Ric Flair

American retired professional wrestler

Richard Morgan Fliehr[6][a] (born February 25, 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee[6]) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is better known by his ring name, Ric Flair. Flair has worked for the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Jim Crockett Promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and many others. He was the leader of the Four Horsemen in WCW and a member of Evolution in WWE. He is a two time WWE Hall of Famer and a 16-time world champion according to WWE.[7][b]

Ric Flair
Flair in 2019
Born (1949-02-25) February 25, 1949 (age 75)[1]
Other namesRichard Morgan Fliehr
EducationWayland Academy
Alma materUniversity of Minnesota
Occupations
  • Professional wrestling manager
  • professional wrestler
  • author
Years active1972–present
Spouses
  • Leslie Goodman
    (m. 1971; div. 1983)
  • Elizabeth Harrell
    (m. 1983; div. 2006)
  • Tiffany VanDemark
    (m. 2006; div. 2009)
  • Jackie Beems
    (m. 2009; div. 2014)
  • Wendy Barlow
    (m. 2018)
Children4, including David, Ashley, and Reid
RelativesConrad Thompson (son-in-law)[2]
Andrade El Idolo (son-in-law)
Ring name(s)The Black Scorpion[1]
Ric Flair[1]
Billed weight243 lb (110 kg)[3]
Billed fromCharlotte, North Carolina, U.S.[3]
Trained byVerne Gagne[3][4]
DebutDecember 10, 1972[1][5]

It was reported that Flair wrestled his last match at age 73. On July 31, 2022, at Starrcast V from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium,[10] Flair teamed with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo. They defeated the team of Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.[10] The match included cameos by many well known wrestlers. They included Jerry “The King” Lawler, Cody Rhodes, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Michelle McCool, Sting and Diamond Dallas Page.[10]

Flair's nickname is "The Nature Boy". His finisher was a Figure 4 Leg Lock. His sons David (born 1979) and Reid (1988–2013) were professional wrestlers, while his daughter Ashley (born 1986), better known by her ring name Charlotte Flair, still wrestles in WWE.

Championships and accomplishments

change
 
Flair held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 9 times.
 
Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 for his singles career...
 
... and in 2012 as a member of The Four Horsemen.

Footnotes

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  1. According to Flair's autobiography To Be the Man, his birth name was listed on different documents as Fred Phillips, Fred Demaree, and Fred Stewart. Given that his biological father's surname was Phillips, it is suspected that Fred Phillips is his actual birth name, but Flair has never followed up on the fact. On March 18, 1949, he was legally adopted by the Fliehr family and was renamed Richard Morgan Fliehr.
  2. Many different sources list various numbers of Flair's world championship reigns, from 16 or 17 to 25.[8] In 2009 Flair said that he was a 21-time champion.[9]
  3. Flair did win the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship six times and the six reigns were listed even after World Championship Wrestling (WCW) took control over the championship and renamed it the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in 1991. After WCW's purchase by WWE, the history of the championships was continued with the WWE United States Championship. WWE.com has written different information on Flair's reigns – listing five reigns in one article, but describing him as a six-time champion in another article.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Westcott, Brian. "Ric Flair". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  2. Price, Mark (January 17, 2018). "Ric Flair announces his daughter's engagement to a guy wrestling fans know well". charlotteobserver.com. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Ric Flair profile". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  4. Milner, John and Richard Kamchen. "Ric Flair". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
  5. Woodward, Buck (December 10, 2010). "This day in history". PWInsider. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Power Slam". This Month in History: February. SW Publishing. January 1999. p. 28. 55.
  7. "Ric Flair's title history". WWE.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  8. Buck Woodward (April 2, 2008). "Ric Flair: The 16-time... 18-time... 21-time... Exactly how many times has he been World Champion?". PWInsider.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  9. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Ric Flair Return. Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin. YouTube. November 1, 2009. Event occurs at 31 seconds. Retrieved February 4, 2010. Fact be known, it's 21 times. 16, I'll take credit for.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Konuwa, Alfred. "Ric Flair's Last Match Results: Winners, News And Notes On July 31, 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  11. Eck, Kevin (January 2, 2009). "2008 Awards". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  12. "Induction Class 2021 | Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". IPWHF. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  13. "Flair, Watts, Taylor to enter Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame". WrestleView. October 17, 2012. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  14. WCW World Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  15. NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  16. NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title history Archived April 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
  17. NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  18. Benigno, Anthony. "Ric Flair and David Flair — United States Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015. The Dirtiest Player in the Game also had six stints with the United States Title, which is enough to build a legacy on in and of itself
  19. NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  20. NWA World Tag Team Title (Mid-Atlantic/WCW) history At wrestling-titles.com
  21. "NWA World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-titles.com.
  22. 22.00 22.01 22.02 22.03 22.04 22.05 22.06 22.07 22.08 22.09 22.10 22.11 22.12 "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  23. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1991". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  25. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1992". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  26. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1994". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  27. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  28. "Missouri Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-titles.com.
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 "Title history: Ric Flair". WWE. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
  30. "Ric Flair Statue Being Made For WrestleMania 33 Axxess". January 24, 2017. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2018.