Mike Rickard
Ric Flair-A Look Back at a True Hall of Famer (Part Five)
By Mike Rickard II
Mar 23, 2008 - 8:31 PM

With the announcement that Ric Flair will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, it’s time to look back at the incredible career of “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.   Flair’s accomplishments in the ring are legendary.   With 16 world championships to his credit (including the NWA and WWE) and multiple regional singles and tag team titles, Flair’s importance as a top draw is irrefutable.   Equally important is his in-ring ability which made Flair’s name synonymous with the phrase “able to carry a broomstick to a five star match”.   In part four, we looked back at Flair’s second and third NWA World Title reigns at a time of tumultuous change in the wrestling industry.   As Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation (WWF) began its national expansion, the days of the territories were nearing their end and Flair’s familiar stomping grounds in Jim Crockett Promotion (JCP) was making the change from that of a regional promotion to a national one.

For many wrestling fans, Ric Flair will forever be associated with his involvement with the Four Horsemen just as many people cannot imagine Frank Sinatra without also thinking of the Rat Pack.   Both men had achieved considerable success before their famous associations came into being but from that point on, their names were synonymous with their respective groups.  

Flair’s affiliation with wrestling’s iconic faction couldn’t have come at a better time.   With the WWF and JCP becoming the two prominent brands in North America, fans were presented with two very distinctive products- the show business, hype oriented WWF and the more traditional realistic style of JCP.   For fans looking for the traditional wrestling product, JCP offered everything they were looking for as well as a national stage (Superstation TBS).   Flair was at the height of his ability, the company he worked for was doing phenomenal business, and he worked alongside some of the greatest names in professional wrestling .   While the WWF had a deeper roster of talent, JCP boasted a more work oriented product than the WWF couldn’t hold a candle to.  

While the Four Horsemen weren’t wrestling’s first faction, it was unquestionably the one that defined future groups for the next generation.   In the past, groups of wrestlers were banded together in “stables” but nothing quite like the Horsemen.   The Four Horsemen were something different though, wrestling’s equivalent of an all-star team.   Equally impressive was the mystique that surrounded them during interviews and matches.    Fans couldn’t help but get into the interviews where the Horsemen talked about the girls, the money, and the parties.   Even if you hated what they did to the babyfaces in the ring, you couldn’t help but feel like they were the coolest guys working in the company and the ones you’d want to hang out with.  

Incredible as it may seem, the Horsemen came together by accident rather than by design.   Since the fall of 1985, Ric Flair had been allying himself with his (storyline) cousins Ole and Arn Anderson.   The three would often get together on the set of World Championship Wrestling (JCP’s weekly Saturday evening show on Superstation TBS) to cut promos.   Legend has it that during one such promo, the show was running short on time and Tully Blanchard was thrown into the mix.   During the interview, Arn Anderson remarked how you’d have to look far in history to see such a collection of destruction, not since the days of the Four Horsemen.   The name soon became synonymous with Flair, Blanchard, and the Andersons.     They were also known for being tremendously successful in the ring and it was a rare moment when the Horsemen were without championship gold.

Fans soon learned that whenever Flair's title was in jeopardy, it was only a matter of time before one of the Horsemen (or all of them) became involved.  This created a new dimension to the age old story of a babyface chasing a heel champion.   In this case, the babyface not only had to deal with the champion but his minions as well.   The chase became more exciting as did the eventual victory.   One such instance was when Ricky Morton of the Rock-n-Roll Express pinned Flair during a non-title match.  After the match, the Horsemen destroyed Morton's tag team partner Robert Gibson while Flair rubbed Morton's face into the concrete.  In a subsequent encounter with Morton, Flair was aided by the Horsemen who proceeded to break Morton's nose to send a message to Morton and any other challenger- jump on one of us and you jump on all of us.

The summer of 1986 proved to be a bumpy ride for the world champion.   As NWA officials took note of the constant interference of the Horsemen in Flair’s matches, they assigned Flair a grueling schedule during the “Great American Bash” tour.    Flair was scheduled to face a variety of challengers including Road Warrior Hawk, Ricky Morton, and his longtime nemesis “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.   After a hotly contested match, Rhodes captured the belt, despite interference from the Horsemen.   The title reign proved short though as Tully Blanchard injured Rhodes’ knee, leading to a Flair victory in a subsequent rematch.  

Rhodes’ victory proved that Flair could be defeated, even with the Horsemen backing up.   This made him a dangerous man and the Horsemen set out t end the threat.   The fans soon learned the depths to which the Horsemen would sink when TV announcers informed the fans of a heinous attack on Dusty Rhodes.   The Horsemen had hired a cameraman to film their attack.   The drama unfolded as the Horsemen were seen following Rhodes in two cars.   When Rhodes parked his car at JCP offices, the Horsemen jumped him and proceeded to beat him down with a bat.   After tying his arm to a pickup truck, the Horsemen swung the bat, breaking Rhodes’ hand.

The Horsemen's gang mentality knew no boundaries.  At one point when Ric Flair was battling Road Warrior Hawk, the Horsemen jumped in and helped beat down both Hawk and his powerful tag team partner Animal.  After dispatching of Animal, the Horsemen held Hawk while Flair slapped Hawk repeatedly, giving his face the paintbrush treatment.

Such attacks would not go unpunished and in fact they led to the promotion’s babyfaces joining together.   Payback came in 1987 at the Great American Bash when the Horsemen faced the team of the Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) and the Road Warriors in a cage match known as War Games.   With no where to run and nowhere to hide, the Horsemen faced the wrestlers whose lives they had made miserable for so long.

Flair’s woes continued in the summer of 1987 when he faced the challenge of veteran grappler Ronnie Garvin.   After Flair injured Garvin’s brother “Gorgeous” Jimmy, Ronnie landed a title match and in what had to be considered an upset, Garvin defeated Flair for the belt.   The title change was surprising and quite frankly, most fans didn’t seem thrilled with Garvin’s title reign.   Making matters worse was the situation when NWA officials gave Garvin a lengthy period when he didn’t have to defend the belt.   By the time of Starcade 87, the fans were solidly behind Flair and ready for him to win the belt back.   Once again,   Starcade provided the stage for Flair to regain the NWA championship.  

As the saying goes, all good things come to an end and in the fall of 1988, the era of the Horsemen was over.      Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson left for the green pastures of the WWF, dissolving the Horsemen.   While the Horsemen’s lineup had changed from time to time (Lex Luger replaced Ole Anderson only to be replaced by Barry Windham), the core group of Flair, Blanchard, and (Arn) Anderson had remained.   With Anderson and Blanchard out of the picture, there was no way to keep the Horsemen going.   For the first time in years, Flair was on his own.    However a familiar face would soon return to JCP, reigniting one of the greatest feuds in Flair’s career.

REFERENCES:

Flair, R. &. (2004). Ric Flair: To Be the Man. New York: Pocket Books.  

"Wrestler Profiles." Online World of Wrestling. 9 Mar. 2008
 <http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/ric-flair.html>

WWE Home Video. (2003) The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection Volume One

WWE Home Video. (2005) Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80's.

WWE Home Video (2007). Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen.