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 one; we looked at Flair’s early years in the AWA followed by his amazing success when he began working for Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP).   Then out of nowhere, Ric Flair’s career nearly ended after a deadly plane crash.  

Although the doctors had told Ric Flair he might never wrestle again, Flair defied his doctors’ predictions and returned to JCP in early 1976.   Flair wasted no time in resuming his quest to become the best in the business.  Unfortunately for Flair, there were plenty of wrestlers looking to thwart his ambition, one of whom was “Chief” Wahoo McDaniel, one of the promotion’s top babyface wrestlers.

McDaniel, a former star football player for the New York Jets had lost the Mid-Atlantic title to Flair the previous fall and he’d waited six months for Flair to return to action so he could compete for Flair’s title (Flair had not been stripped of the belt despite being unable to compete for six months).   The rivalry between McDaniel and Flair resumed just where it had left off with both men remaining a thorn in the other’s side and each man jockeying to place a dagger in the other man’s heart.   In Flair’s case, this meant interfering in McDaniel’s matches with the hated Angelo “King Kong” Mosca.  

Wasting no opportunity to make a name for himself at the expense of others, Flair helped his (storyline) cousins Gene and Ole Anderson humiliate African-American babyface star Rufus R. Jones by beating him up and forcing him to wear a chauffer’s cap.   Flair’s actions would cost him dearly as he was forced to face Jones’ and his tag team partners Wahoo McDaniel and Andre the Giant in grueling six-man tag matches.

The focus of Flair’s battles over the next year though was Wahoo McDaniel with Flair defending his belt against McDaniel and holding on to the belt by the skin of his teeth.   A determined McDaniel continued his quest for the belt, eventually defeating Flair for the Mid-Atlantic title on May 3, 1976.    However Flair proved equally determined when he regained the belt from McDaniel in controversial fashion less than a month later.   After breaking a table at ringside, Flair used a broken leg from the table to split Wahoo’s head wide open, almost blinding the Native American star and softening him up enough to win the belt.   Flair’s tactics secured him the Mid-Atlantic championship but it did nothing to deter McDaniel from seeking revenge.   The two would continue their feud throughout the summer, working in lumberjack matches and steel cage matches until McDaniel finally recaptured the belt in September of 1976.   However the feud was far from over and the two would trade the belt again in October until McDaniel defeated Flair for good as 1976 came to a close.

In the fall of 1976, Flair formed a partnership with newcomer Greg “The Hammer” Valentine.   The son of legendary brawler Johnny Valentine (although Greg was initially billed as Johnny’s brother so as to not make Johnny appear old), Greg had quickly established himself as a tough as nails grappler.   Flair would need such a partner as in addition to his feud with Wahoo McDaniel, he found himself battling his cousins Gene and Ole Anderson.   The cousins had come to blows after Flair grew tired of Gene Anderson telling him how to wrestle his matches.   An arrogant Flair slapped his elder cousin, launching a brutal war between the Andersons and the Flair/Valentine tandem.  

The Flair/Valentine team quickly reached the top of the mountain in JCP.   After nearly winning the area’s version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a tournament, Flair and Valentine defeated the champions Gene and Ole Anderson on December 25, 1976.   This brutal battle between the two heel teams was just the opening salvo in a tag team war that would become the stuff of legends for fans in the Mid-Atlantic region.

As the New Year began, Flair found himself sideline once again, this time due to a shoulder injury that kept him out of action from January until March.   JCP officials once again allowed Flair to hold on to his title despite the fact he was unable to defend it within the mandatory thirty day period.   When he did return, Flair and Valentine found themselves being challenged by the former champions.   On May 8, 1977, Gene and Ole Anderson recaptured the belts in a match with the unlikely assistance of babyface Wahoo McDaniel.     Due to the brutal nature of the matches between the two heel teams, McDaniel had been appointed as special referee.   The bad blood between Flair and McDaniel was still evident as McDaniel tripped Flair during the match, allowing the Andersons to capitalize and win the belt.  

By the summer of 1977, Flair was firmly established as one of the area’s top heels and with that position he was used to help get over new stars.   One of the young stars he would help get over was a young babyface by the name of Ricky Steamboat, a man who would share a history with Flair for the next two decades.   Steamboat crossed paths with Flair after Flair repeatedly insulted Steamboat during Steamboat’s interview segments, leading to Steamboat cold-cocking Flair on Mid-Atlantic television.    Flair’s embarrassment led to a match with Steamboat in which his embarrassment was furthered after Steamboat scored a surprise win over “The Nature Boy”.   Steamboat’s win proved to be far from a fluke though as he teamed with Paul Jones to defeat Flair and Valentine for the Mid-Atlantic tag team titles.   Flair’s willingness to help new stars get over like Steamboat would become a trademark of his career for the next thirty years.

Despite their loss to Steamboat and Jones, Flair and Valentine remained as thick as thieves.   Flair and Valentine were always at each other’s sides, whether it was during interviews or seconding each other in singles matches.   They also maintained their highly successful tag team in the area.   When the team of Gene and Ole Anderson returned to the area, Flair and Valentine wasted no time in challenging them for the tag team belts.   Once again, Flair and Valentine proved their toughness by defeating the double-tough team of the Andersons (who had earned the nickname the Minnesota Wrecking Crew), sending Gene Anderson to the hospital and sidelining him for the remainder of the year.

Flair and Valentine would keep the tag team belts in a death grip until NWA officials stripped them of the belts in April of 1978 after missing title defenses and other questionable conduct as champions.   Undaunted, Flair switched his focus back to singles wrestling, winning the United States Heavyweight Championship from Mr. Wrestling.   Flair would soon find himself being challenged by an unlikely foe.

Despite several encounters where his mouth had written checks his body could not cash, Flair remained an arrogant man.   Once again, he would pay for his remarks as he belittled fellow heel Blackjack Mulligan, drawing the wrath of the big man upon him.   After hearing of Flair’s victory for the U.S. title, Mulligan congratulated his friend (or so he thought) on his title win reign only to be rebuffed by Flair.   “The Nature Boy” suggested that perhaps it was time for Mulligan to hang up his boots.   Flair’s taunts continued until Mulligan knocked Flair off of his feet.

The events that took place soon after became one of the most remembered wrestling angles of all time as Flair appeared on TV during one of Mulligan’s matches.   While Mulligan competed in the ring, Flair took Mulligan’s prized possession- a cowboy hat given to him by singer Willie Nelson and destroyed the hat before Mulligan’s eyes.   Mulligan bailed out of the ring and swore revenge, soon getting it by pulling a similar stunt on Flair during his match.   As Flair wrestled a preliminary wrestler, Mulligan walked out in one of Flair’s expensive peacock robes, eventually ripping the robe to shreds before Flair could stop him.   Flair’s actions towards Mulligan turned the once hated Mulligan into a super-popular babyface.   Flair’s work as a heel continued to grow by leaps and bounds.   Soon, he would find himself battling his namesake and going from heel to babyface.

REFERENCES:

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

Chappell, David, and Dick Bourne. "The Mid Atlantic Wrestling Almanac." The
Mid-Atlantic Gateway. 2007. 2 Mar. 2008

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