WWE: 15 Greatest Technical Wrestlers – Number 7

As we move closer towards finding the greatest technical wrestler in the history of WWE, along the way, we come across some of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling. It is not necessary that the greatest names in the industry are those who’re pure entertainers. The Hogans and The Rocks were never known to be technical geniuses, but there are names in the business who’re primarily great wrestlers, and also great entertainers. Today, we look at arguably the biggest name in professional wrestling history, a man who traveled all around the world, wrestling the biggest legends in the business and in the process, earning the respect of all the wrestling fans. He overcame adversity at the very beginning of his career, when he suffered a major accident as the plane in which he was travelling crashed, and he was told he’d never walk again! Not only did he defeat those odds, but he became the greatest professional wrestler alive. ‘The living legend’ is a name he gave to himself at the very beginning of his career, and today, he is seen as someone who built the professional wrestling industry, taking it to greater heights. He’s the ‘Limousine ridin’, jet flyin’, kiss stealin’, wheelin’ and dealin’ son of a gun’, the ‘Nature Boy’, Ric Flair.

“Suspending disbelief is the goal of the athletic soap opera that is pro wrestling…. Great performers do it most of the time. Good performers do it some of the time. Ric Flair did it every time.” – Mark Madden

When you talk about professional wrestling, you have to mention Ric Flair. From being ‘the guy’ in professional wrestling business, to carrying NWA on his shoulders for multiple years, to forming the greatest stable in the history of professional wrestling, Ric Flair has ‘done it all’. Starting his career in the AWA, Flair found his initial success in Japan, where he wrestled some of the greatest names in the industry. But Flair found his biggest success in the NWA, where he was made the ‘Nature Boy’, a title which was originally given to Buddy Rogers. In ’81, Flair reached the pinnacle of North American wrestling when he won the prestigious NWA World Heavyweight title, and established himself as the franchise player in the company. He held the title on multiple occasions, and was the flag bearer of NWA and feuded against the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper.

Flair was also one of the founding fathers of the faction ‘The Four Horsemen’, initially starting the stable along with the Andersons, Tully Blanchard and his manager JJ Dillon. Since then, the faction had different members including the likes of Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman and Curt Hennig. Flair was involved in one of the greatest feuds of all time against Ricky Steamboat, and they faced each other at WrestleWar in a match which won the ‘Match of the year’ award, and is considered to be one of the greatest matches of all time! Flair then competed in a series of matches against his arch nemesis and his close friend in real life, a youngster who went by the name of ‘Sting’. Flair and Sting had many memorable matches, and Flair put Sting over by dropping the NWA World title to him in ’90.

Flair came to the WWF in ’91, bringing the World title along with him. It was one of the rare instances in professional wrestling where a wrestler carried a company’s premier title to another organization, and thus started the ‘Real champion’ angle in the WWF. Flair then won the WWF championship at the Royal Rumble in ’92 and went on to feud with Randy Savage for the title. Flair is one of the few performers who performed for nearly an hour in the Royal Rumble match. He returned to WCW to beat the then WCW Heavyweight champion, Vader, and later defeated his old nemesis, Sting. Flair then reformed the Four Horsemen, and continued to make sporadic appearances and as an on – screen authority figure till the very end of WCW. Flair wrestled Sting on the very last episode of Monday Nitro, and was given a standing ovation after the match, as a visibly emotional Flair hugged Sting, in what is considered to be the greatest moment in WCW history.

Flair then returned to the WWF/E as the co – owner of the company, and soon joined Triple H’s stable ‘Evolution’, as the seasoned veteran. Flair has since won the WWE tag team titles along with the WWE Intercontinental title, and wrestled his last match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. Flair also has the distinction of being the only performer who was inducted twice into the WWE Hall of Fame, and although he worked in TNA after his retirement in the WWE, he has since signed a legends deal with the WWE. Flair is considered to be one of the most controversial superstars of all time, with his on – screen and off – screen antics angering a lot of peers and critics. He also lost all of his savings due to a lavish life style he preferred. Flair also got into many personal feuds with the likes of Bret Hart, Mick Foley and Bruno Sammartino, but since then has buried the hatchet with most of them.

Flair was involved in multiple ‘Match of the year’ picks, and was also a part of many 5 star matches inside and outside of the United States, which were rated by Wrestling Observer. He was also a part of couple of matches which were rated more than five, which is considered to be a ‘wrestler’s dream’. He was also adjudged the ‘Wrestler of the Year’ for a record 8 times! Flair is considered to be one of the greatest in – ring technicians, popularizing the figure four leg lock, which he made his trademark finisher. There is a reason why Flair is considered to be one of the greatest of all time, as he not only exceeded his peers in the ring, but could cut some of the greatest promos, and was a part of some of the legendary feuds in the business. His accomplishments and his legacy earn him the number 7 spot in our list of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the WWE.