was never returned so Ric kept the belt and took it with him to WWF. WCW filed a lawsuit which led to Ric wearing a WWF tag title at house shows and the Pixellation but the court still wasn't happy. In the end, WWF decided "hell with it" and put the world title on him. If it hadn't been for the lawsuit, the Hogan-Flair feud would have been far longer.

** Also, the Horsemen's gimmick. According to Arn Anderson, it became a "full-blown shoot".

** The plane crash that broke his back caused him to alter his style in-ring. To the end, he never took another drop directly on his back (its slightly to the side).

* [[Rule of Cool]]

* [[Serious Business]]: Over half of Flair's career was during the days of kayfabe being unbroken.

* [[Theatrics of Pain]]: If Flair wanted you to believe he was in pain, he would make you believe it.

* [[Throw It In]]: At an NWA TV taping in 1986, Flair, Ole, and Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and manager JJ Dillon were placed in an impromptu interview spot together due to time constraints. The four wrestlers had been working as something akin to a [[Power Stable]] before this, but then Arn said "The only time this much havoc had been wreaked by this few a number of people, you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" during the interview; just weeks later, fans were carrying "[[Four Horsemen]]" signs to NWA events. The name stuck, and the Four Horsemen went on to become arguably the most successful and powerful stable in pro wrestling (until the [[New World Order]] came along).

* [[Verbal Tic]]: Rhymes with "boo"...

----

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Seventies]]

[[Category:Professional Wrestling]]

[[Category:Wrestling]]