Why is ric flair such a great wrestler?

[Guest ShamRock]

You read that right.I've gotta friend and he always asks himself why smarks think that Ric Flair is a great wrestler.

 

Why?

[Guest]

Lets take a trip back to the 80's In the 80's no one put on as many consitentally great matches than Flair did. I think the main Reason is that he can draw you into the match and has so much ring physcoligy. As well as his abillity to Sell he truely is the totally package. Well atleast that is my oppoion.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

I second that.  Flair would always draw you into his matches.  He could go for 60 minutes and those would be 60 minutes of wrestling.  He would make you think his opponent had him beat, only to kick out at 2.9999999999, or he'd put his leg on the rope at 2.  And then he'd do what he could to piss off the crowd like holding the top rope while applying the figure four while fooling the referee, putting his legs on the middle ropes to secure the pin, cutting promos that pissed everyone off.  Everything about the man was solid.  He put people over even when he beat them.  Heck, he even made Ricky Morton seem like a threat while breaking the man's face.  Have your buddy watch some old shows to see what I mean.

[Guest razazteca]

Well back in the days when Saturday Night was the only WCW program on TBS, Ric Flair was the man.  His promos during his days with the 4 horseman are the basis on what Sports Entertianment is today, well at least the 20 minute promo.  Flair took the mic, took control of the camera and had the audience eating out of his hand, his promos are the benchmark on how to get over as a heel.

 

During Flairs 1st run in WWF in 1992 he had great matches with Brett Hart, Shawn Michaels, Savage most of which were Colounsim Video exclusives.  Flair was the 1st man to bring in the Big Gold Belt to the WWF claiming to be the Real World Champ which he was, since he was the best.  Flair had Mr Perfect as his executive consultant and they cause trouble as the top heels in the company.  Whats more shocking than having Flair the bad guy stealing Miss Elizabeth from Randy Savage.

[Guest Singular]

Two things that always made me love/hate Flair were,

 

1.  His promos.  He could draw heat from any crowd anywhere anytime.  He put so much emotion in his promos, It always sparked an intrest in me and I couldn't wait to see what would happen in his match.  Heel or Face, It did not matter.

 

2.  His ability to work with almost anyone (sorry JYD, but you are just that horrible).  My favorite matches involving Flair were with Vader and Steamboat who use two totally different styles.  Vader the power house brawler and Steamboat the technical master, both had some of my personal favorite matches with Flair.  He even worked with 29 guys to win an excellent Royal Rumble, probably the best I have seen.

 

Screw Lex Luger.  Flair is the total package.

[Guest Tony149]

Flair could do it all. Not only could he talk, but he could wrestle. A lot of guys can only do one better than the other, but Flair was the master at both. In my opinion, Flair is the greatest wrestler of all-time.

[Guest razazteca]

when Flair was NWA champ he put everybody over

 

Kerry Von Erich at the Cotton Bowl

Ronnie Garvin in a lame cage match

Road Warrior Hawk in a cage match

Hogan in a never ending feud

Luger got the rub for being a Horseman

[Guest y2jailbait]

Well, he proved that no matter what age you are, mid 40's, mid 50's, no matter how long youve been away, If your good, your gonna be good forever. He wasnt just good in teh ring wrestling wise either. Im sure that many have been as good if not better than Flair in the ring. But its his Charisma that gets him a place in my all time fav's list. He just has that seemingly unattianable ability to grab the crowds attention and maintain it for long period of time. That is so hard and underated in wrestling. Maintaining the crowds attention. That attention can make a bad wrestling match (Rock-Hogan) and make it classic. Ric has had that ever since the mid-80's. He is just the most complete professional wrestler ever, and that is the greatest compliment that any fan can give.

[Guest Brian]

I remeber Terry Taylor saying after forty-five minutes with Flair, in a match where they walked in with just a finish, he was dog tired when they got to the back but Flair was like he just walked in the door, ready to take 100 more bumps and go another forty-five minutes.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

I remeber Terry Taylor saying after forty-five minutes with Flair, in a match where they walked in with just a finish, he was dog tired when they got to the back but Flair was like he just walked in the door, ready to take 100 more bumps and go another forty-five minutes.

I think that's called heart.  You see that in people who have a genuine love for the business.

[Guest Austin3164life]

Ric Flair is easily one of the top three of the greatest wrestlers ever in North America (and maybe the World).  He put so much effort into his promos, and never strayed from the storyline.  His matches were great because he could make himself and his opponent look like a million dollars.  A true legend of North American wrestling.  The only other two wrestlers who are as good as Flair, or close to him, would have to be Bret Hart and Steve Austin.  Bret was a classic technician in the ring, and was very crisp with his moves.  Very underrated promo skills too.  Austin's promos, as most of us know, are usually golden, and his in ring skills (when he wants to) match those of Flair and Hart.  Otherwise the idea of Flair jobbing the WCW Title to Austin would've never came across.  I truly think that the three greatest North American wrestlers of all time are Flair, Hart, and Austin.  It can be, but I doubt it's that arguable of a point.....

[Guest]

I think some people tend to forget Lou Thesz when mentioning the greatest wrestlers of all time. Thesz was the man, and even Flair has quoted that when you judge a great wrestler, you judge him by the standard that Thesz set. Anyway, I think Thesz, Flair, and Bret Hart are the greatest wrestlers of all time without a doubt.

[Guest Brian]

Anyway, I think Thesz, Flair, and Bret Hart are the greatest wrestlers of all time without a doubt.

Bret Hart. Ugh!

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

I think some people tend to forget Lou Thesz when mentioning the greatest wrestlers of all time. Thesz was the man, and even Flair has quoted that when you judge a great wrestler, you judge him by the standard that Thesz set. Anyway, I think Thesz, Flair, and Bret Hart are the greatest wrestlers of all time without a doubt.

I'm sure 95% of the people here weren't around to witness Lou Thesz and as you can tell by the person who started this post, they weren't even around to witness Flair wrestle.

 

Just don't pull out Frank Gotch and we'll be ok.

[Guest Brian]

Thesz is pretty hit and miss. I have two tapes, and he's not for everyone.

[Guest]

I chose Bret Hart because, although I hate him personally, wrestling wise, he was amazing

 

As for Lou Thesz, I choose him as the greatest because of the fact that he was legitimate and could kick anyone's ass. I've seen many Thesz matches, and the guy is the best example of a pure Technician

[Guest gusmahler]

I agree with most of what has been written above: Flair was great on the mic and in the ring.  What I hate, though, is that people still think he is great on the mic.  I don't agree.  He has become a caricature with his screaming, nearly unintelligible rantings of a madman ("Fire me.  I'm already fired.  Fire me.  I'm already fired), and stupid things in the ring (elbow dropping a microphone?  C'mon, people say he could carry a broomstick to a good match, but this is ridiculous.)  His work in the 80s was incredible, both in the ring and on the mic.  Even in the early 90s, he was still pretty good on mic.  Lately, he hasn't been good.  

 

I recently watched an 80s compilation and it had a Flair interview from 1981 in Georgia, shortly after winning the title for the first time.  Without screaming or hysterics, he told the world that he was the best, he singled out others for possible feuds, and he got himself over.  Incredible.  Not even his best interview.

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

He has become a caricature with his screaming, nearly unintelligible rantings of a madman ("Fire me.  I'm already fired.  Fire me.  I'm already fired)

That promo was one of the single greatest promos in the last 5 years.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

he does great promos

he could wrestle for 60+minutes

he could have a good/great match with a broomstick

[Guest ArkhamGlobe]

He has become a caricature with his screaming, nearly unintelligible rantings of a madman ("Fire me.  I'm already fired.  Fire me.  I'm already fired)

That promo was one of the single greatest promos in the last 5 years.

That whole segment was one of the biggest markouts during my time as a wrestling fan. And that promo actually sent chills down my spine. I thought it was THAT good.

[Guest Risk]

I agree with Thesz being the best PURE WRESTLER.  But Flair was a great pure wrestler AND had great charisma.  Contrary to popular belief, heels and faces weren't ORIGINALLY "good" guys and "bad" guys.

 

Babyface=The "shooter" who was focused on winning the match.  Mostly cared only about wrestling.  A man's man(not in a gay way or in a Regal way).

 

Heel=Sometimes the clown.  Basically being an "entertainer" as well as being a wrestler.  Liked to put on a big show.  

 

Flair was both, which is why his character, in my opinion, was such a success.  He had great charisma and was a great wrestler.  A shooter-entertainer.

[Guest]

Anyway, I think Thesz, Flair, and Bret Hart are the greatest wrestlers of all time without a doubt.

Bret Hart. Ugh!

What's wrong with Bret Hart? Granted, Bret couldn't hold Flair's jock when it came to Promo's, but in ring work was amazing. I think Bret and Flair are the top 2 "wrestlers" ever. No one could tell a story in the ring like them and keep the fans drawn into the match, and the fact that Flair & Hart could pretty much go into the ring with any style wrestler and have a **** match.

 

I wish Bret would swallow his pride and come back to the WWf as a Backstage booker at least. Imagine the Philosophy that the young guys could learn from Arn, Malenko, Bret & Flair. If you can't learn from them, then you shouldn't be in the business in the first place!

[Guest caboose]

Ric Flair is the man, because:

 

a)He is 'The Dirtiest Player in the Game'?

b)He knows more about Psychology than Sigmund Freud?

c)He can go 60 minutes with a toilet Roll and get at least *** out of it?

d)He took a load of Mental patients and taught them the strut?(i loved it so sue me)

or

e)All of the above?

[Guest DawnBTVS]

This raises an interesting question actually. Considering everybody says Flair/Benoit are the best ever, what would happen if wrestling had always been these 3-8 minute matches on TV? Would they still be considered the best ever? Granted PPV's are lengthier but I wonder if they would be as good in these shortened matches as back then...

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

His ability to work with almost anyone (sorry JYD, but you are just that horrible).  

Sorry but JYD can't hear you... he's dead.

 

But yeah, Flair is the best... no explanation needed. Just watch any match he had before '95 or so.

[Guest The Mighty Damaramu]

If wrestling was always these 3-8 minute matches I doubt I'd ever have started watching wrestling in the first place.

[Guest Loss4Words]

Well, I'll just stick to the area where my expertise is and say that if I had to pick the 20 best workers of the past 20 years, in order, and just in North America, it would go something like this:

 

1. Ric Flair - Accomplishments speak for themselves. The reason I admire Flair's style so much is that he could take a simple move like a sunset flip and get so much drama out of it. He maximized EVERY move. Every move was a story within a story. I respect Flair for his stamina and his storytelling strengths. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone better, at least in the US.

 

2. Steve Austin - Can get the crowd into just about ANY match in ANY situation and his matches tend to have a more layered level of psychology than just anyone since Flair in his prime.

 

[brief aside: STOP MISUSING THE WORD PSYCHOLOGY! I sometimes wonder if a lot of you even know what it is. Psychology isn't something you pick up at a store or anything and it's not even necessarily a huge string of restholds building to a finish. It's a story that makes sense and engages you in a match. WRESTLERS DO NOT "HAVE GREAT PSYCHOLOGY"! Matches have psychology, which is exactly the point Lance Storm is trying to make when he's saying we shouldn't rank workers, but rather the finished product. I know that's hypocritical with what I'm doing here, but I'm generally judging this based on those who I think have had the highest number of stellar matches, but of course, there's no way to do something like this and make it foolproof.]

 

Whew! Now that we've got that out of the way:

 

3. Chris Benoit - Tremendous worker who has been consistently excellent all over the world since about 1990 and has been very good even longer than that. Can wrestle any style and can have a great match with a high flyer, a technician, a power wrestler, a brawler ... he's a master at adapting himself to his environment. Probably the best worker of the past 10 years. The only reason I list Austin above him is because Austin is better at working the crowd.

 

4. Barry Windham - This will shock some newer fans, but Windham was probably the #2 wrestler in the US for most of the 80s. He too could have great matches with just about anyone he wrestled, specifically Flair. I actually think the Flair-Windham series in '86 and '87 is far better than Flair v Steamboat, if only because Windham had a better moveset than Steamboat. In his prime, he worked wonders as both a face and a heel. Was hit and miss between 1990 and 1993 before finally dissipating into nothingness unfortunately. Could be a great road agent for the WWF if they'd hire him.

 

5. Vader - The best superheavyweight in wrestling history as far as I'm concerned. Vader is so good at getting the best out of his opponents, particularly Sting, who never worked as good with anyone else as he did with Vader. When he's not in the ring with someone like Shawn Michaels who is totally preoccupied with being the star of the match, he's a great worker who can have good bullfights with bigger wrestlers and great David v Goliath stories with smaller wrestlers. Very versatile.

 

6. Bret Hart - Speaking of versatile, this was probably Bret's greatest strength. The only reason he's not higher on the list is that his moveset was limited and sometimes, it seemed like he wrestled the same match repeatedly instead of varying things up a little. You could argue the same for Flair, but Bret worked as a babyface for the majority of his prime, which is usually much more simple work that doesn't require as much depth and selling as on the heel side. Not to say that Bret isn't good at both of course. I think Bret excelled in two areas -- wrestling against lesser workers and wrestling against midcard babyfaces while he was also a babyface. NO ONE plays the subtle heel better than Bret Hart. I also think Bret tended to have better matches with guys like Sid and Kevin Nash than he did Shawn Michaels for obvious personal reasons, but also because Michaels and Hart seemed unable to meet their own standards in the ring together sometimes. Anyway, not trying to knock Bret in any way, just give a balanced view, that's all.

 

7. Ricky Steamboat - Great, patient worker who I think wrestled too slow sometimes, but was among the best at building toward a climax within a match. What else can I say?

 

8. Eddy Guerrero - Like Benoit, Eddy is very versatile and had he had more high-profile matches and more consistent excellence like 1997, he'd probably be in the top five. Eddy is another wrestler that has an equal amount of wrestling intelligence and athletic ability, a rare breed if there ever was one.

 

9. Ted DiBiase - Most of you probably remember his good work in the WWF, but I'm thinking more specifically of his GREAT work in Mid South, where he pretty much made all of his opponents, face or heel. Was a very traditional wrestler, but was also very versatile and had great stamina. Could get the crowd into a match exceptionally well. Would still be a star today if he was young and motivated.

 

10. Ricky Morton - The best in-ring babyface in US history I'd probably have to say, Morton was better at getting sympathy heat than just about anyone I've ever seen. AWESOME underdog and great stamina. Was washed up by 1992, but before that was among the best in the world consistently.

 

11. Shawn Michaels - I may get flamed for this, but while Michaels was extremely talented, all I think about with him sometimes is wasted potential thrown down the drain because his ego hindered his work. I'm not talking about backstage crap, I'm talking about how the focus of the match was ALWAYS on him and never his opponent. He was either taking an incredible beating or giving one and his opponent was always there to get him over either as a great bumper or a great high flyer or a guy that could take unreal punishment or whatever. Shawn was a tremendous athlete and falls just barely short of being an all-time great in my opinion, and the main reason is because while he sold and bumped well, he didn't do it in a way that is supposed to be the goal of taking a huge bump, and that is to get your opponent over. Still, he was one of the most naturally talented wrestlers I've ever seen and usually was a step above most wrestlers he was against. I guess that's my entire point in a nutshell.

 

12. Bobby Eaton - Redefines the term "underrated". A total wrestler's wrestler who proved that great storytelling *can* transcend words. Bobby spoke maybe six words in the 80s and he was among the best and most over heels for that entire duration. Is a master tag team wrestler and had a pretty wicked offense for the time period in which his prime fell. I don't think he was meant to ever be a singles star, but that's not an insult, just a testament to his work.

 

13. Brian Pillman - I said Shawn Michaels had wasted potential, but I think Brian did more to self-destruct than Michaels ever did obviously. Could have and should have been a key figure in the WWF's resurgence alongside Steve Austin, but he was so broken down by drugs and injuries by the time the wrestling world actually had an ideal place for him that he couldn't capitalize. Usually had the best match on every show in early 90s WCW and can play both a face and a heel very well. Never became a world champion, but could have with a little more career planning and self control.

 

14. Curt Hennig - Seems to be hit-or-miss overall, but before 1991, the misses were very few and far between. Great seller and bumper and a very unique offense. Had quality work in both the AWA and the WWF and had the unique ability to make people loathe him AND love him. A class act.

 

15. Owen Hart - Probably should be higher on the list based on the him-his opponent ratio of workrate in most of his matches, but I think #15 is a good spot for him overall. Played a great heel in the mid 90s and in the late 80s, was probably among the two or three best wrestlers anywhere in the world until knee injuries forced him to change his style. Obviously very missed.

 

16. Arn Anderson - Has done more to "make" other stars than just about anyone in the modern era. Just a very old-fashioned, straight-ahead, fists-and-sweat worker who mastered at both tag matches and playing the heel in singles. Selflessness is his greatest quality in his ringwork.

 

17. Terry Funk - I'm not talking about the "middle aged and crazy" brawler, but rather the guy who had the hottest feud of 1989 with Ric Flair and the guy who helped reshape the Japanese wrestling scene long ago, even if that's not really what we're discussing here. Was a great pure wrestler once upon a time and became a great brawler as he got older. Has probably hurt his own legacy by staying around too long.

 

18. Dick Murdoch - In the same mold as Ted DiBiase and Arn Anderson, Murdoch was great at making his opponents. May not be a big star today only due to promoter stereotypes about having "the look of a star", but could be based on talent. Like Flair, he was great at maximizing every move. Very smart worker.

 

19. Mick Foley - Foley has gotten an undue bad rep post-retirement that I think has been a little unfair. Not really a GREAT wrestler, but a very good one who was an outstanding brawler and bumper and *usually* could keep his bumps from being pointless. They usually made sense within the course of a match until he realized he could start cashing in on them and abandoned all hope. Still, very influential (good or bad, remains to be seen) and a smarter storyteller than he's given credit for.

 

20. Juventud Guerrera - The absolute glue of the cruiserweight division in late 90s WCW. Very smart worker who pretty much seasoned Billy Kidman in 1998 and always brought out the best in Rey Misterio Jr. and Blitzkrieg as well. Played a heel very well, played a face very well. Fans didn't always get into his matches right away, but were rocking in the aisles by the ends. A true diamond in the rough.

[Guest Cataclysm911]

"Why is Ric Flair such a great wrestler?"

 

One word: Psychology.

[Guest gwf0704]

I wish Bret would swallow his pride and come back to the WWf as a Backstage booker at least.

Swallow his pride?????   McMahon was partly responsible for Owen's death and you think Brett Hart's pride is the reason he doesn't want to go back??? What are you on?????

[Guest TheHulkster]

In the old school sense, Ric Flair isn't even near the top 5 as far as great wrestlers go. Lou thesz was a great wrestler, Kurt Angle is a great wrestler, Ed "Strangler" Lewis was a great wrestler, Danny Hodge was a great wrestler, Jack Brisco was a great wrestler. Buddy Rogers wasn't a great wrestler, but he was one of the greatest performers in that ring ever. Ric Flair fits in that same mold. Flair studied everything Rogers did in that ring and tried his best to emulate him the same way Benoit tried his best to emulate the Dynamite Kid. As you can tell, it payed off for him. He's made a lot of money and has had a whole lot of success.