Criticizing the Best: Ric Flair

[#hamler]

PART THREE of my "Criticizing the Best" series. No matter how perfect the said Superstar is, criticize him Now's your chance. Feel free to rip posts apart piece by piece.I want a dicussion here. Please, explain your answer and don't Spam. This thread, you have a chance to criticize..

Ric Flair​

Slick Rick, The 60 Minute-Man, The Golden Stallion, The Master of the Figure Four, The Wrestling God, The Dirtiest Player in the Game, the Kiss-stealing, wheeling dealing, jet-flying, limousine-riding, Stylin' and profilin', Son-of-a-gun, the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ric was once part of the greatest faction to ever grace the wrestling ring, "the Four Horseman". Ric has won numerous championships. Some that aren't even recognized by the WWE. Ric Flair is a 26 Time World Champion.

1. Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World title in Kansas City MO on SEP 17 1981.

2. Ric Flair awarded NWA World title in Miami FL on FEB 9 1982.

3. Ric Flair defeated Jack Veneno for the NWA World title by forfeit on SEP 7 1982

4. Ric Flair defeated Carlos Colon for the NWA World title on JAN 21 1983.

5. Ric Flair defeated Victor Jovica for the NWA World title in Manatí, Puerto Rico on FEB 11 1983.

6. Ric Flair defeated Harley Race for the NWA World title in Greensboro NC on NOV 24 1983.

7. Ric Flair defeated Harley Race for the NWA World title in Kallang, Singapore on MAR 23 1984.

8. Ric Flair defeated Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World title in Yokosuka City, Japan on MAY 24 1984.

9. Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World title in St. Louis MO on AUG 9 1986.

10. Ric Flair defeated Ronnie Garvin for the NWA World title in Chicago IL on NOV 27 1987.

11. Ric Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World title in Nashville TN on MAY 7 1989.

12. Ric Flair defeated Sting for the NWA World title in East Rutherford NJ on JAN 1 1991.

13. Ric Flair awarded WCW World title in Altanta GA in FEB 1991.

14. Ric Flair defeated Tatsumi Fujinami for the NWA World title in St. Petersburg FL on May 19 1991.

15. Ric Flair won WWF World title with his Royal Rumble victory when he eliminated Sid Justice in Albany NY on JAN 19 1992.

16. Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WWF World title in Hershey PA on SEP 1992.

17. Ric Flair defeated Barry Windham for the NWA World title in Biloxi MS on JUL 18, 1993

18. Ric Flair awarded the first ever WCW International World title in Atlanta GA on SEP 01 1993.

19. Ric Flair defeated Vader for the WCW World title in Charlotte NC on DEC 27 1993.

20. Ric Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match to determine the WCW World champion on APR 24 1994

21. Ric Flair defeated Sting for the WCW International World title on JUN 24 1994 in Orlando FL.

22. Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WCW World title in Nashville TN on DEC 27 1995.

23. Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WCW World title in St. Petersburg FL on FEB 11 1996.

24. Ric Flair defeated Terrence Bollea for the WCW World title in Louisville KY on MAR 14 1999.

25. Ric Flair defeated Jeff Jarrett in Biloxi MS on MAY 15 2000.

26. Ric Flair won the WCW World title when Kevin Nash surrendered to him in Salt Lake City UT on May 29 2000.

There is no doubt Ric Flair's in ring accomplishments speak for themselves. Ric Flair is regaurded to many including Jim Ross, as the best Wrestler ever. Ric Flair was phenomenal in his earlier days and he is still going strong. Ric Flair's in ring ability is shown through his amount of accomplishments as well as how respected he is through out the wrestling world. Flair has mentored such world champions such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Batista, AJ Styles and numerous others. Ric Flair is also looked on as the best promo cutter and mic worker in the history of wrestling.

...But Ric Flair isn't all good. At Wrestlemania 24, Ric lost to Shawn Michaels in the PWI's Match of the year and decade, to be forced to retire. Months later, he joined ROH and later TNA Wrestling. Ric wasn't flawless, which leads to the dicussion questions;

What is one flaw you saw in Ric Flair?

Would fixing this flaw make Ric Flair any better than he already was?

If you see no flaw in Ric Flair, state why. And please don't fuck up my thread with spam. Explain. Feel free to rip posts apart piece by piece, I want a discussion here.

Discuss this shit

 

[Vintage]

The one and only problem with Ric Flair is his chronic cotton mouth because he rambles. That's not my gripe with him, I don't have one but Flair is the last person you want to give a mic to during a live telecast because he'll talk until he can barely be understood and then he'll just strip naked and start beating up his custom made suit or toss his shoes into the seats. sure it's funny and I love when he forgets what he was saying during his rants but I can see him giving the production people heart palpitations when its time for his segment

 

[Judah's Lion]

Ric's flaw, and he certainly isn't alone in this, is that he un-retired when he shouldn't have. again, this isn't unique to him or even to wrestling (looking at you Brett Favre), but it is a flaw.

after the storyline and match leading up to his retirement at Mania with HBK, Flair should have stopped. he got such an incredible send off the next night on Raw.

i doubt he'll get such a send off in TNA or anywhere else.

but again, this isn't unique to him. there are several that should have retired and stayed retired as an in-ring talent: Funk and Hogan come to mind here.

Flair is the man. his accomplishments speak for themselves. and beyond that, those invisible qualities that nobody can quite explain... his in-ring work, mic skills, charisma, longevity, passion, ring psychology... this guy had numerous great feuds with loads of various opponents and gimmicks...

i think what will plague this man is that if he were to truly retire tomorrow, many would look at his final days in TNA first and remember him for those. he'll never be forgotten, but a part of his legacy will be tarnished. the same can be and has been said of Hogan and Funk. how many remember Funk as the technical wrestler that could put on iron man matches with the best as opposed to the middle-aged and crazy Chainsaw Charlie?

Flair is the man. he's never been too big to put someone over for the company. and the very fact that a company built itself on this guy's shoulders as the dirty heel champion while the WWE went with the mega face Hogan shows just how valuable he is to the history of the business. he is easily one of the 5 best all around talents in the history of wrestling and his many accomplishments are all hard earned and well deserved.

 

[BigT1011]

I've never really had a problem with Ric. The only thing that has ever REALLY bothered me about him is the way he takes back body drops. He always rolls in the air and lands on his side. Of course, the man is 60-something years old XD

 

[WWEdomination4Life]

the reason ric flair takes bumps on his side instead of flat on his back is because he was in a plane crash in 1975 and broke his back.

 

[Chicago1989]

All I can say about Ric Flair is that while I do respect his contributions to the wrestling business after all these years, I've lost respect for him for being a such a liar and for his mouth writing checks his ass can't cash. He's talked shit about TNA and about working with certain guys like Hogan and Vince Russo, and look at him now. He's an embarrassment. He's ruined his legacy and blades and calls himself God, like what, every week??

The guy should've been retired a LONG time ago, but obviously, he won't let go of his spotlight and doesn't even know when to quit the whole "Nature Boy" thing. You can't be telling me that we'll be hearing "Wooooo!" or "Whatcha Gonna Do?!" in fucking 2015 , you know?

 

[[email protected]]

The only flaw I ever saw with Ric Flair was the completely fake-looking face flop he would do to sell moves in a match.

I get the comedic value of it, but, from a worker standpoint, I personally think it would be insulting to have someone sell my move like that.

I don't know if its allowed here or not, but here is a youtube link to an example.


It just plain looks stupid, which makes him and everyone around him look stupid.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

Ric Flair's main flaw is that he just doesn't know when to quit. We all know Ric Flair is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in-ring performers in wrestling history. But at 61 years old, what else does the man really have to offer to the wrestling industry as an active wrestler? Sure, it helps to have former wrestlers on board a company to help talent. That's a no-brainer and has been a time honored tradition whether you are talking about Arnold Skaaland, Classy Freddie Blassie, Mr. Fuji, or Harley Race. But when a 61 year old man is still wrestling, there is a problem psychologically, financially, whatever.

I understand that there was an issue with tax evasion that Flair was in trouble with in 2005 (someone correct me if I'm wrong), and Flair's had about his share of divorces. But one would have to believe there are more viable ways for Flair to make a payday than to bleed like a stuck pig upon the 30 second mark of a match. TNA uses Flair well outside of a wrestling ring, but again, they book him into these ridiculous matches on an almost monthly basis. Granted, Flair can still sell and perform better than most men less than half his age which is a sad commentary on the wrestling business in and of itself.

But it's time Flair followed the example of other men his age like Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter. It's time to cut back on the matches except when the situation absolutely calls for Ric Flair to be involved. And then at that, Flair needs to understand that he doesn't have to bleed like a stuck pig at his age. Flair is already legendary for his ability to sell. Why cheapen it with copious amounts of blood?

If Flair had honored his retirement or at the very least not been so eager to get back into the ring on such a consistent basis, it would only improve his legacy. Flair is already one of the top wrestling superstars in history (to hell with that cheap attempt at controversy and revisionist history called WWE's Top 50 Superstars). If Flair had stayed true to retirement and knew when to quit wrestling, he would have maintained the widespread level of respect and honor he had after Mania. Instead, he's given more ammunition to those who want to diminish Flair's legacy.

 

[ForeverRKO]

How is ric flair " the best " when he sucks ? I mean yeah he's the same age as jesus and he won a lot of titles in " set " matches . No real talent like most of wrestling , he can't perform , I wouldn't go watch him wrestle if the tickets were free and came with a round trip plane ticket around the world . I believe he joined tna because the schedule is in favor of him because we all know TNA has the oldest wrestlers in the world . Bottom line is I don't respect flair or his career , I don't respect TNA , hogan , sting , and all those other sell outs . GoodBye

 

[wwe1997]

I've never really had a problem with Ric. The only thing that has ever REALLY bothered me about him is the way he takes back body drops. He always rolls in the air and lands on his side. Of course, the man is 60-something years old XD

He rolles on his side because he was in a plane crash and he hurt his back real bad and he was not even suppose to wrestle anymore.
And i never really liked Ric at all! He is really annoying on the mic! Just as annoying if not more than Vickie Guerrero or Michael Cole when he reads the GM messages.

 

[Yarrie]

god where to start. I never saw the value of Flair. He has numerous flaws, main one is not staying retired, that is a slap in the face to HBK, and all the superstars who farewelled him.
Also that stupid thing he did when he drop elbowed the mat, when no one was there.
And how he bleed every 3 seconds ( prob old age)
His stupid WOOOOOOOOOOOOO
flopping on the mat like a fish....god too much to judge....

 

[czar76]

For those that bash Flair on here all I have to say is watch the old matches. Yes right now he is a bit of a joke but like so many others he just can't let go. Does that tarnish his history? maybe a little but I saw the rise of Flair and let me tell you there were few better.
No one will compare to the schedual he worked and few could put on the type of matches he did with the people he wrestled. He truely could make the worst wrestler look amazing. Flair took on all the local heroes, guys who would have never made it past jobber status today and made them look like superstars. Go to youtube and put classic Ric Flair. Once u scroll through all the old NWA(WCW) stuff there will be a handfull of lesser known matches, they tell the story.

 

[The Brain]

I’m disappointed by the lack of respect for Ric Flair here. I realize the thread says criticize the best, but it’s possible to be respectfully critical. My guess is the people who disrespect Flair are too young to have memories before 1996. They probably know Flair as some old man instead of the legend he is. Or maybe they remember Bischoff and Russo burying him and making him out to be a fool. Most guys could only dream of having a fraction of the talent Flair had in his prime. I guess my criticism of Flair was he wrestled too long. If he retired years ago maybe younger fans wouldn’t have such a bad opinion of him.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Flair is a blast from the past alright. He comes from a time when it was normal to have energy and sometimes act a little different, like part of a character. I think its worth hearing his promos just for the nostalgia. As far as unretiring goes, who ever does successfully retire from any job early? You run out of things to do, you get bored, gotta go back to work. Who can blame him? I like money, too. And seeing how I've never even beengraced enough to see a live event while he's spent his life performing at them, I can't criticize The Man.

 

[Ferbian]

I’m disappointed by the lack of respect for Ric Flair here. I realize the thread says criticize the best, but it’s possible to be respectfully critical. My guess is the people who disrespect Flair are too young to have memories before 1996. They probably know Flair as some old man instead of the legend he is. Or maybe they remember Bischoff and Russo burying him and making him out to be a fool. Most guys could only dream of having a fraction of the talent Flair had in his prime. I guess my criticism of Flair was he wrestled too long. If he retired years ago maybe younger fans wouldn’t have such a bad opinion of him.

While I completely agree that the only criticism I could even remotely think of would be the whole wrestling too long, I do have to say something. I doubt that the wrestling fans of today wouldn't have some sort of thing to trash him about if he had never gone to WWE as an active wrestler, or in general (WWE 2001 and onwards not 91-93).

They would most likely have been all over him in terms of being overrated or something, due to not knowing enough about him.

Either way, that's not what this thread is about. So I'll just say that I completely agree that he wrestled too long, and that would be my only criticism if I had any, even if I must say that at least during the majority of his WWE tenure I generally enjoyed Ric Flair, as well as a few awesome moments in TNA even.

 

[Judah's Lion]

While I completely agree that the only criticism I could even remotely think of would be the whole wrestling too long, I do have to say something. I doubt that the wrestling fans of today wouldn't have some sort of thing to trash him about if he had never gone to WWE as an active wrestler, or in general (WWE 2001 and onwards not 91-93).

They would most likely have been all over him in terms of being overrated or something, due to not knowing enough about him.

Either way, that's not what this thread is about. So I'll just say that I completely agree that he wrestled too long, and that would be my only criticism if I had any, even if I must say that at least during the majority of his WWE tenure I generally enjoyed Ric Flair, as well as a few awesome moments in TNA even.

i almost agree here. really, my only complaint against the man and his legacy is that he wrestled too long. but not way too long. just a few years too long.

in fact, i really enjoyed his last WWE run from 2002 till Mania 24 when he was retired by HBK. in fact, he had some really fantastic matches and feuds in there.

i loved the Flair vs. McMahon Street Fight at the Rumble, Flair vs. Taker, Flair vs. Orton inside the Steel Cage, Flair vs. Triple H, Flair vs. Foley and Flair vs. HBK. he had some more in there that i enjoyed, but those might have been my favorites.

seriously, i could maybe count on one hand the people that made more of an impact in the wrestling business in all of its history than Flair. but i'd likely have a few fingers left over. he really is the man.

my only complaint is that he did not retire as an active in-ring competitor after Mania 24. so he's only about 3 years overdue as far as i'm concerned.

 

[hdchz013]

8 or 9 people have mentioned it already....the only thing I didn't care for with Flair was the amount of time he has spent wrestling and not retiring when he said he was going to. Everything else about him...I can deal with. I actually enjoyed the "face plants" he would take when recieving a "whoopin".
Other than that...I believe Flair was a great wrestler that deserves tons of respect for the contributions he has made to the wrestling/sports entertainment business.

 

[SimeLamamas]

I have to disagree with Ric Flair being the greatest wrestler of all time. I wouldn't even consider him near the top of the list. Now before anyone starts ranting about how it's disrespectful to say that about the former 16 Time World Champ, just pay close attention. Now anyone in their right mind knows that Ric Flair would be made to look like a chump in the ring by for example Chris Jericho, CM Punk or Daniel Bryan (WWE), AJ Styles, Kurt Angle or Samoa Joe (TNA), Christopher Daniels, Davey Richards or Jerry Lynn (ROH) (The purpose for so many examples being all the one company fan boys out there.) Now for the people who argue that he had classic matches in the past before becoming the old guy that bleeds every other week in TNA, think carefully about who his opponents were. Ricky Steamboat made him look golden bc quiete frankly, it's Ricky F'n Steamboat!!! Shawn Michaels made him look golden, but HBK has had 5 Star Matches two years in a row against the UNDERTAKER (When was the last time the Undertaker was in a must see match?), and a 5 Star Match with Diesel? (He made Kevin Nash look good for the only time in his career! lol.) Those are just two key guys that Ric Flair has had classics with. Now Bret Hart has gone on record of saying that Ric Flair had no psychology to his ring work, and Bruno Sammartino has said that if you've seen one Ric Flair match you've seen them all (Idk about you, but I'd take the word of those two guys when it comes to wrestling anyday). Ok, let me finish the rant with this, Ric Flair, Greatest Wrestler of All Time? That's a joke. But Ric Flair one of the greatest mic workers, popular and entertainers in professional wrestling history? That I wouldn't argue with. Now let the real debate begin!

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

I don't fault Ric Flair for going to TNA at all. How many other wrestlers in the past have lost Retirement Matches and come back? Hell, that match at Wrestlemania wasn't even the 1st Retirement Match that Flair has lost!

Wrestlers retire and un-retire all the time. Hell, Terry Funk retires and un-retires on a monthly basis!

As long as there's opportunities out there for him, I've got no problem with him earning a living.

As far as his biggest flaws, I'd say he blades to early and too often in his matches.

I'd consider him if not the best of all-time, damn close.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Ric Flair is a legend. When you look at what he has accomplished in the wrestling business, his accolades, the list of great matches he has been a part of and some of his phenomenal promo's, then there is little to criticise about him. He was THE MAN.

However, he should have retired 10 years ago. Modern wrestling fans have no memory of Naitch as a champion, they only see a beat up old guy blading himself in every matches, impossible to understand interviews and an old man physique. Flair is damaging his legacy each time he gets into the ring, as he simply cannot perform to a high standard any more.

There were a couple of exeptions in his WWE career where he rolled back the years, but come on, the guy is in his 60s and needs to call it a day. There are plenty of ways he can contribute to the business without having to wrestle or bleed on a weekly basis. I know he needs the money after his costly divorces and extravagant lifestyle, but I would expect WWE would give him a comfortable contract to act as an ambassador or mentor to the young wrestlers. He needs to retire...NOW

 

[supaman5279]

Ric Flair!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!! Stylin and Profilin. The only flaw i see in him is (WOOOO!!!!!) right now. It is unfixable. His current run in TNA is ridiculous. Well, maybe not. I like him in Fortune(an obvious play on words with the Four Horseman [FOURtune]) as a managerial role, but never...NEVER, as a wrestler. I still see it as a slap to the face of the WWE after that huge Hall of Fame/Wrestlemania/RAW weekend, to go out and wrestle for TNA is crap(is there a CTB: Hulk Hogan???). But still his promos are legendary(cotton mouth aside). Watchin him go still makes any wrestling fan WOOOO!!!!!!

 

[Dyno Kid]

How is ric flair " the best " when he sucks ? I mean he's the same age as jesus

He might be the same age as Jesus but he damn sure has the better chops and if it was Flair at the last supper it would have been off the hook !

Anyway, the one and only flaw I have with Ric is his figure-four. He would work over the left leg and then when it was time to put on the hold he'd put it on the right leg ! Hated that !

Otherwise I bow to the legend Ric Flair !

 

[PunksNo1Fan]

There is ONE thing I have to criticize about Naitch.

That is, if he's gonna talk, he needs to slow it down bad, OR never talk. 'Cos I find it so damn hard to understand what he says i believe I need to hire a Flair Translator.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Rick Flair isn't among my favourites. I think he's had a very long career and is passionate about the business. I think he is a tremendous entertainer on the mike, and worked hard to be the very best that he could be. A lot of people in the business aspire to be him and consider him to be their hero. So anything that I say as a negative might be viewed by those who adore him as disrespectful. That comes under the category of too bad. You ask for criticism, you get it, like it or not. The problem for me is how does he really compare for me. Let's be truthful, he wasn't the original Nature Boy. That was Buddy Rogers and Flair took his name which was already made famous. Flair did an incredible job with the name, but nowhere near what Rogers did with it. Rogers was a main event draw that the business had not seen. A drawing potential that Flair couldn't touch during his prime. Not many could. Rogers is largely forgotten today because that's the way of all sports heroes. Once they die, they're contributions to their industry gets forgotten.

The other problems for me, is he wasn't the greatest wrestler I've ever seen, before or since. He has all these title reigns, were they all necessary or just a means to satisfy his ego ? Did he stay too long on top when other more popular performers should have been given the shot to lead the company ? He burned out plenty of bookers with his politicking greatly hurting the company he worked for by denying many of the matchups and/or champions that the audience wanted to see.

For all his scheming, the money he made, where has it gotten him ? He works for TNA at age 61, with people he despises (Eric Bischoff and Hogan), financially desperate for this job, putting over performers that wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near him while he was in the ring during his prime. He goes from being an inspiration to a cautionary tale over his long career in this business and that's really sad.