5 WWE Superstars that have gone seriously mainstream since The Rock did

#3 WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair

Ric Flair, in all his wheelin'-dealin'-kiss-stealin' glory.

OK, putting WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair on this list sort of seems like it's cheating, but just bear with me. I promise this will make sense.

Ric Flair has been around in the pro wrestling world since the 1970s. However, it's only been in the last 15 to 20 years or so that the "Nature Boy" has really made a significant impact on popular culture. However, he wasn't making that impact by starring in movies or reality TV shows. He was doing it by simply being Ric Flair.

Let's talk about how much Hip-Hop artists just love the Dirtiest Player in the Game. As fellow WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg put it in ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary on Flair:

"As a kid growing up watching Ric Flair, he was very inspirational to myself and a lot of other hip-hop artists because he represented what we wanted to be... He was a part of our culture and our life. That’s why we love him and we cherish him. We’ve always held him high in the black community, because Ric is one of us."

In 2019, Flair appeared on The Tonight Show with Offset, as the rapper performed "Ric Flair Drip" - essentially an ode to the sentiment Snoop shared above.

On top of that, so many professional athletes playing today (well, more than likely not today...) were wrestling fans growing up that you would think someone working for a major sports organization would hire Flair to speak to their team before a big game to motiva... *holds hand to hear* One moment... I'm being informed that this has already happened.

So many stars have come and gone who have - either by the fans or by themselves - dubbed themselves "icons." Flair hasn't just become a wrestling icon - he's always been one of those. He's become a lifestyle icon.