Richard Morgan Fliehr (likely born Fred Phillips ; 25 February 1949), better known as Ric Flair , is a professional American wrestling manager and retired professional wrestler signed a contract with WWE under his Legends program.
Widely recognized as the greatest professional wrestler of all time and the best American player of the 1980s, Flair has a career spanning 40 years. He is renowned for his tenure with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, then WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Since the mid-1970s, he has used the moniker "The Nature Boy".
The main pay-per-view appeal of his career, Flair made headlines at the annual NWA/WCW annual event, Starrcade, on ten occasions while also leading WWF's WrestleMania in 1992 after winning the Royal Rumble that year. PWI awarded the Wrestler of the Year award to them six times, while the Wrestling Reporting Journal named him Wrestler of the Year (award named after him and Lou Thesz) recorded eight times. Twice the WWE Hall of Fame inductee, first inducted with the 2008 army for his individual career and again with the 2012 class as a member of The Four Horsemen, he is also a member of the NWA Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Invitee Journalist, Hall of Fame Conquering Fame.
Flair is officially recognized by WWE as the world champion 16 times (eight times heavyweight world champion NWA, six times WCW World Heavyweight Champion and two WWF champions), although the number of world championship leadership varies by source, ranging from 16 to 25. He claimed to be 21 times champion. He is the first holder of the WCW Heavyweight World Championship and WCW World Heavyweight World Championships (which he also held last). As WCW World Heavy World Champion, he became the first person to complete WCW's Triple Crown, having held the World Heavyweight Championships and World Championships. He then completed the WWE version of Triple Crown when he won the Intercontinental Championship, having already held the WWF Championship and Tag World Championships.
Video Ric Flair
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Fliehr was born on February 25, 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee. His birth name is widely considered to be Fred Phillips, although on different documents, he is also credited as Fred Demaree or Stewart, while his biological parents are Luther and Olive Phillips (the latter being also credited under the Demaree and Stewart surnames). He was adopted, and at the time of adoption (arranged by the Tennessee Children's House), his father, a doctor, was completing a residency in Detroit. Shortly thereafter, the family settled in Edina, Minnesota, where young Fliehr lived all the time and after ninth grade he attended Wayland Academy, a coeducational boarding school in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, for four years (five years of high school total), over time he participated in interscholastic wrestling, football, and trajectory.
Maps Ric Flair
Professional wrestling career
American Wrestling Association (1972-1974)
Flair was trained as a professional wrestler with Verne Gagne. He attended Gagne's first wrestling camp with Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, The Iron Sheik and Ken Patera in the Gagne warehouse outside Minneapolis in the winter of 1971. On December 10, 1972, he made his debut in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, battling George "Scrap Iron "Gadaski to a 10 minute draw when adopting the Ric Flair ring name. During his time at the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Flair has a match with Dusty Rhodes, Chris Taylor, Andrà © à the Giant, Larry Hennig and Wahoo McDaniel.
Japan (1973-2013)
Flair first competed in Japan in 1973 for the International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE), due to a working agreement between AWA promoters Verne Gagne and IWE. After Flair left AWA for Jim Crockett Jr.'s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) in 1974, he embarked on a work tour for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). On 27 April 1978, Flair was challenged to the NWA United National Championships in a losing bid. Throughout the 1980s, Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the All Japan against the likes of Genichiro Tenryu, Riki Choshu, Jumbo Tsuruta, Harley Race, and Kerry Von Erich. On October 21, 1985, Flair wrestled Rick Martel in the doubles title in which he defended the NWA World Class Championships and challenged for the AWA Heavy World Championships, but the game ended in double counting. As all Japan withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in the late 1980s, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) commenced an agreement with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). In 1989, a labor agreement caused a feud between Flair and Keiji Mutoh, who wrestled under the Great Muta gimmick, in the United States for WCW. On March 21, 1991, Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and challenged Tatsumi Fujinami to IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a doubles match at the WCW/New Japan Supershow at Tokyo Dome. Fujinami defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but later lost the title at WCW's SuperBrawl I on May 19, 1991 in the United States.
When Flair left WCW for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1991, he went on a Japan tour in the promotion of Super World of Sports (SWS), due to an agreement between WWF and SWS. He defended and defended the WWF World Wide Weight Championship against Genichiro Tenryu on 15 September 1992 in a match that produced a draw. In August 1995, under a WCW contract, Flair participated in the Climax G1 tournament in New Japan, where he defeated Shiro Koshinaka, drew Masahiro Chono, and lost to Keiji Mutoh. On July 17, 1996, Flair challenged Shinya Hashimoto to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a losing bid at NJPW.
Once again under the banner of WWE, Flair continued to tour Japan periodically between 2002 and 2008. He successfully defended the Tag Tag World Championship with Batista against The Dudley Boyz twice in February 2004. On February 7, 2005 the episode Raw , broadcast from Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Flair lost to Shawn Michaels in a single game. In February 2008, Flair wrestled with Mr. Kennedy at Ariake Coliseum and William Regal at Budokan Hall, both under the provision that he will retire if he loses.
On January 2, 2013, All Japan announced that Flair will return to AJPW for the first time in five years on January 26, 2013, teaming up with Keiji Mutoh to face Tatsumi Fujinami and Seiya Sanada. This will be his first professional wrestling match since his September 2011 defeat to Sting on Impact Wrestling and the first for All Japan since March 1987. However, on January 26, just moments before the start of All Events in Japan, the promotion announced that Flair was forced out of the game for a "sudden illness", later reportedly as a heavily inflated left foot. Flair was replaced in a match by his son Reid, but also eventually got involved in the match itself, sending a pass to Seiya Sanada.
Jim Crockett/World Championship Wrestling promotion
Be a Child of Nature (1974-1981)
In 1974, Flair left AWA for Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic region at the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and he immediately won his first title, when on February 9, 1975 he defeated Paul Jones for the Mid-Atlantic TV Championship. On October 4, 1975, however, Flair's career was almost ended when he was in a serious aircraft crash in Wilmington, North Carolina that took the life of the pilot and paralyzed Johnny Valentine (also on board was Mr. Wrestling, Bob Bruggers, and promoter David Crockett wrestling)). Flair broke her back in three places and, at the age of 26, was told by a doctor that she would never wrestle again. However, Flair doing rigorous physical therapy schedule, and he returns to the ring just eight months later, where he continued to feud with Wahoo McDaniel in February 1976. The accident was forcing Flair to change the wrestling technique away from the style of fighting power he has used since the beginning , which made him adopt the "Nature Boy" style that he will use throughout his career. Flair won the NWA Heavyweight Championship of the United States when he defeated Bobo Brazil on 29 July 1977. For the next three years, he held five governments as NWA United States Heavyweight Champions in a row with Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Mr. Wrestling, Jimmy Snuka and Greg Valentine (with whom he also formed the championship tag team). However, Flair attained elite status when he started calling himself "The Nature Boy" to provoke a 1978 feud with the original "Buddy Rogers Nature Boy", which put Flair in a meeting.
NWA World Heavyweight Champion (1981-1991)
On September 17, 1981, Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes for his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In the following years, Flair established itself as the premier franchise of promotion amidst emerging competition from the World Wrestling Federation Vince McMahon (WWF). An unlawful title loss occurred on January 6, 1983 to Carlos ColÃÆ'ón Sr. in Puerto Rico. Flair recovering the championship belt in ghost changes seventeen days later was not officially recognized by the NWA. Harley Race won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Flair in 1983, but Flair regained the title at Starrcade in a steel cage game. Officially, Flair won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship eight more times. Flair lost the title to the Race and won it back in a span of three days in New Zealand and Singapore in March 1984. At the first Parade David Von Erich Championships at the Texas Stadium, Flair was pinned by Kerry Von Erich, but he regained the title eighteen days later in Japan and reigned for two years, two months and two days, lost the title to Dusty Rhodes on July 26, 1986 at The Great American Bash. However, Flair regained the title two weeks later.
At the end of 1985, the tag team Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson started helping Flair (whom they claim to be "cousins") in an attack against Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A. and Sam Houston. A few weeks later, Andersons interrupted the Houston game against Tully Blanchard and the three criminals joined the rough young man. Shortly thereafter, Flair, Blanchard, and Anderson inaugurated their alliance, calling themselves The Four Horsemen, with manager Blanchard J.J. Dillon also joined. After the start of the group, it is clear that The Four Horsemen are not like the evil alliances that ever existed, because the four rule-breakers immediately used their power in large numbers to destroy the NWA fan favorites while controlling the majority of the championship title.
In 1986, the wrestling promoter, Jim Crockett, has consolidated the various promotions of his NWA members into one entity, which runs under the banner of the National Wrestling Alliance. Controlling most of the traditional NWA areas in the southeastern United States and Midwestern, Crockett seeks to expand nationwide and build his promotion around Flair as champions. During this time, Flair's order as a champion was tightly controlled by Crockett, and a special championship belt was created for Flair. Flair lost the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Detroit to Ron Garvin on September 25, 1987. Garvin held the title for two months before losing to Flair on November 26, 1987 at WCW's first pay-per-view event, Starrcade, in Chicago.
In early 1988, Sting and Flair fought with a 45-minute draw in first-ever Clash of the Champions. On February 20, 1989, at Chi-Town Rumble in Chicago, Ricky Steamboat pinpointed Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This prompted a series of rematches, in which Steamboat was featured as a "family man" (often accompanied by his wife and son), while Flair opposed him as an immoral and fast-paced female "woman". After the best game of three autumn with Steamboat which lasted just a short of the 60 minute time limit (and ended with a disputed settlement where Steamboat defended the title) in Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin 'Cajun on April 2, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7, 1989 at WrestleWar in a match that was selected as "Match of the Year" in 1989 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. On July 23, 1989, Flair defeated Terry Funk in The Great American Bash, but both continued to quarrel over the summer and finally Flair reformed The Four Horsemen, with the surprise of old rival Sting, to combat the Funk J-Tex Corporation. This leads to the "I Quit" match on the Flair Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout. Flair then kicked Sting out of The Four Horsemen on his challenge to the NWA World Class Championship, which resulted in a revived feud between the two. On July 7, 1990, Flair dropped the title to Sting at The Great American Bash. Having unveiled his guise as The Black Scorpion at Starrcade in 1990, Flair regained the title from Sting on January 11, 1991.
After winning this title, Flair was recognized by WCW as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion, although he is still recognized as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. On March 21, 1991, Tatsumi Fujinami beat Flair in a match in Tokyo at WCW/New Japan Supershow. While the NWA recognizes Fujinami as their new champion, WCW is not because Fujinami has labeled Flair on a rope in violation of WCW rules. On May 19, 1991, Flair defeated Fujinami in SuperBrawl I at St. Petersburg, Florida to reclaim the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and retain the WCW Heavyweight World Championship. In the spring of 1991, Flair suffered a contract dispute with WCW president Jim Herd, who wanted him to take a large pay cut. The flock has removed Flair as head booker in February 1990 and wants to reduce the role of Flair in further promotion, despite the fact that Flair is still a top draw. According to Flair, Herd also proposed changing the appearance and name of the ring (ie by shaving his hair, wearing diamond earrings and going by the name Spartacus) to "change over time". Flair disagreed with the proposal and two weeks before The Great American Bash, Herd dismissed him and vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. While Flair went to WWF, he was still recognized as the NWA World Class Champion until September 8, when the title was officially vacated.
World Wrestling Federation (1991-1993)
Flair signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in September 1991 and began appearing on television with the Big Gold Belt, calling himself "The Real World Champion". Led by his "financial adviser" Bobby Heenan and his "executive consultant". Perfect, Flair repeatedly issued challenges to WWF wrestlers like "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan, wrestling with a team led by Piper in the Survivor Series in November 1991 and helping The Undertaker beat Hogan for the WWF Championship that same night. WCW sued Flair in an attempt to reclaim the championship belt, but Flair claims that he has a title belt in lieu of a $ 25,000 deposit paid by the NWA champion after winning the title, which has not been returned to him when he was fired from WCW..
At Royal Rumble 1992, Flair won the Rumble game to claim an empty WWF Championship. Flair came in as number three in the Rumble game and lasted 60 minutes, lastly eliminating Sid Justice with help from Hulk Hogan, who had been eliminated by Justice seconds earlier. Randy Savage then challenged Flair to the WWF Championship as part of a double main event at WrestleMania VIII. In the storyline, Flair insults Savage by claiming that he had a previous relationship with Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth. Savage defeated Flair for the title at WrestleMania. In July 1992, when Savage prepared to defend the title against The Ultimate Warrior in SummerSlam, Flair and Mr. Perfect sprinkles mistrust between the two by suggesting that they will support one or the other during their match. They actually attacked Savage and Warrior and injured Savage's knee, an injury that Flair used to retake the title in a game with Savage on 1 September. His second government was short-lived, however, when he lost the title to Bret Hart on October 12, 1992.
Flair cooperate with Razor Ramon to confront Savage and Perfect at Survivor Series in November 1992. Flair appeared in the Royal Rumble in January 1993, then lost a Loser Leaves WWF match with Mr. Perfect on the next night (January 25) i> Monday Night Raw in a game recorded six days earlier. Flair then fulfilled the commitment of his remaining home performances, making his final appearance on February 10, 1993, before returning to WCW.
Back to WCW
WCW World Heavyweight Champion (1993-1996)
Flair triumphantly returned to WCW as a hero in February 1993, as a result of the "non-compete" clause he could not afford, so he held a short talk show on WCW titled "A Flair for the Gold". Arn Anderson usually appears in the bar on the set of shows, and Flair Fifi's maid cleans or rewards. Once he was back in action, Flair held the NWA World Class Championship for the tenth time after beating Barry Windham at Beach Blast before WCW finally left the NWA in September 1993. In Fall Brawl, Flair lost the title, now renamed WCW International World. Heavyweight Championship, for Rick Ravishing Rude. At Starrcade in 1993, Flair defeated Vader to win the WCW World Heavyweight title for the second time. In the spring of 1994, Flair embarked on a tweener turn and started another feud with longtime rivals Ricky Steamboat and challenged Steamboat for a match at Spring Stampede which ended without a contest of double pins, which led to the title being held. Flair then beat Steamboat in a rematch to regain the title on Saturday Night's WCW episode. WWE does not count this victory as a new title victory. Flair then challenged Colonel Robert Parker to wrestle with one of his men at Slamboree, who turned out to be Barry Windham, who defeated Flair, after which he secretly changed his heels and took Sherri Martel as his manager. He will also wrestle with Lord Steven Regal in a five-game series under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, which airs on WCW Worldwide between April 30 and May 28, in which Flair wins the series, with 2 wins, 1 defeat, and 2 draws.
In June 1994 at Flash of the Champions XXVII, Flair defeated Sting in a unification match, combining WCW International World Heavyweight Championship with WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and strengthening her heels. After becoming a unified and undisputed WCW champion, Flair fought with Hulk Hogan on Hogan's arrival at WCW in June 1994, losing his WCW World Heavyweight Championship to him in July at Bash on the Beach. Flair continued to fight with Hogan and eventually lost to Hogan in a steel cage pension at Halloween Havoc. Flair took several months after that before returning as a wrestler and part-time manager for Vader in 1995 (described in the air by having Flair nag Hogan for months until Hogan and Savage both applying for WCW management to let Flair back).
On April 29, 1995, Flair ousted Antonio Inoki in front of 190,000 spectators in Pyongyang, North Korea at the May Day Stadium in a bid that was lost under a joint show between New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling. The event was aired on August 4, 1995 on pay-per-view under the title Collision in Korea. In the fall of 1995, Flair started a brief feud with Arn Anderson, culminating in a tag match that saw Flair lighting Sting to reform Four New Riders with Flair as leader, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman, and Chris Benoit as members. With the new Four Horsemen, Flair won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship two more times before the nWo invasion storyline started at WCW, with the first in December 1995 at Starcade, where Flair beat Lex Luger and Sting with countout and then defeated Savage after all three members Four Horsemen ran to the ring and Arn Anderson dropped Savage with knuckles made of brass, allowing Flair to embed Savage to win matches and titles. After that Savage won the title back at Nitro after Starcade, but Flair won the next game in SuperBrawl VI to reclaim the championship. During the feud, Savage's manager, Miss Elizabeth, turned against him and served as Flair's servant. Together with Woman and Debra McMichael, they will escort Flair to her match until Miss Elizabeth is taken by nWo in the fall and eventually returns as a Savage valet when she joins nWo in 1997. Flair lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship finally three months later for the Giant. Hostility with Savage continues with The New Four Horseman joining the Dungeon of Doom to create the Alliance to end Hulkamania. Together the factions wrestle with Hogan and Savage in a three steel enclosure, the final game of Hulkamania; lost to the reunited Mega Powers. After that, Flair went on to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and there were also changes at Four Horseman in 1996, when Brian Pillman left WCW and Steve "Mongo" McMichael became the fourth member.
Disputing with the New World Order (1996-1999)
Again as a top fan favorite, Flair played a major role in the New World invasion storyline (nWo) in late 1996 and throughout 1997. He and the other Horsemen often led in the war against Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hollywood Hulk Hogan Flair was soon challenged for the WCW Heavyweight World Championship at Clash of the Champions XXXIII , but only won with disqualification. In September 1996, Flair and Anderson teamed up with their rivals, Sting and Lex Luger, losing to nWo (Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sting fake) in a WarGames game in Fall Brawl when Luger handed over to the Sting's Scorpion Deathlock con artist.
In October 1996, two developments took place affecting the Four Horsemen when Jeff Jarrett came to WCW from WWF, and expressed his desire to join Horsemen as he soon found a fan at Ric Flair, much to the chagrin of the other Horsemen. Flair finally let Jarrett join the group in February 1997, but the others did not want it, and in July 1997 were eventually expelled from the group by Flair himself, who had enough instability in Jarrett's presence that caused Horsemen. Flair also fought with Roddy Piper, Syxx and his arch-enemy, Curt Hennig in 1997, after Hennig was offered a place at The Four Horsemen only to start Flair and The Four Horsemen in Fall Brawl in September 1997, where Hennig interrupted his action. by slamming the cage door to Flair's head.
In April 1998, Flair disappeared from WCW television, due to a lawsuit filed by Eric Bischoff for not showing a live episode of Thunder on April 16, 1998 in Tallahassee, Florida. After the case was resolved, Flair made a surprise on 14 September 1998 to formally reform the Four Horsemen (together with Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit). Flair fought with Bischoff for several months afterwards. Flair repeatedly brushed Eric Bischoff's eyes during this feud. It culminated in a match at the Starrcade between Bischoff and Flair in December 1998, which won Bischoff after the annoyance of Curt Hennig, a former member of Four Horsemen. The next night in Baltimore at Nitro, Flair returns and threatens to leave the WCW, demanding a game against Bischoff to become president of the company. The match was made, and although there was no interference on behalf of Bischoff, Flair won and was given the position of WCW president. This resulted in a match in the Superbrawl between Flair and Hollywood Hogan for the WCW Championship, which lost Flair after being betrayed by his own son David Flair.
World Final Championships (1999-2001)
Regardless of his son's betrayal, Flair signed a rematch in Uncensored which was billed as a First Steel match wire match against Hogan where the Flair and Hogan presidents of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship were at stake. Despite being bloody first, Flair won the game with pinfall thanks to referee bias Charles Robinson, who counts Hogan out.
As an on-air WCW President, Flair began to abuse his power like that of Bischoff, supporting the criminals over fan favorites and even giving the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (which was emptied by Scott Steiner due to injury) to his son David and switching to whatever it means necessary to making it a United States heavyweight champion. Flair eventually formed stable followers including Roddy Piper, Arn Anderson, and the Jersey Triad to keep everything organized. The Flair administration as president ended on July 19th episode Nitro , when he faced and lost to Sting for that position. During the game, Sting has a Flair in his Scorpion Death Lock, but with a fainting referee, no decision can be made. Eric Bischoff returns to the ring and starts ordering the timekeeper to ring the bell, which he ends up doing, gives the match and the presidency to Sting (who immediately gives up after receiving it).
Flair won his last world title in his career by winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice during 2000, the final year of full-time operation of the company. When WCW was bought by WWF in March 2001, Flair was the leader of an evil group called Magnificent Seven. Flair lost Nitro's final match to Sting, creating the second game of Nitro in 1995. However, Flair has repeatedly stated in interviews how happy he was when the WCW finally closed. down, though at the same time the fact that many people will lose their jobs makes him sad.
Return to WWF/WWE
co-owner WWF (2001-2002)
After eight months absent from wrestling, Flair returned to WWF in November 2001. Flair reappeared in Raw after the end of "WCW/ECW Invasion" which culminated in "Winner of All Take" "The match in the Survivor Series was won by WWF The new role of Flair on display is owned by WWF co-owners, with the explanation that Shane and Stephanie McMahon have sold their shares in the company to the consortium (ie Flair) before purchasing the Wrestling World Championships and Wrestling of the Extreme Championship.Flash Fight with Vince McMahon took them to the game at Royal Rumble in January 2002 on Street Fight, where Flair defeated McMahon, Flair also wrestled The Undertaker at WrestleMania X8 in March 2002 in which Flair lost.The co-owner's corner peaked in early 2002, when Flair controlled < i> Raw and McMahon controls SmackDown! After Stone Cold Steve Austin suddenly leaves WWE renamed in June while in the program with Flair, the match is hotshotted between Flair and McMahon for the sole ownership of WWE, which loses Flair after a distraction from Brock Lesnar.
Evolution (2003-2005)
In September 2002 at Unforgiven, Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Rob Van Dam. During the game, Flair drops into the ring and grabs a hammer from Triple H and tempts hitting him before hitting Van Dam, allowing Triple H to gain victory, reversing his heels in the process and accompanying Triple H to the ring as his manager. Shortly after, Batista moved from SmackDown! to Raw and Flair also began to accompany him to the ring while continuing to Triple H. Second In June 2003 at Bad Blood, Flair was able to defeat Shawn Michaels after Orton hit Michaels with a chair.
At the height of Evolution's powers, the group controls all men's Raw Championships after Armageddon. Batista teamed up with Flair to win the Tag Tag World Championships from Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) in the tag team turmoil and Triple H back to Goldberg's World Heavyweight Championship (in a three-match threat that also involved Kane) with the help of other members. In January 2004 at Royal Rumble, Flair and Batista successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against Dudley Boyz in table matches, and Triple H's World Heavyweight Champion against Shawn Michaels for no contest in Last Man Standing match, thus retaining the championship. Flair and Batista lost the Tag Tag World Championship on the February 16th edition of Raw to Booker T and Rob Van Dam. In WrestleMania XX, Evolution defeated Rock 'n' Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley) in a handicap match 3 versus 2. The following week at Raw during the WWE 2004 draft draw, Flair and Batista defeated Booker T and Rob Van Dam to win their second and final World Tag Championship. While still a world champion, Benoit teamed up with Edge to take the World Tag Team Championship from Flair and Batista on April 19 Raw .
At SummerSlam, Orton pinned Benoit to become the new World Heavyweight Champion and the youngest World Champion in WWE history to date. Batista lifted Orton to his shoulders in what appeared to be a celebration, but following the thumbs down from Triple H, the group started attacking Orton. At Unforgiven, Triple H beat Orton to regain the World Heavyweight Championship, with help from Flair, Batista, and Jonathan Coachman. Orton's quarrel with Evolution continued until the Survivor Series where Triple H, Batista, Gene Snitsky and Edge were defeated by Orton, Maven, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in a Survivor Series match to control Raw during the following month.
In the Elimination Chamber match in the New Year's Revolution, Batista, Orton, and Triple H were the last three remaining in the game. Orton got rid of Batista with RKO and Triple H pinned Orton with the help of Batista to win the title. Triple H suggested Batista not go to the Royal Rumble game, wanting the group to focus on Triple H defending the title. Batista refused, entered Rumble at number 28 and won. Triple H tries to persuade Batista to challenge WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield of Smackdown! not for the World Heavyweight Championships. This involved Triple H who planned a feud between JBL and Batista, showing JBL vilifying Batista in an interview and attacking Batista with a limousine designed to look like Layfield. The scheme was unsuccessful and at the signing ceremony of the brand contract, Batista chose to remain in Raw, sucks Triple H and thus stops the fraction. Batista defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21.
After Vengeance, Triple H took leave, Flair turned for the first time since 2002 before continuing to win the Intercontinental Championship, and the group was disbanded. Triple H is back on "Homecoming" episode of Raw on October 3rd where she has to be with Flair in a tag team match against Carlito and Chris Masters. After winning the game, Triple H betrayed Flair and attacked him with a sledgehammer. Flair retained the Intercontinental Championships against Triple H at Taboo Tuesday in a steel cage game, chosen by fans. Flair then lost to Triple H in a non-title Last Man Standing match in the Survivor Series that ended their hostilities.
Final storyline and first retirement (2005-2008)
At the end of 2005, Flair suffered a feud with Edge that culminated in the WWE Championship Table, Ladder and Chairs competing in Raw in early 2006, which was lost by Flair. On February 20th episode Raw , he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin, ending his reign in 155 days. Flair took time off in mid-2006 to rest and marry for the third time and he returns in June to work with his real-life rival Mick Foley who plays their last legitimate hostility. Flair defeated Foley at Vengeance in two of three falling matches, then in SummerSlam in the match "I Quit".
Subsequently, he was involved in a rivalry with the Spirit Forces at Raw . On November 5, 2006 in Cyber ââSunday, he captured the World Tag Team Championship from Squad with Roddy Piper. On November 13th episode Raw , Flair and Piper lost Title Tags for Rated-RKO, due to disk problems with Piper and must be flown to the United States immediately after Raw airs. On November 26, 2006 at the Survivor Series, Flair was the only survivor of the match featuring him, Ron Simmons (replacing the wounded Piper), Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Massacres versus Team Spirit. Flair then left the television due to his divorce trial.
Flair then begins to work with Carlito after Flair says that Carlito has no heart. Flair defeated Carlito in the game after Carlito realized that Flair was right. Flair and Carlito face off against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in the number-one match for the Tag Team World Championship but lost. Both work together in pre-show WrestleMania 23, and defeat teams Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms. After weeks of conflict between Flair and Carlito, the team split up when Carlito attacked Flair during the game. On the Day of Judgment, Flair defeats Carlito with a four-leglock figure.
On the June 11th episode Raw , Flair is compiled from Raw to Smackdown! as part of the 2007 WWE draft. He briefly fought against Montel Vontavious Porter and rejoined Batista for a row with The Great Khali; The alliance was short-lived, however, because the Flair "wounded" during the match with Khali.
After a three month hiatus, Flair returned to WWE programming on November 26th episode Raw to announce "I will never retire". Vince McMahon retaliated by announcing that the next match that was lost would lead to a forced withdrawal. Later in the evening, Flair defeats Orton after a distraction by Chris Jericho. It was revealed on the 15th anniversary of Raw that the win or pension ultimatum was only applied in a single match. Flair won several "threatening career" games against opponents like Triple H, Umaga, William Regal, Mr. Kennedy, and Vince McMahon himself among the others. On March 29, 2008, Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of a class in 2008 by Triple H. The next day, Flair wrestled at WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, Florida, losing to Shawn Michaels. The match was praised by fans and critics and was voted Best Pro Match of the Year Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI). Flair's battle to defend his career earned him the "Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year" award in 2008 PWI .
Part-time performance (2008-2009)
On the episode of March 31, 2008 Raw , Flair delivered his farewell speech. After that Triple H brought many current superstars and retired to thank Flair for everything he has done, including Shawn Michaels, some from Four Horsemen, Harley Race and Chris Jericho, followed by The Undertaker and then Vince McMahon. Together with the wrestlers, the fans gave Flair a standing ovation. This event represents a rare moment in WWE both when the heel and face broke the characters and came out into the ring together. Flair made his first post retirement appearance on the June 16th episode of Raw to confront Chris Jericho about his actions during the competition with Shawn Michaels. He challenges Jericho to fight in the parking lot, rather than an official match, but Jericho is stopped by Triple H.
The following year on February 9th, Flair once again faces Jericho at Raw . Jericho attacked the Hall of Fame members and Flair demanded that he honor them, before punching Jericho. Flair appeared a month later to distract her during the Money Qualification Match in the Bank. Jericho then challenged Flair to get out of retirement for WrestleMania XXV; not Flair managed Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat in a three-handed defect at WrestleMania in a losing attempt. On May 17, Flair returned during the pay-per-view Day of Judgment, coming to help Batista, who was attacked by The Legacy (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase). On the June 1st episode of Raw Flair challenged Orton in a fight in the parking lot, after interfering with the rest of The Legacy, the fight ended with Flair trapped inside a steel cage and trampled by Orton. After Raw , Flair leaves WWE when his contract expires on June 2, 2009.
Independent circuit (2009-2010)
Flair signed a contract with Ring of Honor (ROH) and appeared on Stylin '& Profilin' event in March 2009, completing the ring after the ROH World Championship game ended in run-in. He soon served as corporate ambassador, in an on-screen authority role, and appeared on the Ring of Honor Wrestling television show in May to strengthen his role. After the competition's number one match ends in the raffle, and next week's double count, Flair announces the first Ring of Honor Wrestling's ROH World Title game as a four-way contest.
On November 21, 2009, Flair returned to the ring as a villain on the "Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin" tour of Australia, losing to Hulk Hogan on the first show of the show by brass knuckle. Hogan beat Flair again on November 24 in Perth, Australia after both men were bloody. Flair also lost to Hogan in the two matches remaining on the tour.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010-2012)
On January 4th, 2010 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) episode Impact! , Flair made his debut appearance for a company that arrived via limo and then observed the main event between A.J. Old style and rival, Kurt Angle. It was later reported that Flair had signed a one-year contract with the company. In the past, Flair publicly stated that he is loyal to McMahons and wants to end his career at WWE, but he has not contacted WWE since June 2009 and decided to sign a contract with TNA Wrestling after waiting for a call from WWE for six months. On January 17th in Genesis, Flair helped Styles cheat to pin the Angle and defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
In addition to Styles, Flair began informally to manage Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) and Desmond Wolfe as loose alliances. On March 8th episode Impact! , Hulk Hogan and Abyss defeated Flair and Styles when Abyss pinned the Styles. After that, Jeff Hardy who rescues Abyss and Hogan from a blow in the hands of Flair, Styles and Beer Money, Inc. At Lockdown, Flair's Team (Ric Flair, Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode, and James Storm) were defeated by Tim Hogan (Hulk Hogan, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) in Lethal Lockdown matches. On April 26th episode Impact! Flair was defeated by the Abyss in a match where Flair and Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame rings were at stake, and as a result Flair lost his ring holdings to Hogan. The following week, Hogan gave the ring to Jay Lethal, who returned it to Flair out of respect. This, however, was not enough for Flair, who attacked Lethal along with members of Team Flair. After Styles dropped the TNA World Heavyweight Class Championship into Rob Van Dam, then failed to get it back in a rematch and later pinned by Jay Lethal, Flair adopted Kazarian as his new protà © gÃÆ'à ©, which apparently replaced Styles as the number one wrestler.
On June 17th episode Impact! , Flair announced that he would reform Four Horsemen under the new name Fourtune, a group consisting of A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, and Desmond Wolfe. Flair returned to the ring on July 11 at Victory Road, losing to Jay Lethal. On August 5th episode Impact! Flair faced Lethal in a rematch, this time contested under the rules of Street Fight, with members of Fourtune banned in ringide; Flair managed to win the game after a distraction from Douglas Williams. The following week, Williams and Matt Morgan added to Fourtune. In the weeks leading up to Bound for Glory, Flair's stable name was changed to Fortune to represent the expansion in the number of members in the group. On October 7th episode Impact! , Flair was defeated by Mick Foley in the Last Man Standing game.
In the following episode Impact! , Fortune forms an alliance with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, Immortal. On November 18th episode Impact! Flair returned to the ring, competing in a match in which he faced Matt Morgan, who had been kicked out of Fortune the previous month; Morgan won the game after Douglas Williams revived the rest of Fortune, as they intervened in the game. On January 25, 2011, it was reported that Flair had left the tour of TNA's Maximum Wooo! in Europe in mid-tour after a monetary dispute. After a hiatus in Berlin, Germany, Flair returned to the tour on January 27 in Glasgow, Scotland, reportedly apologized to the locker room before the show. On January 29, Flair wrestled with his only tour match, beating Douglas Williams in London, tearing his rotator cuff in the process. During Flair's time away from the TNA, Fortune revives Immortal. Flair returns on February 14th recording of the February 17 episode Impact! , turning on Fortune during the game between A.J. Style and Matt Hardy and jump to Immortal. On March 10th episode Impact! , Flair beat Styles and Hardy in a three-way battle, contested as more than a two-on-one handicap game. On 17 April at Lockdown, Immortal, represented by Flair, Abyss, Bully Ray and Matt Hardy, was defeated by Fortune James Storm, Kazarian and Robert Roode and Christopher Daniels, who replaced the injured A.J. Style, in Lethal Lockdown match, when Flair taps into Roode. The match was used to write Flair's television broadcast, because the following week he was scheduled to undergo surgery because of his torn rotator cuff; However, Flair finally chose not to undergo surgery because it will take six months of rehabilitation.
Flair returns to television in a non-wrestling role on episode 12 May 2011 Impact! Flair did not appear again for three months, until making his comeback on August 9th on the August 18th episode of Impact Wrestling, confronting the old Sting rival and challenging him for one more game. Instead Sting agreed to put his career on the line, Flair promised to show him a game with Hogan if he won. The match, which was defeated by Flair, took place on September 15th episode Impact Wrestling . During the game, Flair tore his left triceps in the superplex, marginalizing him indefinitely from the in-ring action. in Bound for Glory (2011), Flair appeared in the corner of Hogan in his game against Sting. Flair continues to make appearances for TNA until April 2012. In April 2012, Flair tried to stop his TNA contract, which caused the TNA to file a lawsuit against WWE for a contract disruption and ultimately sacked Flair on May 11. After not being active since September Injury 2011, Flair announced in a December 3, 2012 interview that he would never wrestle again, especially because of a heart attack suffered by his peer Jerry Lawler after the Raw game three months earlier. Second return to WWE (2012-present)
On March 31, 2012, while still contracted to the TNA, Flair became the first person to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, the second time as part of the 2012 class with The Four Horsemen. On December 17, 2012, Flair returned to WWE as a non-wrestling personality at the annual Slammy Awards event to present the Superstar of the Year award to John Cena, who in turn rewarded Flair. Flair's return was disrupted by CM Punk and Paul Heyman, rising to a confrontation that ended with him locking Heyman in the four-legged number. After cleaning the ring, Flair is attacked by The Shield, until Ryback and Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) help Flair fight the group.
Flair appeared on the main list sporadically throughout 2013, as mentor of The Miz. He also occasionally appears in NXT in 2013 and 2014, accompanying his daughter, Charlotte to the ring.
Flair appeared on April 28, 2014, episode Raw , along with the reunited Evolution (minus Flair) and The Shield; Flair showed his support for The Shield, Evolution's opponents in Extreme Rules, effectively reversing the backs of his old colleagues. On July 14, John Cena symbolically handed the Belt World Championship belt to Flair, telling him to "pick it up" while promoting his match at the Battleground. On post-SummerSlam Raw in August 2015, Flair interrupts Jon Stewart, who has rescued 16 world champion Flair by preventing Cena's victory the night before, telling him that the record will be solved in the end and he will but will by someone he respects.
Flair started making appearances more often with Charlotte after he won the Divas Championship. In January 2016, Flair and Charlotte began displaying evil characters, with Flair often involved in the Divas Charlotte Championships and then the WWE Women's Championship defense. This went on until May 23, 2016 episode Raw , when Charlotte turned it on. On the November 28, 2016 episode of Raw , Flair returns to congratulate the new Sasha Banks Raw Winner, who has beaten Charlotte to win the title. On the November 14, 2017 edition of SmackDown Flair returns to congratulate his daughter, after she won the Women's Smackdown title from Natalya, coincidentally in the Charlotte Charlotte hometown of North Carolina, this is her first appearance for WWE since almost dead earlier this year.
Legacy
Flair is often popular among viewers for his humor, including dismissal (making him different from "the dirtiest player in the game"), pacing and screaming "Wooooooo!" (Flair gets inspiration from Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire"). "Wooo!" shouted since then became a tribute to Flair, and was often shouted at by the crowd whenever a wrestler performed a sharp knife, one of Flair's distinctive movements. It is also often shouted by the crowd whenever a wrestler uses a figure-4 finisher flair foot lock. From the late 1970s, Flair wore multicolored lace robes with sequins during in-ring appearances, and since the early 1980s, his approach to rings is usually heralded by the screening of Richard Strauss' "Dawn" part. "Also sprach Zarathustra "(famous for use in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and for the introduction of the 1970s Elvis Presley concert). Flair also describes himself as "limousine-ridin", jet-flyin ', kiss stealin', wheelin 'dealin', son-of-a-gun (who kisses all girls around the world and makes them cry) ".
On October 19, 1998, it was declared "Ric Flair Day" in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Mayor Sharon Belton and on November 15, 2008, declared "Ric Flair Day" in Norfolk, Virginia. On March 24, 2008, Mayor Bob Coble, from Columbia, South Carolina, declared March 24 as Ric Flair's Day at Columbia. Flair also received keys to the city. He received a key to the city of Greensboro, North Carolina on December 5, 2008, to commemorate Flair's victory in a steel cage game against the Harley Race at the inaugural Starrcade event. April 18, 2009 was declared "Ric Flair Day" in Charleston, West Virginia and he was presented with a key to the city by the mayor. Also, on June 12, 2009, Flair was presented with a key to the city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and, in September, he received a key to the city in Marion County, South Carolina. On July 17, 2010, Flair made a special appearance at Scottish Motors in Laurinburg, North Carolina and received a key to the city, as well.
On 18 February 2008 episode Raw , Shawn Michaels announced Flair as the first pioneer into the WWE Hall of Fame class 2008. The induction ceremony took place on March 29, 2008, with Triple H inducting him. This makes him the first person sworn in while still an active competitor. Flair was subsequently sworn in to the NWA Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, but he did not participate in the event. On January 9, 2012 it was announced that Four Horsemen would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, thus making Flair the first person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame twice.
On April 15, 2008, Flair was honored in Congress by representatives from North Carolina, Republic of Sue Myrick, who praised his career and what he meant for the country. On September 29, 2008, it was announced that Flair's signature sequence was covered in a robe he wore in WrestleMania XXIV, in what would be his last WWE match, to be placed in the pop culture section of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC
In 1999, a large group of professional wrestling experts, analysts and historians called Flair the World's Greatest NWA Heavyweight Champion of all time. In 2002, Flair was named the greatest professional wrestler of all time in John Molinaro's magazine article 100 Wrestlers of All Time, edited by Dave Meltzer and Jeff Marek. in July 2016, Luke Winkie from Sports Illustrated also named Flair the greatest professional wrestler of all time.
The song "Wooo" Flair has been used throughout pop culture, in hip-hop music in particular. Rapper Pusha T has paid tribute to Flair in many songs. For example, on the track "Sweet Serenade", he says, "Triple doubles, two hoes and check the help (Wooo!), They love me at Ric Flair shit (Wooo!), In Phantom it's like me Blair Witch (Wooo!) you are compared with? (Wooo!) ". Rapper Killer Mike also has a track called "Ric Flair". Rapper Offset pays tribute to Flair in his hit song "Ric Flair Drip".
Reaction to the last career
Some have looked unpleasant over Flair's career since the 1990s. In 1998, wrestler and former WCW Stone Cold associate Steve Austin said that Flair had reached "time to hang him", because it was not too long "long". John Molinaro of Slam! Sport wrote a 1999 article titled, "Ric Flair tarnishes his legacy"; Molinaro sees Flair as a wrestler whose prestige is "in danger". In 2006, author of ProWrestling Illustrated, Frank Ingiosi said that Flair has a "personal vendetta against his legend". He still wrestles until his retirement in 2008, at the age of 59 years. After an elaborate farewell ceremony staged for Flair by WWE, Paul Heyman's wrestling personality deplores his cuts promo at the "low rente wrestling show", calling it "painful to watch".
Flair will eventually return to the ring in 2009 and sign to wrestle with TNA the following year, breaking the vow never to raise his boots again. Wrestler Axl Rotten, author of NFL Adam Rank, and many fans feel that he tarnished his legend by continuing to wrestle in the TNA. Asked in 2011 if Flair smeared his pride, former opponent Shane Douglas became tougher, stating that he "has tarnished his relics since 1990". Also that year, Kevin Eck from The Baltimore Sun criticized the elderly Flair for not being able to separate himself from the romance gimmick when not wrestling, and said: "I do not know what's more sad, Ric Flair tarnishes his legacy in the ring or shame him away from the ring ". Asked about Flair in 2015, wrestler The Honky Tonk Man feels that viewers will "only remember the last years of his career", which consists of "bad memories".
By contrast, professional wrestler Jim Ross in 2012 feels that Flair has not tarnished his legacy, only observing "the spirit and need to earn a living". By 2016, Flair says continuing to wrestle in the TNA is his "number one" regret.
Other media
Flair has made many appearances on television shows. In 1996, Flair, along with other WCW wrestlers, appeared on the Baywatch episode as themselves. In 2013, Flair appeared on, Stuff You Should Know , in the episode, "Bacteriopolis", as Dr. Roland Grayson. In 2014, Flair voiced herself in the animated series, Uncle Grandfather , in the episode, "History of Wrestling".
Flair released his autobiography, To Be the Man , on July 6, 2004. The title was taken from one of his slogans, "To be a man you must defeat him!".
In 2009, Flair voiced the character, Commander Douglas Hill, in the video game, Command & amp; Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising .
It was announced on July 8, 2012 that Flair will appear at the 13th Annual Meeting of Gila Clown Posse from the Juggalos weekend as the host of the main stage in charge of announcing the players. However, his appearance on the show was cut short after he was hit with a water bottle thrown from the crowd before announcing Tech N9ne to enter the main stage, at which point he went and did not announce Tech N9ne or back out on the main stage to announce the remaining players.
In 2015, Flair made his film debut, appearing on Magic Mike XXL . From May 2015-April 2016, Flair is a podcast host called "WOOOOO! Nation". Podcasts were placed on hiatus after episode 46 which was uploaded on April 1, 2016. Flair returned to podcasting on MLW Radio with a new show called The Ric Flair Show in July 2016. The last episode of The Ric Flair Show uploaded on December 16, 2016.
ESPN aired Nature Boy , a documentary film 30 for 30 directed by Rory Karpf.
On October 31, 2017, hip-hop Offset artist released a title of Ric Flair Drip , made by Flair in his music video.
On December 5, 2017, Bad Bunny released a new music video titled Chambea, to which Flair appeared.
Personal life
Family
Flair married his first wife, Leslie Goodman, on August 28, 1971. They had two children, Megan's daughter and David's son, before divorcing in 1983 after twelve years of marriage. On August 27, 1983, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Harrell. Promoter Jim Crockett Jr. serving as the best person for the wedding. They have two children, Ashley's daughter and Reid's son. Beth also appeared regularly at WCW between 1998 and 2000. Flair and Beth divorced in 2006 after nearly 23 years of marriage. On May 27, 2006, Flair married his third wife, Tiffany VanDemark, a fitness competitor. In 2008, Tiffany filed for divorce from Flair, which was settled in 2009. On November 11, 2009, Flair married his fourth wife, Jacqueline "Jackie" Beems, in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2012, Flair filed for divorce from Beems, which was finalized in 2014. Flair dated Wendy Barlow ("Fifi" maid of the Flair for the Gold WCW interview segment) as documented on ABC TV Celebrity Wife Swap where he exchanged his wife/girlfriend with Roddy Piper and his wife, Kitty. Flair and Barlow got engaged in July 2016.
Flair's son, David, is a semi-retired professional wrestler. Flair's younger son Reid, who signed a development contract with WWE at the end of 2007, was a high school wrestler and made several appearances on WCW television along with his sister Ashley and his half-brother Megan. In 2004, Flair became a grandfather at the age of 55, when his older daughter, Megan Fliehr Ketzner, gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Morgan Lee Ketzner on 9 May. On May 17, 2012, it was reported that Flair's daughter Ashley had signed a contract with WWE to adopt the ring name, Charlotte (later changed to include the Flair family name). On March 29, 2013, Reid died of a heroin overdose, Xanax, and an accidental muscle relaxer.
Legal issues
In December 2005, a judge issued an arrest warrant for Flair after an incident of anger on the street that occurred in Charlotte, North Carolina where Flair allegedly got out of his car, grabbed the rider around the neck, and kicked the exit out of the motor sport utility. vehicle. Flair was charged with two minor offenses, personal property injuries and simple attacks and batteries. This incident is ridiculed on WWE programming, especially by wrestler Edge.
In September 2007, Flair opened a financial business called Ric Flair Finance. In July 2008, Flair Finance filed for bankruptcy. Following Flair's debut in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling his former employer, Ring of Honor, filed a lawsuit in 2010, alleging that Flair owed more than $ 40,000 and that he did not appear on some of the events he contracts are required to appear. The lawsuit was never resolved.
Highspots Inc. claimed that Flair had given them the NWA Heavyweight World Championship belt as collateral for the loan. The Flair arrest warrant was issued in May 2011 for being held in court for violating its terms of completion with Highspots. If Flair fails to comply, he may potentially face 90 days in prison. On June 25, Highspots released a statement on their official Facebook page stating that someone has paid the debt of Flair.
Politics
Flair has long supported Republican political candidates in North Carolina politics. In 2000, Flair explored the possibility of running for governor of North Carolina, but he never submitted the letters.
In the 2008 presidential election, Flair declared his support for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. He said about Huckabee, "[Huckabee] is a qualified, homemade man, a great family man and he has a great vision for our country and I am here to please the crowd."
Flair supported Ted Cruz during the 2016 presidential election.