During his time in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Flair had matches with Dusty Rhodes, Chris Taylor, André the Giant, Larry Hennig and Wahoo McDaniel. On December 10, 1972, he made his debut in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, battling George "Scrap Iron" Gadaski to a 10-minute draw while adopting the ring name Ric Flair. ![]() He attended Gagne's first wrestling camp with Greg Gagne, "Jumpin'" Jim Brunzell, The Iron Sheik and Ken Patera at Gagne's barn outside Minneapolis in the winter of 1971. Professional wrestling career American Wrestling Association (1972–1974)Ī successful amateur wrestler in his teens, Flair trained as a professional wrestler with Verne Gagne. ![]() After high school, Fliehr briefly attended the University of Minnesota. After ninth grade, he attended Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin for four years, during which time he participated in scholastic wrestling, football and track. Shortly afterward, the family settled in Edina, Minnesota, where the young Fliehr lived throughout his childhood. His adoptive mother worked for the Star Tribune. At the time of his adoption (arranged by the Tennessee Children's Home Society as part of Georgia Tann's baby-kidnapping operation), his adoptive father was completing a residency in obstetrics and gynecology in Detroit, Michigan. The Fliehrs decided to adopt due to Kathleen being unable to become pregnant after giving birth to a daughter who died shortly after. He was adopted by Kathleen Kinsmiller Fliehr (1918–2003) and Richard Reid Fliehr (1918–2000). His original parents were Luther and Olive Phillips, the latter of whom was also credited with the Demaree and Stewart surnames nevertheless, his birth name is commonly considered to be Fred Phillips, even if he is also credited on various records as Fred Demaree or Fred Stewart. He then completed WWE's version of the Triple Crown when he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship, after already holding the WWF Championship and the World Tag Team Championship.įliehr was born on February 25, 1949, in Memphis, Tennessee. ![]() As the inaugural WCW World Heavyweight Champion, he became the first person to complete WCW's Triple Crown, having already held the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and WCW World Tag Team Championship. He was the first holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (which he also held last). ![]() The first two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, first inducted with the class of 2008 for his individual career and again with the class of 2012 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 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.įlair is officially recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion ( 8-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWF Champion), although the number of his world championship reigns varies by source, ranging from 16 or 17 to 25. Pro Wrestling Illustrated awarded him their Wrestler of the Year award a record six times, while Wrestling Observer Newsletter named him the Wrestler of the Year (an award named after him and Lou Thesz) a record eight times. A major pay-per-view attraction throughout his career, Flair headlined the premier annual NWA/WCW event, Starrcade, on ten occasions, while also co-headlining its WWF counterpart, WrestleMania, in 1992, after winning that year's Royal Rumble. Since the mid-1970s, he has used the moniker "the Nature Boy". Much of his career was spent in JCP and WCW, in which he won numerous titles. He is noted for his tenures with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanning over 50 years. Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |