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The Sports Guy
Number of posts : 31046
Age : 39
Location : Maryland
Registration date : 2008-08-19
 |  Subject: Funny Shit Facts: Ric Flair Fri 13 Nov 2009, 6:40 pm | |
| Tropes associated with Ric Flair:
- Arch Enemy: Quite a few, but his most memorable opponents were Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Sting.
- Badass Grandpa: After his return to WCW in 1998, Flair was pretty much this for the next decade.
- Bittersweet Ending: Ric Flair vs. Sting closing out the final WCW Monday Nitro; Flair's WrestleMania 24 match.
- Catch Phrase: A ton. Being in the business for four decades tends to allow you that luxury. Among his most famous:
- "To be the man, you have to beat the man!"
- "...limousine-riding, jet-flying, wheelin' dealin' kiss-stealin' son of a gun!"
- And, of course, "WOOOOOO!"
Cheap Heat: Flair was a master of this. He wasn't given the nickname "The Dirtiest Player in the Game" for nothing.
Crowning Moment Of Awesome: Among many, many others...
Flair survived a plane crash in 1975 that killed the pilot, paralyzed Johnny Valentine, shortened the career of "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods, and injured Bob Bruggers and promoter David Crockett; Flair, who broke his back in three places and was told by doctors that he would never wrestle again, returned to the ring six months later.
Flair's trilogy of matches with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1989, which are all considered true classics (Dave Meltzer, who was at the Chi-Town Rumble match which started things off, gave all three matches a five-star rating in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter).
Flair deciding that personal dignity was more important than company loyalty when he refused to cut his hair, change his gimmick, and take a lower spot on the card (despite being a top draw) in WCW in 1991; WCW's then-president Jim Herd fired him, which resulted in Flair showing up in the WWF with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt (which, thanks to WCW's refusal to pay him back his $25,000 security deposit, he legally owned).
Flair entering the 1992 Royal Rumble at #3, lasting nearly an hour, and winning the Rumble (and, thus, the vacant WWF Championship); his post-match promo is pretty awesome in its own right.
Flair's return to WCW in 1998 after he'd been fired by Eric Bischoff months earlier, where he reformed the Four Horsemen.
Flair's promo on the final Nitro in 2001, and his final match with Sting on that same show.
Flair's "Old Yeller" promo leading into his WrestleMania 24 match with Shawn Michaels.
Easily Distracted Referee: Flair utilized this trope to its fullest advantage.
Finishing Move: The Figure Four Leglock.
Game Breaking Injury: Flair would use chop blocks, kicks, ANYTHING that would weaken an opponent's legs and/or knees to soften them up for the Figure Four.
Good Is Dumb: Inverted, as Flair would famously lure Sting (aka "the dumbest man in wrestling") into the Four Horsemen and then turn on him, kicking him out of the group. And he did it twice.
Leitmotif: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Flair's famous entrance theme.
Lovable Rogue
Memetic Mutation: Flair's "WOOOOO!", thanks to the ECW Mutants, became associated with knife-edge chops, and the tradition of shouting "WOOOO!" every time one is performed has carried on to the present day.
LEAVE THE MEMORIES ALONE
Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: Again, he wasn't called "The Dirtiest Player in the Game" for no reason.
Popularity Power: WCW audiences proved how much this trope works via their sabotaging the main event of The Great American Bash 1991; the crowd chanted "We want Flair!" practically non-stop during the match, in protest of Flair being fired from WCW.
Power Stable: The Four Horsemen in the NWA/WCW; Evolution in WWE.
Real Life Writes The Plot: Happened a few times in Flair's career, notably his "Real World Champion" gimmick in his first WWF run and his firing/rehiring in WCW in 1998.
Rule Of Cool
Serious Business: Over half of Flair's career was during the days of kayfabe being unbroken.
Tear Jerker: Flair's final match at WrestleMania 24 against Shawn Michaels, which was topped the very next night on Raw when the entire active WWE roster, several legends (including the Four Horsemen, Ricky Steamboat, and Greg Valentine), and even Vince McMahon himself came out to give Flair a sendoff the likes of which will probably never be duplicated or matched ever again.
Ten Minute Retirement: Played straight a few times, but (so far) averted after his retirement following WrestleMania 24.
Theatrics Of Pain: If Flair wanted you to believe he was in pain, he would make you believe it.
Throw It In: At an NWA TV taping in 1986, Flair, Ole and Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and manager JJ Dillon were placed in an impromptu interview spot together due to time constraints. The four wrestlers had been working as something akin to a Power Stable before this, but then Arn said "The only time this much havoc had been wreaked by this few a number of people, you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" during the interview; just weeks later, fans were carrying "Four Horsemen" signs to NWA events. The name stuck, and the Four Horsemen went on to become arguably the most successful and powerful stable in pro wrestling (until the New World Order came along).
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