The Nature Boy

Ric Flair once said, ~To be the man, you've gotta beat the man.~ Without a doubt, Ric Flair is considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers or THE greatest to ever step foot in the squared circle. As a wrestling fan for 23 years he is, in my opinion, the man and despite the politics going on behind the scenes aside it was his love for the wrestling business that made it such a thrill for wrestling fans such as myself to watch as he gave it his all both inside, as well as, outside the ring. You most definitely have to agree that he was able to bring out every emotion you could possibly think of like anger, hate, envy, happiness, bitterness, sadness, etc. and sometimes all at once. Over his stellar 36 years, three things will always stand out in my mind which are: his persona, his in ring ability, and being a member of the most elite group in professional wrestling.

WOOO! Ist something we all say when we're excited, but when Ric Flair said or should I say yelled it the level of excitement rose to a fever pitch, which was part of the persona he exuded that made you either love him or hate him. Thinking about it, it wasn't just the woos he bellowed to his opponents or the crowd that essentially had several different meanings to it, but it was certain things he said that were unmistakably vintage flair Flair making his character's persona larger than life. Things such as how he's bled, sweat, and paid the price in every arena he's wrestled in all over the world; how he's the limousine ridin', jet flyin' stylin' and profilin', wheelin' dealin', kiss stealin' son of a gun; and most certainly can't forget how he's said that there have been many women who have ridden or stood in line to ride space mountain.

Let me ask you this question, when you hear the name Ric Flair do you see a man who has the in ring ability of a high flier like Rey Mysterio or a power house animal like Batista? The answer is no because quite frankly you can't see him doing moves like a flying hurricanrana, a backwards corkscrew moonsault, or a give a power slam to a massive man like the big show. The funny thing is whenever he would try to even attempt a high flying move off the top rope he would be caught and then thrown across the ring to the mat below, which was one of those predictable things you knew would happen with Flair. Essentially, when you look at Ric Flair you saw a smart master craftsman who took time working on his opponent, especially when it pertained to an injured leg giving him the opportunity to zero on it, then go for kill, so to speak, by slapping on his signature move the figure 4 leg lock.

If you think about it, Ric Flair alone is a legend, but when you add three other people including one of the best managers in the business into the mix you have a group that exemplifies the standard of excellence by which all other factions pale in comparison to known as The 4 Horsemen. The manager J.J. Dillon, Tully Blanchard, "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson and an ever revolving door of 4th members such as Ole Anderson, Paul Roma, Sid Vicious, Lex Luger, but the one that truly gelled was Barry Windham. In any case, Ric Flair was the staple of The 4 Horsemen and when he held up those 4 fingers in an opponent's face or in the air for the crowd to see you knew that if you were facing him you were also facing 4 other guys as well. Yet the question remains though, would The 4 Horsemen be '"THE 4 HORSEMEN" if Ric Flair was never a part of that faction?

Ric Flair's career ended 3 weeks ago at the hands of Shawn Michaels and even though he's no longer wrestling the memories will always stick with us. His feuds with the likes of Harley Race, Terry Funk, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Hogan, and Sting are what wrestling fans like myself enjoyed watching live or on PPV. Personally speaking, I was privileged enough to see him wrestling back in the early 90's when the WWF came to the Pensacola Civic Center here in Florida and his opponent was none other than Rowdy Roddy Piper. Flair cheated for the win of course but it was a thrill to see him and Shawn Michaels as well when he was with The Rockers. In the end, Ric Flair was known by several names such as the dirtiest player in the game, Natche, Slick Rick, The 16 Times World Heavyweight Champion, but for me he will always be, The Nature Boy.