The first time I saw the plus-sized Flair was when I read his memoir. Wow! Night and day difference. As you said, hard to believe it's the same person.
@@libertarianrevolution7026 He had to work out like crazy to STAY like that. He was 300lbs of muscle. Hogan was that big. Basically, Flair just had to work out and eat more sensibly, and didnt need to keep all that extra weight and muscle anymore. Think of Dave Batista today vs 10 years ago.
I grew up in the Mid-Atlantic territory. The first live show I went to Ric Flair wrestled Swede Hanson. The main event was Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniels versus The Andersons . Jealous anyone?
A true legend..!! Thank you for doing this video.. there isnt enough credit given to the hard work they had to put into the business back then.. Nature Boy Ric Flair has been my favorite wrestler sense i was 5 years old, that was 1977..!!
Him winning Rookie of the Year in 1975,despite starting in 1972,has always befuddled Me. BTW,love that photo of Backlund-Flair in GCW promoting Their Independence Day match in 1982.
@@robertferguson381 I’ve watched and followed wrestling since 1977. When I say the greatest wrestler, I’m talking about performance, promos, durability, responsibility of being the NWA champ when titles mattered. Greatest technical wrestler only? , no. He is the greatest professional wrestler of all time. You can disagree if you want. My wrestling knowledge is quite good thank you.
Something that’s often overlooked from Ric Flair’s territory heyday is that he was infamous for purposely getting himself disqualified in matches against the territory’s top guy to keep his title since the NWA title couldn’t change hands on a dq. This was genius! The territory top contender baby face got the “win” against Flair but Flair kept the heel heat AND the title. This would be cool to see again in some fashion.
Yes. Great way to make babyfaces look strong too. What really worked there was that they did it when the business' lifeblood was house shows. This inevitably led to no DQ matches and other stipulations to keep fans coming in.
I'm gonna all those matches with flare.Head back in 1974 1976 middle and 18 mitt, Atlantic Thai team champion TV champion mitt Atlanta.Haven't way champion and one?Having the world's tag team championship is a great to hammer.Valentine flare a still a greatest
Thanks for this video. I would love to see a video on Nikita Koloff (one of my favorites growing up), especially detailing what led up to his face turn and helping Dusty Rhodes.
I saw Ric on TV in Minneapolis shortly after he graduated from Vern Gagne's wrestling school in the barn. He started as a baby face, I recall, but was transitioning to a heel by the time he left the area. I lost sight of him until he started appearing as the full blown "Nature Boy" on Dallas wrestling in the early 80's. He looked a lot different than he did in Minneapolis!
Ric payed Vern 15 or 20 percent of his gross until Ole Anderson told him to tell Vern to go f himself and told Ric the neither he or Gene were giving Vern a dime@@paulsoxl7739
I would love to see a documentary on Grand Prix Wrestling out of Montreal Canada from 1972-1974. The promoter was Paul The Butcher Vachon and they had so many superstars.
Correct! We glossed over it in our look at "The Butcher's" career but we'll see if we can cover it down the road. ruclips.net/video/3m0Exx-rnZc/видео.html
I really had to learn to love slick Ric but in the 70's I couldn't stand him until Greg Valentine broke his nose and after that I didn't care if he was a heel or a good person
I saw him in Mid Atlantic right around the nose incident and became a Flair fan for life. Hated Valentine (as a young fan) but grew to appreciate his work. Tremendous heel.
@@user-rz7kf7qt9w The Gateway is THE resource for Mid-Atlantic. The only problem is that I don't think the archives exist (with a few exceptions) because the footage is considered lost.
I had the honor, the blessing of growing up in Norfolk Virginia. This meant I grew up watching Mid Atlantic Champion Wrestling! I would see Wahoo and Ric Flair tear the house down every Thursday night (unbeknownst to me that Friday they were in Charlotte, Saturday at the Omni in Atlanta, imagine the wear and tear!) After the plane crash Frlair developed the “dirtiest player in the game” persona, before that he was a brute, not dodging anyone and really taking it to them! I absolutely hated him!! Arrogant! Now that kayfabe is dead, I have HUGE respect for this man! Maybe not the greatest wrestler ever, but he put buts in seats!! And that was before cable, ad in the newspaper was best advertisement you had! He would sell out the Scope Arena when he was on the card, otherwise the matches were held in the exhibition center….
Love hearing stories from fans who grew up seeing these legends. I think some fans today just don't understand how different the business was in the territory day when house shows meant everything. So cool you got to see those events!
You are 110% correct. I was aware of this but absent mindedly wrote cousin. Don't know why I didn't catch it double-checking but we'll make a note in the comments and acknowledge it in the subsequent video. Thanks for catching this!
Must have been a work when Gary Hart claimed to be on the same plane that’s why he hated Flair because he couldn’t wrestle anymore because of injuries from the crash
Believe it or not, there were two wrestling plane crashes in 1975. Hart was on the first (earlier that year) and was injured. Flair was on the second (later in the year). They weren't on the same crash so I don't know what Hart was talking about. I'd love to read his memoir but it's out of print and pricey.
I could be wrong maybe it was Hart’s Hatred for Flair was because Flair recovered and flourished while he could never wrestle fully ever again so he became a manager instead
@@rogerwarren1421 Could be. I know Hart is considered a super genius at booking and I think he's one of the best managers ever. Not sure how much he was working fans and shooting about Flair. Definitely worth investigating.
One of the times Hart was in Georgia Championship or Crockett pro Hart choked flair with a wire clothes hanger and a plastic bag over his head Gary Hart truly earned the Evil Genius moniker One of the Best most convincing Mgrs of all time ♥️🙏🇺🇸
I remember seeing a lot of Mid-Atlantic championship wrestling. I didn't like Flair at first, until I seen how he stayed out of the ring in order to keep his championship. I never got to see the Keowee Allegro executed by Mr Wrestling ? Where can I go to see footage of this maneuver ???
Paul Jones was his generation's Lex Luger and Big Show in terms of frequent turns (although Number One Paul Jones was far more talented). While Jones claims he never turned on anyone (he insists his partners betrayed him), the number of heel and babyface turns were legendary.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments Do you know what’s crazy? Your topic is about Ric Flair and we’re commenting about the worst of the worst in rasslin’. Too funny.
Your comment kinda makes sense? So your dad actually watched wrestling. And thought Hogan? Was a better wrestler than Flair? Does he think women are mens equal too?😂😂
@@CoreyT127 what my dad said.. hogan and flair.. same series of moves.. its the same old song... .. and as far as men women go we all have equal rights.. but ! somethings do better, and somethings women are better.. my dad was 92.. korean vet.. i'm 68 retired railroad worker carman... .. take care corey
Dam I miss the glory years of wrestling the territories etc.... now all we have is Garbage. Who gives a fuck about a tribal Chefs?? No disrespect at all I'm just saying shit is so wack now smh
Savage was well-rounded as a wrestler but I think overall, Flair was better in the ring. Charisma and microphone could go either way. Flair was definitely better overall IMO.
@wrestlingsgreatestmoments I'm not knocking brawlers, some of them put on great matches. Moxley does nothing but brawl and he has put on some classic matches in AEW. Savage's match were far from boring, but there wasn't much wrestling. Flair proved in his matches with Steamboat that he could wrestle scientifically (until it was necessary to cheat to win).
@@GeraldM_inNC Nope. You're right. There are some great brawlers. I always thought Macho Man was a rare breed in that he brawled but he also did some aerial moves (which were uncommon at the time). You're 110% right about Moxley. I like he's added some MMA moves into his arsenal.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments He used the aerial moves more when he was babyface. Yes, Savage was very agile and athletic despite not using many scientific moves. Moxley > Ambrose. Great matches with Omega, Hangman, Brodie Lee.
@@GeraldM_inNC Couldn't agree more. Interesting story. A friend of mine is a huge fan and couldn't stand Ambrose. He loved Moxley and didn't even know Mox was the same guy as Ambrose. LOL.
Him winning Rookie of the Year in 1975,despite starting in 1972,has always befuddled Me. BTW,love that photo of Backlund-Flair in GCW promoting Their Independence Day match in 1982.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments No...I didn't have the pleasure unfortunately. Hopefully,I'll come across it one day like I did the 1985 Flair vs. Martel AWA vs. NWA match from Japan recently.The Harley Race-Billy Graham NWA vs. WWWF headlining 1978's Super Bowl of Wrestling is worth the watch as well.
The territory days were so much better in so many ways! Thanks for this video.
Agreed!💯📠
Glad you enjoyed it! We love the territories.
That's a fact!
Iykyk. Hard to explain it to those who grew up on WWE.
@@donguapisimo4222 Yes. Apples and oranges.
I can never get over the physical difference between his 300lbs self and his later look. Almost a different guy.
The first time I saw the plus-sized Flair was when I read his memoir. Wow! Night and day difference. As you said, hard to believe it's the same person.
It is really an amazing accomplishment that Ric Flair was able to keep all of that weight off for the rest of his life.
@@libertarianrevolution7026 He had to work out like crazy to STAY like that. He was 300lbs of muscle. Hogan was that big.
Basically, Flair just had to work out and eat more sensibly, and didnt need to keep all that extra weight and muscle anymore.
Think of Dave Batista today vs 10 years ago.
@@libertarianrevolution7026 Excellent point!
@@mikeborsum8881 Hulk Hogan was several inches taller. It was much easier for Hulk Hogan to be 300 lbs. than it was for Ric Flair.
I grew up in the Mid-Atlantic territory. The first live show I went to Ric Flair wrestled Swede Hanson. The main event was Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniels versus The Andersons . Jealous anyone?
Definitely green with envy. Lucky you! I didn't live in the Mid-Atlantic region but thankfully we had Mid-Atlantic Wrestling for a few years.
No
@@rexbrumbelow1550 liar
That means you're about 80 yrs old
In Pensacola, we had a promotion that used wrestlers from various territories, including Flair. It was a glorious time.
A true legend..!! Thank you for doing this video.. there isnt enough credit given to the hard work they had to put into the business back then.. Nature Boy Ric Flair has been my favorite wrestler sense i was 5 years old, that was 1977..!!
He's one of my favorites. As someone else mentioned, he checked every box when it comes to what you want in a wrestler.
That says it all about The Nature Boy Ric Flair! He wrote the Book on The Professional Wrestling Business!
Wooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The. Nature Boy. Is a. True Warrior ❤
Stylin' and profilin'!
Nope
Pizza parlors and grandmothers are in fear.
Wooooooooooooooooooooo🙌🏽💪🏽🔥💯😎!!! My FAVORITE 🤼♂️ of ALL-TIME!!! DIAMONDS 💎💎 are forever, & so is “RIC FLAIR #16x🏆” !!!
You said it all!
Him winning Rookie of the Year in 1975,despite starting in
1972,has always befuddled Me.
BTW,love that photo of Backlund-Flair in GCW promoting Their Independence Day match in 1982.
Yeah. I think Steve Keirn got rookie of the year despite being around for a few years.
Yes I saw saw flair number of times, 😊
First time in 1980. Last in 2007.
He’s the greatest wrestler of all time.
Many people feel the same.
Certainly top 5, and nobody can criticize rating him #1.
@@robertferguson381 I’ve watched and followed wrestling since 1977. When I say the greatest wrestler, I’m talking about performance, promos, durability, responsibility of being the NWA champ when titles mattered. Greatest technical wrestler only? , no. He is the greatest professional wrestler of all time. You can disagree if you want. My wrestling knowledge is quite good thank you.
I think there’s been better at each individual aspect of wrestling. But he’s elite in every category, nobody checks all the boxes the way he did.
@@MrRyan-wu4jx I think that sums things up perfectly!
Something that’s often overlooked from Ric Flair’s territory heyday is that he was infamous for purposely getting himself disqualified in matches against the territory’s top guy to keep his title since the NWA title couldn’t change hands on a dq. This was genius! The territory top contender baby face got the “win” against Flair but Flair kept the heel heat AND the title. This would be cool to see again in some fashion.
Yes. Great way to make babyfaces look strong too. What really worked there was that they did it when the business' lifeblood was house shows. This inevitably led to no DQ matches and other stipulations to keep fans coming in.
It was a very common practice in the old days, that seems to have been abandoned nowadays.
@@GeraldM_inNC Yes. I think there's still room for it.
@@GeraldM_inNCYup. The Luger/Flair trilogy in 90-91? All 3 matches ended with Flair being DQ
"Hehehe, he looked just like Porky The Pig" said The American Dream Dusty Rhodes! And he damn sho' did too 😅😅😅
"Ramblin'" Ricky was large and in charge.
"The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, The Tower of Power, If you will!!"
I'm gonna all those matches with flare.Head back in 1974 1976 middle and 18 mitt, Atlantic Thai team champion TV champion mitt Atlanta.Haven't way champion and one?Having the world's tag team championship is a great to hammer.Valentine flare a still a greatest
Indeed!
Translator please
@@paulsoxl7739 Any protocol droids available?
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments I think I can figure it out but if you can’t spell Flair name correctly why bother
@@paulsoxl7739Dude. It’s like people are talking to themselves. But typing it also!😂😂
Thanks for this video. I would love to see a video on Nikita Koloff (one of my favorites growing up), especially detailing what led up to his face turn and helping Dusty Rhodes.
Most definitely. We'll add it to our list. Thanks for the idea!
I saw Ric on TV in Minneapolis shortly after he graduated from Vern Gagne's wrestling school in the barn. He started as a baby face, I recall, but was transitioning to a heel by the time he left the area. I lost sight of him until he started appearing as the full blown "Nature Boy" on Dallas wrestling in the early 80's. He looked a lot different than he did in Minneapolis!
Night and day. Do you remember how good of a wrestler he was in the early 80s.
I'm pretty sure Gagne didn't just let Flair go .... He got a percentage of Ric even after he left the AWA
I don't recall reading that in Tim Hornbaker's Ric Flair bio but I'm pretty sure Naitch mentioned it in his memoir. I'll have to check it.
Gagne did that with all the guys he trained
Ric payed Vern 15 or 20 percent of his gross until Ole Anderson told him to tell Vern to go f himself and told Ric the neither he or Gene were giving Vern a dime@@paulsoxl7739
@@paulsoxl7739or tried
I appreciate your take on the trademark "Whoooooooo"
Our VO guy told me upfront his Whooooo was lacking but he was kind enough to put a disclaimer in LOL
Fantastic ❤
Thank you! Cheers!
Well done!
Much appreciated!
Ric Flair took the strut from Jackie Fargo.
If you're going to steal, steal from the best.
Thick Flair era 😂
Love it! What a great nickname.
Flair wanted to be the man. Today, guys spend longer out with an ankle injury. But young Flair will always mess me up.
Quite the difference. Wooooooooooooooo!!!!
Gem of a channel
Thank you very much!
I would love to see a documentary on Grand Prix Wrestling out of Montreal Canada from 1972-1974. The promoter was Paul The Butcher Vachon and they had so many superstars.
Correct! We glossed over it in our look at "The Butcher's" career but we'll see if we can cover it down the road. ruclips.net/video/3m0Exx-rnZc/видео.html
I really had to learn to love slick Ric but in the 70's I couldn't stand him until Greg Valentine broke his nose and after that I didn't care if he was a heel or a good person
I saw him in Mid Atlantic right around the nose incident and became a Flair fan for life. Hated Valentine (as a young fan) but grew to appreciate his work. Tremendous heel.
I saw Ric Flair defeat Jimmie SuperFly Snuka for the United States Heavyweight Championship.
Lucky you! What an incredible memory to have.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments Thanks
Wwwooooooo to be the man you got to beat THE MAN!!!
All day long!
Would ❤❤❤ to see early episodes of Mid Atlantic 1975 yrs.
Apparently most of them were recorded over. If they ever turn up I'll be tuning in. My all-time favorite territory.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments Totally understand 👍 Would the Mid Atlantic Gateway or WWE might have access to these archives?
@@user-rz7kf7qt9w The Gateway is THE resource for Mid-Atlantic. The only problem is that I don't think the archives exist (with a few exceptions) because the footage is considered lost.
To tell the story of Ric Flair, you got discuss Greg Valentine and Ricky Steamboat.
We'll cover them in part two
Wooooooooooo@
Indeed!
I thought him and Greg Valentine were great together
They were great! Be on the lookout for a video about them down the road.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments appreciate it man 💯
Very cool video. Well done.
Thanks! Hope you check out some of our other videos.
Nature Boy Ric Flair
Custom made from head to toe!
we can never believe a word that flair says. a sad man as a human being
Is this the ghost of Ole "Flair owes me money?" Anderson???
I had the honor, the blessing of growing up in Norfolk Virginia. This meant I grew up watching Mid Atlantic Champion Wrestling! I would see Wahoo and Ric Flair tear the house down every Thursday night (unbeknownst to me that Friday they were in Charlotte, Saturday at the Omni in Atlanta, imagine the wear and tear!) After the plane crash Frlair developed the “dirtiest player in the game” persona, before that he was a brute, not dodging anyone and really taking it to them! I absolutely hated him!! Arrogant! Now that kayfabe is dead, I have HUGE respect for this man! Maybe not the greatest wrestler ever, but he put buts in seats!! And that was before cable, ad in the newspaper was best advertisement you had! He would sell out the Scope Arena when he was on the card, otherwise the matches were held in the exhibition center….
Love hearing stories from fans who grew up seeing these legends. I think some fans today just don't understand how different the business was in the territory day when house shows meant everything. So cool you got to see those events!
Jeff Jarrett/Ric Flair studder-step swagger Anna Stare. 😐💜 That's my dang country song and Nashville wants it, sir. what I wrote. 🎉
We'll license the rights if the price is right.
as i recall flair were billed as rip hawk nephew not cousin
You are 110% correct. I was aware of this but absent mindedly wrote cousin. Don't know why I didn't catch it double-checking but we'll make a note in the comments and acknowledge it in the subsequent video. Thanks for catching this!
Must have been a work when Gary Hart claimed to be on the same plane that’s why he hated Flair because he couldn’t wrestle anymore because of injuries from the crash
Believe it or not, there were two wrestling plane crashes in 1975. Hart was on the first (earlier that year) and was injured. Flair was on the second (later in the year). They weren't on the same crash so I don't know what Hart was talking about. I'd love to read his memoir but it's out of print and pricey.
I could be wrong maybe it was Hart’s Hatred for Flair was because Flair recovered and flourished while he could never wrestle fully ever again so he became a manager instead
@@rogerwarren1421 Could be. I know Hart is considered a super genius at booking and I think he's one of the best managers ever. Not sure how much he was working fans and shooting about Flair. Definitely worth investigating.
One of the times Hart was in Georgia Championship or Crockett pro Hart choked flair with a wire clothes hanger and a plastic bag over his head Gary Hart truly earned the Evil Genius moniker One of the Best most convincing Mgrs of all time ♥️🙏🇺🇸
@@rogerwarren1421 💯I always thought Hart was the kind of manager who would pull a knife on a babyface.
No video of him ?
Limited. There are a few videos from Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV but most of the live footage I've seen is from house shows.
Can you do a Jerry Lawler video.
Yes. We've been wanting to do one for a while. Stay tuned.
Thanks, but NO clips?
We don't do clips because we'd never get videos done. Also, there aren't many clips from this era. Hope that explains things.
I remember seeing a lot of Mid-Atlantic championship wrestling. I didn't like Flair at first, until I seen how he stayed out of the ring in order to keep his championship. I never got to see the Keowee Allegro executed by Mr Wrestling ? Where can I go to see footage of this maneuver ???
@@stepehnsmith4566 I'd say RUclips. Not sure how much Mr Wrestling footage there is.
Are there any stories about Dusty Rhodes' early years? They seem nonexistent.
Good question. Mr. Fuji will investigate.
300 lbs. is a bit of a stretch...but typical of how 'wrestlers' weights are announced.
LOL. Probably true.
Paul Jones? Babyface???
Paul Jones was his generation's Lex Luger and Big Show in terms of frequent turns (although Number One Paul Jones was far more talented). While Jones claims he never turned on anyone (he insists his partners betrayed him), the number of heel and babyface turns were legendary.
Aaaah… Greg Gagne. The “George Gulas” of The AWA.
LOL. Not gonna go there.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments What’s there to go to? Both were victims of their fathers’ nonsense.
@@pinotnoir6974 Yes but George never underwent the rigors of Sgt. Slaughter's boot camp so there was no comparison. LOL.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments Agreed, but Greg never experienced the infamous, “Daddy said sell!” incident.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments Do you know what’s crazy? Your topic is about Ric Flair and we’re commenting about the worst of the worst in rasslin’. Too funny.
I think Ricky Rhodes could have been far more succesful than Ric Flair
@davidswan5295 Unfortunately we'll never know...
i like your channel... hate ric flair.. my dad would say watch him.. he is hulk hogan... and my dad would call every move flair made
Thanks for your support, despite the hate for "Slick" Ric.
Your comment kinda makes sense? So your dad actually watched wrestling. And thought Hogan? Was a better wrestler than Flair? Does he think women are mens equal too?😂😂
@@CoreyT127 what my dad said.. hogan and flair.. same series of moves.. its the same old song... .. and as far as men women go we all have equal rights.. but ! somethings do better, and somethings women are better.. my dad was 92.. korean vet.. i'm 68 retired railroad worker carman... .. take care corey
How did Rick go from that loser in the first photo to the Adonis? He later became
One plane crash and an incredible amount of hard work rehabbing his body.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments I've always wondered about the plane crash.🙈🙉🙊
Dam I miss the glory years of wrestling the territories etc.... now all we have is Garbage. Who gives a fuck about a tribal Chefs?? No disrespect at all I'm just saying shit is so wack now smh
LOL. You're not alone. I don't think the current product is all garbage but I miss the glory days of the 70s and 80s.
Flair and Savage have to be #1 and #2 (in either order) on the mike. But Flair could wrestle, while Savage could only brawl.
Savage was well-rounded as a wrestler but I think overall, Flair was better in the ring. Charisma and microphone could go either way. Flair was definitely better overall IMO.
@wrestlingsgreatestmoments I'm not knocking brawlers, some of them put on great matches. Moxley does nothing but brawl and he has put on some classic matches in AEW. Savage's match were far from boring, but there wasn't much wrestling. Flair proved in his matches with Steamboat that he could wrestle scientifically (until it was necessary to cheat to win).
@@GeraldM_inNC Nope. You're right. There are some great brawlers. I always thought Macho Man was a rare breed in that he brawled but he also did some aerial moves (which were uncommon at the time). You're 110% right about Moxley. I like he's added some MMA moves into his arsenal.
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments He used the aerial moves more when he was babyface. Yes, Savage was very agile and athletic despite not using many scientific moves. Moxley > Ambrose. Great matches with Omega, Hangman, Brodie Lee.
@@GeraldM_inNC Couldn't agree more. Interesting story. A friend of mine is a huge fan and couldn't stand Ambrose. He loved Moxley and didn't even know Mox was the same guy as Ambrose. LOL.
WOOOOOO!!!!
'Nuff said.
Love it! No one can do it like Trump!
WWE Hall of Famer.
Him winning Rookie of the Year in 1975,despite starting in
1972,has always befuddled Me.
BTW,love that photo of Backlund-Flair in GCW promoting Their Independence Day match in 1982.
No wrestling promoter worth their salt would like reality get in the way of a good kayfabe moment. Did you get to see Backlund vs Flair in Georgia?
@@wrestlingsgreatestmoments No...I didn't have the pleasure unfortunately.
Hopefully,I'll come across it one day like I did the 1985 Flair vs. Martel AWA vs. NWA match from Japan recently.The Harley Race-Billy Graham NWA vs. WWWF headlining 1978's Super Bowl of Wrestling is worth the watch as well.
@@EdEhren-be6hr Yes. Thank heaven for 7-11, tape trading, and RUclips!
@@EdEhren-be6hrcome across an unrecorded match. Good luck. We're all counting on you
@@chrischar9428 Airplane?