• Leslie Goodman ( m. 1971; div. 1983) • Elizabeth Harrell ( m. 1983; div. 2006) • Tiffany VanDemark ( m. 2006; div. 2009) • Jackie Beems ( m. 2009; div. 2014) Children 4, including,, and Ric Flair Ricky Rhodes Billed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Billed weight 243 lb (110 kg) Billed from Trained by Debut December 10, 1972 Retired December 3, 2012 Richard Morgan Fliehr (possibly born Fred Phillips; February 25, 1949), better known as Ric Flair, is an American and retired signed to under its Legends program. Widely regarded as the greatest professional wrestler of all time and the best American performer of the 1980s, Flair had a career that spanned 40 years. He is noted for his tenures with the (NWA), (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and (TNA). Since the mid-1970s, he has used the moniker 'The Nature Boy'. A major throughout his career, Flair headlined at the premier annual NWA/WCW event,, on ten occasions, while also co-headlining its WWF counterpart,,, after winning that year's. PWI awarded him their award a record six times, while named him the (an award named after him and ) a record eight times.

The only two-time inductee, first inducted in 2008 for his individual career and again in 2012 as a member of, he is also an. Flair is officially recognized by WWE and ( PWI) as a 16-time (,, and ), although the actual number of his world championship reigns varies by source, ranging from 16 to 25.

He considers himself a 21-time champion. He was the first holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the (which he also held last). As the inaugural WCW World Heavyweight Champion, he became the first person to complete, having already held the and. He then completed when he won the, after already holding the WWF Championship and the. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Early life [ ] Fliehr was born on February 25, 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee. His birth name is widely perceived to be Fred Phillips, although on different documents, he is also credited as Fred Demaree or Stewart, while his biological parents were Luther and Olive Phillips (the latter of which was also credited under the Demaree and Stewart surnames). He was adopted, and at the time of his adoption (arranged by the ), his father, a physician, was completing a residency in Detroit.

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Shortly afterward, the family settled in, where the young Fliehr lived throughout his childhood and after ninth grade he attended, a coeducational boarding school in, for four years (five years total in high school), during which time he participated in wrestling, football and track. Professional wrestling career [ ] American Wrestling Association (1972–1974) [ ] Flair trained as a professional wrestler with. He attended Gagne's first wrestling camp with Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, and Ken Patera at Gagne's barn outside Minneapolis in the winter of 1971. 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. During his time in the (AWA), Flair had matches with,,, and. (1973–2013) [ ] Flair first competed in Japan in 1973 for (IWE), due to a working agreement between AWA promoter and the IWE. After Flair left the AWA for 's (MACW) in 1974, he began working tours for (AJPW).

On April 27, 1978, Flair challenged for the in a losing effort. Throughout the 1980s, Flair defended the in All Japan against the likes of,,,, and. On October 21, 1985, Flair wrestled in a double title match where he defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and challenged for the, but the match ended in a double countout. As All Japan withdrew from the (NWA) in the late 1980s, (WCW) began a working agreement with (NJPW). In 1989, the working agreement led to a feud between Flair and, who was wrestling under The Great Muta, in the United States for WCW. On March 21, 1991, Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and challenged for the in a double title match on the at the. Fujinami beat Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but later lost the title at WCW's on May 19, 1991 in the United States.

When Flair left WCW for the (WWF) in 1991, he continued to tour Japan in the (SWS) promotion, due to an agreement between WWF and SWS. He defended and retained the against on September 15, 1992 in a match that resulted in a draw. In August 1995, under a WCW contract, Flair participated in the tournament in New Japan, where he beat, drew, and lost to Keiji Mutoh.

On July 17, 1996, Flair challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort in NJPW. Once again under the WWE banner, Flair continued to tour Japan periodically between 2002 and 2008. He successfully defended the with against twice in February 2004. On the February 7, 2005 episode of, broadcast from the in Japan, Flair lost to in a singles match.

In February 2008, Flair wrestled in the and in the, both under the stipulation that he would retire if he lost. On January 2, 2013, All Japan announced that Flair would make his return to AJPW for the first time in five years on January 26, 2013, teaming with Keiji Mutoh to take on and. This would have been his first professional wrestling match since his September 2011 loss to on and his first for All Japan since March 1987.

However, on January 26, just moments before the start of the All Japan event, the promotion announced that Flair was forced to pull out of his match because of a 'sudden illness', later reported as a badly swollen left leg. Flair was replaced in the match by his son, but also ended up getting involved in the match himself, delivering chops to Seiya Sanada.

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling [ ] Becoming the Nature Boy (1974–1981) [ ] In 1974, Flair left the AWA for 's Mid-Atlantic region in the (NWA) and he soon captured his first singles title, when on February 9, 1975 he beat for the. On October 4, 1975, however, Flair's career nearly ended when he was in a serious plane crash in that took the life of the pilot and paralyzed (also on board were, Bob Bruggers, and promoter David Crockett). Flair broke his back in three places and, at age 26, was told by doctors that he would never wrestle again. Flair conducted a rigorous physical therapy schedule, however, and he returned to the ring just eight months later, where he resumed his with Wahoo McDaniel in February 1976.

The crash did force Flair to change his wrestling technique away from the power brawling style he had used early on, which led him to adopt the 'Nature Boy' style he would use throughout his career. Flair won the when he defeated on July 29, 1977. During the next three years, he held five reigns as NWA United States Heavyweight Champion while feuding with,,, and (with whom he also formed a championship tag team). However, Flair reached elite status when he began referring to himself as 'The Nature Boy' in order to incite a 1978 feud with the original 'Nature Boy', who put Flair in one encounter. NWA World Heavyweight Champion and WCW (1981–1991) [ ].

One of Flair's signature robes On September 17, 1981, Flair beat for his first. In the following years, Flair established himself as the promotion's main franchise in the midst of emerging competition from 's (WWF). An unsanctioned title loss took place on January 6, 1983 to in. Flair recovered the championship belt in a phantom change seventeen days later not officially recognized by the NWA, but retroactively recognized by WWE instead.

Won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Flair in 1983, but Flair regained the title at in a. Officially, Flair won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship eight more times. Flair lost the title to Race and won it back in the span of three days in New Zealand and Singapore in March 1984. At the first Memorial Parade of Champions at, Flair was pinned by, but he regained the title eighteen days later in Japan and reigned for two years, two months and two days, losing the title to Dusty Rhodes on July 26, 1986. However, Flair regained the title two weeks later. In late 1985, the tag team of and began aiding Flair (whom ) in attacks against Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A.

A few weeks later, the Andersons interrupted Houston's match against and the three villains combined to rough up the youngster. Shortly thereafter, Flair, Blanchard and the Andersons formalized their alliance, calling themselves, with Blanchard's manager also coming on board. Upon the group's inception, it was clear that The Four Horsemen were unlike any villainous alliance that had ever existed, as the four rule breakers immediately used their strength in numbers to decimate the NWA's top fan favorites while controlling the majority of the championship titles.

By 1986, wrestling promoter had consolidated the various NWA member promotions he owned into a single entity, running under the banner of the National Wrestling Alliance. Controlling much of the traditional NWA territories in the southeast and Midwestern United States, Crockett looked to expand nationally and built his promotion around Flair as champion. During this time, Flair's bookings as champion were tightly controlled by Crockett, and a was created for Flair. Flair lost the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Detroit to on September 25, 1987. Garvin held the title for two months before losing to Flair on November 26, 1987 at WCW's first pay-per-view event,, in Chicago. In early 1988, and Flair fought to a 45-minute time-limit draw at the first ever. On February 20, 1989, at in Chicago, pinned Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

This prompted a series of rematches, where Steamboat was presented as a 'family man' (often accompanied by his wife and young son), while Flair opposed him as an immoral, fast-living 'ladies man'. Following a best-of-three falls match with Steamboat that lasted just short of the 60-minute time limit (and ended with a disputed finish where Steamboat retained the title) at on April 2, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7, 1989 at in a match that was voted 1989's '. On July 23, 1989, Flair defeated Terry Funk at, but the two continued to feud through the summer and eventually Flair reformed The Four Horsemen, with the surprise addition of longtime rival Sting, to combat Funk's. This led to an at which Flair won. Flair then kicked Sting out of The Four Horsemen upon his challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, resulting in a revived feud between the two. On July 7, 1990, Flair dropped the title to Sting.

After being unmasked as The Black Scorpion at in 1990, Flair regained the title from Sting on January 11, 1991. Subsequent to this title win, Flair was recognized by WCW as the first, though he was still also recognized as NWA World Heavyweight Champion. On March 21, 1991, defeated Flair in a match in Tokyo at the.

While the NWA recognized Fujinami as their new champion, WCW did not because Fujinami had backdropped Flair over the top rope in a violation of WCW rules. On May 19, 1991, Flair defeated Fujinami at in to reclaim the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

In the spring of 1991, Flair had a contract dispute with WCW president, who wanted him to take a substantial pay cut. Herd had removed Flair as head booker in February 1990 and wanted to reduce Flair's role in the promotion even further, despite the fact that Flair was still a top draw. According to Flair, Herd also proposed changes in his appearance and ring name (i.e. By shaving his hair, wearing a diamond earring and going by the name ) in order to 'change with the times'. Flair disagreed with the proposals and two weeks before, Herd fired him and vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. While Flair had left for the WWF, he was still recognized as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion until September 8, when the title was officially vacated. World Wrestling Federation (1991–1993) [ ] Flair signed with the (WWF) in September 1991 and began appearing on television with the, calling himself 'The Real World Champion'.

Led by his 'financial adviser' and his 'executive consultant', Flair repeatedly issued challenges to WWF wrestlers like and, wrestling a team led by Piper at in November 1991 and helping defeat Hogan for the that same night. WCW sued Flair in an attempt to reclaim the championship belt, but Flair claimed that he owned the title belt in lieu of the US$25,000 deposit paid by NWA champions upon winning the title, which had not been returned to him when he was fired from WCW. At the, Flair won the Rumble match to claim the vacant WWF Championship.

Flair entered as number three in the Rumble match and lasted 60 minutes, last eliminating with help from Hulk Hogan, who had been eliminated by Justice seconds earlier. Then challenged Flair for the WWF Championship as part of the double main event. In the storyline, Flair taunted Savage by claiming that he had a prior relationship with Savage's wife,.

Savage defeated Flair for the title at WrestleMania. In July 1992, as Savage prepared to defend the title against at, Flair and Mr. Perfect sowed distrust between the two by suggesting that they would back one or the other during their match. They actually attacked both Savage and Warrior and injured Savage's knee, an injury that Flair exploited to regain the title in a match with Savage on September 1. His second reign was short-lived, however, as he lost the title to on October 12, 1992. Flair teamed with to take on Savage and Perfect at the in November 1992. Flair appeared in the in January 1993, then lost a to Mr.

Perfect on the next night's (January 25) in a match taped six days earlier. Flair then fulfilled his remaining house show commitments, making his last appearance on February 10, 1993, before returning to WCW. Return to WCW [ ] WCW World Heavyweight Champion (1993–1996) [ ] Flair triumphantly returned to WCW as a hero in February 1993, as a result of a 'no-compete' clause he was unable to wrestle, so he hosted a short-lived talk show in WCW called A Flair for the Gold.

Arn Anderson usually appeared at the bar on the show's set, and Flair's maid Fifi cleaned or bore gifts. Once he returned to action, Flair briefly held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a tenth time after defeating at before WCW finally left the NWA in September 1993. At, Flair lost the title, now rebranded the, to. At in 1993, Flair defeated Vader to win the WCW World Heavyweight title for the second time. In the spring of 1994, Flair began a tweener turn and started another feud with longtime rival and challenged Steamboat to a match at which ended in a no contest from a double pin, causing the title to be held up. Flair then defeated Steamboat in a rematch to reclaim the held-up title on an episode of WCW Saturday Night. The WWE does not count this victory as a new title win.

Flair then challenged to wrestle one of his men at, which turned out to be, whom Flair defeated, afterwards he quietly turned heel and took as his manager. He would also wrestle in a five-match series under, which aired on between April 30 and May 28, in which Flair won the series, with 2 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws. In June 1994 at, Flair defeated Sting in a unification match, merging the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and solidifying his heel turn. After becoming the unified and undisputed WCW champion, Flair feuded with Hulk Hogan upon Hogan's arrival in WCW in June 1994, losing the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to him in July. Flair continued to feud with Hogan and finally lost to Hogan in a steel cage retirement match.

Flair took a few months off afterwards before returning as a wrestler and part-time manager for in 1995 (explained on-air by having Flair nag Hogan for months until Hogan and Savage both petitioned WCW management to let Flair come back). On April 29, 1995, Flair wrestled in front of 190,000 spectators in at the May Day Stadium in a losing effort under a joint show between and.

The event was broadcast on August 4, 1995 on under the title of. In the fall of 1995, Flair began a short feud with Arn Anderson, which culminated in a tag match that saw Flair turning on Sting to reform the new Four Horsemen with Flair as the leader, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman, and Chris Benoit as the members. With the new Four Horsemen, Flair won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship two more times before the nWo invasion storyline began in WCW, with the first one being in December 1995 at, where Flair defeated Lex Luger and Sting by countout and then defeated Savage after all three Four Horsemen members ran to the ring and Arn Anderson knocked out Savage with brass knuckles, thus allowing Flair to pin Savage to win the match and the title. Afterwards Savage won the title back on after Starcade, but Flair won the next match at to regain the championship. During the feud, Savage's manager Miss Elizabeth turned against him and became Flair's valet. Together with Woman and Debra McMichael they would escort Flair to his matches until Miss Elizabeth was taken by the nWo in the fall and eventually returned as Savage's valet when he joined the nWo in 1997. Flair lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship eventually three months later to The Giant.

The feud with Savage continued with The New Four Horseman joining the Dungeon of Doom to create an Alliance to end Hulkamania. Together the factions wrestled Hogan and Savage in a triple steel cage, End of Hulkamania match; losing to the reunited Mega Powers. Afterwards, Flair went on to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and there were also changes in the Four Horseman in 1996, as Brian Pillman left WCW and Steve 'Mongo' McMichael became the fourth member. Feud with the New World Order (1996–1999) [ ] Once again as a top, Flair played a major role in the (nWo) invasion storyline in late 1996 and throughout 1997.

He and the other Horsemen often took the lead in the war against,, and, whom Flair immediately challenged for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at the, but won only by disqualification. In September 1996, Flair and Anderson teamed with their bitter rivals,, to lose to the nWo (Hogan,,, and an ) in the WarGames match at when Luger submitted to the impostor Sting's. In October 1996, two developments occurred that affected the Four Horsemen when came over to WCW from the WWF, and expressed his desire to join the Horsemen as he immediately gained a fan in Ric Flair, much to the chagrin of the other Horsemen. Flair finally let Jarrett join the group in February 1997, but the others did not want him, and in July 1997 was ultimately kicked out of the group by Flair himself, who had enough of the instability Jarrett's presence caused the Horsemen. Flair also feuded with,, and his old nemesis in 1997, after Hennig was offered a spot in The Four Horsemen only to turn on Flair and The Four Horsemen at in September 1997, in which Hennig punctuated the act by slamming the cage door onto Flair's head. A fan with Flair In April 1998, Flair disappeared from WCW television, due to a lawsuit filed by Eric Bischoff for no-showing a live episode of on April 16, 1998 in,. After the case was settled, Flair made a surprise return on September 14, 1998 to ceremoniously reform the Four Horsemen (along with,, and ).

Flair feuded with Bischoff for several months afterward. Flair repeatedly raked Eric Bischoff's eyes during this feud.

This culminated in a match at between Bischoff and Flair in December 1998, which Bischoff won after interference from Curt Hennig, a former member of the Four Horsemen. The following night in Baltimore on Nitro, Flair returned and threatened to leave WCW, demanding a match against Bischoff for the presidency of the company. The match was made, and despite the nWo interfering on Bischoff's behalf Flair won and was granted the position of president of WCW. This resulted in a match at Superbrawl between Flair and Hollywood Hogan for the WCW Championship, which Flair lost after being betrayed by his own son. Final world championship reigns (1999–2001) [ ] In spite of his son's betrayal, Flair signed a rematch at which was billed as a First Blood barbed wire steel cage Match against Hogan where Flair's presidency and Hogan's WCW World Heavyweight Championship were on the line. Despite being the first to bleed, Flair won the match by pinfall thanks to the bias of the referee, who counted Hogan out.

As on-air WCW President, Flair began abusing his power much like Bischoff had, favoring villains over fan favorites and even awarding the (which was vacated by due to injury) to his son David and resorting to whatever means necessary to keep him as United States Heavyweight Champion. Flair eventually formed a stable of followers which included, Arn Anderson and the to keep things in order. Flair's reign as president came to an end on the July 19 episode of Nitro, when he faced and lost to Sting for the position. During the course of the match, Sting had Flair in his Scorpion Death Lock, but with the referee knocked unconscious, no decision could be reached. A returning Eric Bischoff came to the ring and began ordering the timekeeper to ring the bell, which he eventually did, awarding the match and the presidency to Sting (who promptly gave it up upon receiving it).

Flair won his last world titles in his career by winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice during 2000, the company's last full year of operation. When WCW was purchased by the WWF in March 2001, Flair was the leader of the villainous group called the.

Flair lost the final match of Nitro to Sting, recreating the second match of Nitro in 1995. Nevertheless, Flair has repeatedly stated in various interviews how happy he was when WCW finally closed down, although at the same time the fact that many people would lose their jobs saddened him. Return to WWF/WWE [ ] WWF co-owner (2001–2002) [ ]. A bloody Flair at After an eight-month hiatus from wrestling, Flair made a return to the WWF in November 2001.

Flair reappeared on Raw following the end of the ' that culminated in a 'Winner Take All' match at won by the WWF. Flair's new on-screen role was that of the co-owner of the WWF, with the explanation that and had sold their stock in the company to a (namely Flair) prior to purchasing World Championship Wrestling and. Flair's feud with led them to a match at the in January 2002 in a, where Flair defeated McMahon. Flair also wrestled at in March 2002 where Flair lost.

The 'co-owner' angle culminated in early 2002, when Flair controlled Raw and McMahon controlled After abruptly left the renamed WWE in June while in a program with Flair, a match was hotshotted between Flair and McMahon for sole ownership of WWE, which Flair lost after interference from. Evolution (2003–2005) [ ]. Main article: In September 2002 at, defended the against. During the match, Flair came down to the ring and grabbed the sledgehammer from Triple H and teased hitting him before hitting Van Dam, allowing Triple H to get the win, turning him heel in the process and accompanied Triple H to the ring as his manager. Shortly after, moved from to Raw and Flair also began accompanying him to the ring while continuing to second Triple H. In June 2003 at, Flair was able to defeat Shawn Michaels after Orton struck Michaels with a chair. At the height of Evolution's power, the group controlled all of the male-based championships of Raw after.

Batista teamed with Flair to win the from the ( and ) in a and Triple H regained the World Heavyweight Championship from Goldberg (in a that also involved ), with the help of the other members. In January 2004 at the, Flair and Batista successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against the Dudley Boyz in a, and World Heavyweight Champion Triple H fought Shawn Michaels to no contest in a, thus retaining the championship. Flair and Batista lost the World Tag Team Championship on February 16 edition of Raw to and. At, Evolution defeated the ( and ) in a 3-on-2 handicap match. The following week on Raw during the, Flair and Batista defeated and to win their second and final World Tag Team Championship. While still world champion, Benoit teamed with to take the World Tag Team Championship from Flair and Batista on April 19 Raw.

At SummerSlam, Orton pinned Benoit to become the new World Heavyweight Champion and the youngest World Champion in WWE history to date. Batista hoisted Orton on to his shoulders in what appeared to be a celebration, but following the from Triple H, the group proceeded to attack Orton. At, Triple H beat Orton to regain the World Heavyweight Championship, with help from Flair, Batista, and. Orton's feud with Evolution continued until where Triple H, Batista,, and Edge were defeated by Orton,, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit in a match for control of Raw over the following month. In the Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution, Batista, Orton and Triple H were the last three remaining in the match. Orton eliminated Batista with a RKO and Triple H pinned Orton with Batista's help to win the title.

Triple H suggested that Batista not enter the Royal Rumble match, wanting the group to focus on Triple H retaining the title. Batista declined, entered the Rumble at number 28 and won.

Triple H tried to persuade Batista to challenge the WWE Champion of rather than for his World Heavyweight Championship. This involved Triple H plotting a feud between JBL and Batista, showing JBL badmouthing Batista in an interview and staging an attack on Batista with a limousine designed to look like Layfield's. The scheme was unsuccessful and at the contract signing ceremony, Batista chose to remain on, infuriating Triple H and thus quitting the faction.

Batista defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. After Vengeance, Triple H took time off, Flair turned face for the first time since 2002 before going on to win the Intercontinental Championship, and the group was dissolved. Triple H returned at the 'Homecoming' episode of Raw on October 3 where he was to team with Flair in a tag team match against and.

After winning that match, Triple H betrayed Flair and attacked him with a sledgehammer. Flair retained the Intercontinental Championship against Triple H at in a steel cage match, which was voted as such by the fans. Flair later lost to Triple H in a Last Man Standing non-title match at which ended their feud. Final storylines and first retirement (2005–2008) [ ] At the end of 2005, Flair had a feud with Edge that culminated in a WWE Championship on Raw in early 2006, which Flair lost. On the February 20 episode of Raw, he lost the Intercontinental Championship to, thus ending his reign at 155 days.

Flair took some time off in mid-2006 to rest and marry for the third time and he returned in June to work a program with his real-life rival that played off their legitimate past animosity. Flair defeated Foley at in a, then at in an. Flair and in 2007 Subsequently, he was involved in a rivalry with the on Raw. On November 5, 2006 at, he captured the World Tag Team Championship from the Squad with Roddy Piper. On the November 13 episode of Raw, Flair and Piper lost the Tag Titles to, due to a disc problem with Piper and had to be flown immediately back to the USA as soon as Raw was off the air. On November 26, 2006 at, Flair was the sole survivor of a match that featured himself, (replacing an injured Piper), Dusty Rhodes and versus the Spirit Squad.

Flair then left television due to his divorce hearings. Flair then began teaming with Carlito after Flair said that Carlito had no heart. Flair defeated Carlito in a match after which Carlito realized that Flair was right.

Flair and Carlito faced off against in a number one contender's match for the World Tag Team Championship but were defeated. The two teamed up on the pre-show, and defeated the team of and. After weeks of conflict between Flair and Carlito, the team split up when Carlito attacked Flair during a match. At, Flair defeated Carlito with the figure four leglock. On the June 11 episode of Raw, Flair was drafted from Raw to SmackDown! As part of the.

He briefly feuded against and rejoined forces with Batista to feud with The Great Khali; the alliance was short-lived, however, as Flair was 'injured' during a match with Khali. After a three-month hiatus, Flair returned to WWE programming on the November 26 episode of Raw to announce 'I will never retire'. Vince McMahon retaliated by announcing that the next match Flair lost would result in a forced retirement. Later in the night, Flair defeated Orton after a distraction. It was revealed on the 15th anniversary of Raw that the win or retire ultimatum only applied in singles matches.

Flair won several 'career threatening' matches against the opponents such as Triple H,,,, and Vince McMahon himself among others. On March 29, 2008, Flair was inducted into the as a part of the by Triple H. The day after, Flair wrestled at in, losing to. The match was lauded by fans and critics and was voted the 2008 (PWI). Flair's fight to keep his career going garnered him the 2008 PWI ' award. Part-time appearances (2008–2009) [ ]. Flair at On the March 31, 2008 episode of Raw, Flair delivered his farewell address.

Afterward, Triple H brought out many current and retired superstars to thank Flair for all he has done, including Shawn Michaels, some of the Four Horsemen,, and, followed by and then. Along with the wrestlers, the fans gave Flair a. This event represented a rare moment in WWE as both the heels and the faces broke and came out to the ring together.

Flair made his first post retirement appearance on the June 16, 2008 episode of Raw to confront Chris Jericho about his actions during a rivalry with Shawn Michaels. He challenged Jericho to a, rather than an official match, but was ejected from the building by Vince McMahon. The following year on February 9, Flair once again confronted Jericho on Raw.

Jericho was attacking Hall of Fame members and Flair demanded he respect them, before punching Jericho. Flair appeared a month later to distract him during a Qualifying Match.

Jericho then challenged Flair to come out of retirement for; instead Flair managed, and in a three-on-one handicap match at WrestleMania in a losing effort. On May 17, Flair returned during the pay-per-view, coming to the aid of Batista, who was being attacked by (Randy Orton, and ). On the June 1 episode of Raw, Flair challenged Orton in a parking lot brawl match, after an interference from the rest of The Legacy, the fight ended with Flair was trapped inside a steel cage and was punted by Orton. After Raw, Flair left WWE when his contract expired on June 2, 2009.

Independent circuit (2009) [ ]. The main event of in 2009, Flair vs. Flair signed with (ROH) and appeared at the Stylin' And Profilin' event in March 2009, clearing the ring after an match ended with a run-in. He soon served as the company's ambassador, in an on-screen authority role, and appeared on the television show in May to cement his role. After a number one contender's match ended in a time-limit draw, and the following week a double count out, Flair announced Ring of Honor Wrestling's first ROH World Title match as a four-way contest.

On November 21, 2009, Flair returned to the ring as a villain on the ' tour of Australia, losing to Hulk Hogan in the main event of the first show by brass knuckles. Hogan defeated Flair again on November 24 in Perth, Australia after both men bled heavily. Flair also lost to Hogan on the two remaining matches on the tour. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010–2012) [ ]. Flair wrestling in the main event of TNA's Maximum Wooo! Tour of Europe On the following episode of Impact!, Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan's and Eric Bischoff's new stable,.

On the November 18 episode of Impact!, Flair returned to the ring, competing in a match where he faced Matt Morgan, who had been kicked out of Fortune the previous month; Morgan won the match after Douglas Williams turned on the rest of Fortune, when they interfered in the match. On January 25, 2011, it was reported that Flair had pulled out of TNA's Maximum Wooo! Tour of Europe mid–tour after monetary disputes. After missing a show in, Germany, Flair returned to the tour on January 27 in, Scotland, reportedly apologizing to the locker room prior to the show. On January 29, Flair wrestled his only match of the tour, defeating Douglas Williams in London, in the process.

During Flair's time away from TNA, Fortune turned on Immortal. Flair returned at the February 14 tapings of the February 17 episode of Impact!, turning on Fortune during a match between A.J.

Styles and and jumping to Immortal. On the March 10 episode of Impact!, Flair defeated Styles and Hardy in a three–way street fight, contested as more of a two–on–one handicap match. On April 17 at, Immortal, represented by Flair, Abyss, and Matt Hardy, was defeated by Fortune members James Storm, Kazarian and Robert Roode and, who replaced an injured A.J. Styles, in a Lethal Lockdown match, when Flair tapped out to Roode. The match was used to write Flair off television, as the following week he was scheduled to undergo surgery for his torn rotator cuff; however, Flair ultimately chose not to have the surgery as it would have required six months of rehab. Flair returned to television in a non–wrestling role on the May 12 episode of Impact! Flair did not appear again for three months, until making his return on August 9 at the tapings of the August 18 episode of Impact Wrestling, confronting old rival Sting and challenging him to one more match.

In exchange for Sting agreeing to put his career on the line, Flair promised to deliver him his match with Hogan if he was victorious. The match, which Flair lost, took place on the September 15 episode of Impact Wrestling. During the match, Flair tore his left triceps on a spot, sidelining him indefinitely from in-ring action. In May 2012, Flair tried to have his TNA contract terminated, which led to TNA filing a for contract tampering and eventually firing Flair on May 11. Having been inactive since his September 2011 injury, Flair announced in a December 3, 2012 interview that he would never wrestle again, owing chiefly to an on-air heart attack suffered by age peer following a Raw match three months earlier. Second return to WWE (2012–present) [ ] On March 31, 2012, while still contracted to TNA, Flair became the first person to be inducted into the twice, the second time as part of the.

On December 17, 2012, Flair returned to WWE as a non-wrestling personality on the annual show to present the Superstar of the Year award to, who in turn gave the award to Flair. Flair's return was interrupted by and, escalating into a confrontation that ended with him locking Heyman in the figure-four leglock.

After clearing the ring, Flair was assaulted by, until and ( and ) helped Flair fend off the group. Flair appeared on the main roster sporadically throughout 2013, as 's mentor. He also occasionally appeared on in 2013 and 2014, accompanying his daughter to the ring.

Flair accompanying at Flair appeared on the April 28, 2014, episode of Raw, alongside the reunited (minus Flair) and The Shield; Flair showed his endorsement for The Shield, Evolution's opponents at, effectively turning his back on his old teammates. On July 14, John Cena symbolically handed over his belt to Flair, telling him to 'take it' while promoting his match. On the post- Raw in August 2015, Flair interrupted, who had saved Flair's 16 world title record by preventing Cena's victory the previous night, telling him that the record would be broken eventually and he would rather it would be by someone who he respects. Flair began making more frequent appearances with Charlotte after she won the. In January 2016, Flair and Charlotte began displaying traits, with Flair often getting involved in Charlotte's Divas Championship and later defenses. This lasted until the May 23, 2016 episode of Raw, when Charlotte turned on him. On the November 28, 2016 episode of Raw, Flair returned to congratulate the new Raw Women's Champion, who had defeated Charlotte to win the title.

On the November 14, 2017 edition of SmackDown, Flair returned to congratulate his daughter, after she won the SmackDown Women's title from Natalya, incidentally in Charlotte's hometown of, this being his first appearance for WWE since nearly dying earlier in the year. Flair yelling 'Woooo!' Flair was often popular with the crowd due to his in-ring antics, including rulebreaking (earning him the distinction of being 'the dirtiest player in the game'), strutting and his shouting of 'Wooooooo!' (Flair got the inspiration from ' ').

Yell has since become a tribute to Flair, and is often shouted by the crowd whenever a wrestler performs a knife-edge chop, one of Flair's signature moves. It is also often shouted by the crowd whenever a wrestler utilizes Flair's figure-four leg lock finisher.

From the late 1970s, Flair wore ornate fur-lined robes of many colors with sequins during in-ring appearances, and since the early 1980s, his approach to the ring was usually heralded by the playing of the 'Dawn' section of ' ' ' (famous for being used in the 1968 motion picture and for the introduction to 's concerts of the 1970s). Flair also described himself as a '-ridin', jet-flyin', kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin', son-of-a-gun (who kissed all the girls worldwide and made em cry)'. On October 19, 1998, it was declared 'Ric Flair Day' in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Mayor Sharon Belton and on November 15, 2008, it was declared 'Ric Flair Day' in Norfolk, Virginia. On March 24, 2008, Mayor Bob Coble, of Columbia, South Carolina, declared March 24 to be Ric Flair Day in Columbia.

Flair also received the key to the city. He received the key to the city of on December 5, 2008, to commemorate Flair's victory in a steel cage match against at the.

April 18, 2009 was declared 'Ric Flair Day' in Charleston, West Virginia and he was presented with the key to the city by the mayor. Also, on June 12, 2009, Flair was presented with the key to the city of and, in September, he received the key to the city in Marion County, South Carolina. On July 17, 2010, Flair made a special appearance at Scotland Motors in Laurinburg, North Carolina and received the key to that city, as well. On the February 18, 2008 episode of Raw, Shawn Michaels announced Flair as the first inductee into the Class of 2008. The induction ceremony took place on March 29, 2008, with Triple H inducting him. This made him the first person to be inducted while still an active competitor.

Flair was later inducted into the in Atlanta, Georgia, but he did not participate in the event. On January 9, 2012 it was announced that the Four Horsemen would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, thus making Flair the first person to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice. On April 15, 2008, Flair was honored in Congress by a representative from North Carolina, Republican, who praised his career and what he means to the state. On September 29, 2008, it was announced that Flair's signature sequin covered robe that he wore at WrestleMania XXIV, in what was to be his last WWE match, would be placed in the pop culture section of the in Washington, D.C. In 1999, a large group of professional wrestling experts, analysts and historians named Flair the greatest NWA World Heavyweight Champion of all time. In 2002, Flair was named the greatest professional wrestler of all time in the magazine article 100 Wrestlers of All Time by John Molinaro, edited by and. In July 2016, Luke Winkie of also named Flair the greatest professional wrestler of all time.

Flair's 'Wooo' chant has been used throughout pop culture, in hip-hop music in particular. Rapper Pusha T has paid homage to Flair in numerous songs. For example, on the track 'Sweet Serenade', he says, 'Triple doubles, two hoes and check please (Wooo!), They love me on my Ric Flair shit (Wooo!), In that Phantom like I'm Blair Witch (Wooo!), Who are you to be compared with? Rapper Killer Mike also has a track named 'Ric Flair'.

Rapper played tribute to Flair in his hit song 'Ric Flair Drip.' Reaction to latter career [ ] Some have looked unfavorably upon Flair's career from the 1990s onward. In 1998, wrestler and former WCW colleague said that Flair had reached the 'time to hang it up', having not been great for a 'long time'. John Molinaro of penned a 1999 article titled, 'Ric Flair is tarnishing his legacy'; Molinaro saw Flair as a wrestler whose prestige was 'in jeopardy'.

In 2006, writer Frank Ingiosi said that Flair had a 'personal vendetta against his legend'. He nevertheless continued to wrestle until retiring in 2008, at age 59. Following an elaborate farewell ceremony staged for Flair by WWE, wrestling personality lamented his cutting promos at 'low rent wrestling shows', calling it 'painful to watch'. Flair would ultimately return to the ring in 2009 and signed to wrestle for TNA the following year, breaking a vow to never again lace up his boots. Wrestler, writer Adam Rank, and many fans felt that he sullied his legend by continuing to wrestle in TNA. Asked in 2011 if Flair was tainting his prestige, former opponent was harsher, stating that he had 'been tarnishing his legacy since 1990'. Also that year, Kevin Eck of criticized the aging Flair for being unable to separate himself from his ostentatious when not wrestling, and said: 'I don't know what's sadder, Ric Flair tarnishing his legacy in the ring or embarrassing himself away from the ring'.

Asked about Flair in 2015, wrestler felt that viewers would 'remember only the last years of his career', which consist of 'bad memories'. Conversely, professional wrestling announcer in 2012 felt that Flair had not tarnished his legacy, observing only 'passion and need to earn a living'.

In 2016, Flair said continuing to wrestle in TNA was the 'number one' regret of his career. Other media [ ].

Flair at a Comic Con event in 2016 Flair has made numerous appearances in television shows. In 1996, Flair, along with other WCW wrestlers, appeared in an episode of as themselves. In 2013, Flair made an appearance in,, in the episode, 'Bacteriopolis', as Dr. Roland Grayson.

In 2014, Flair voiced himself in the animated series,, in the episode, 'History of Wrestling'. Flair released his autobiography,, in July 2004. The title is taken from one of his, 'To be the man, you gotta beat the man!' In 2009, Flair voiced the character, Commander Douglas Hill, in the video game,. It was announced on July 8, 2012 that Flair was to appear at 's 13th Annual weekend as a main stage host who was in charge of announcing the performers. However, his appearance at the event was cut short after he was struck with a water bottle thrown from the crowd before announcing to enter the main stage, at which point he left and did not announce Tech N9ne or go back out on the main stage to announce the remaining performers. In 2015, Flair made his feature film debut, appearing in.

From May 2015-April 2016, Flair was host of a podcast titled 'WOOOOO! The podcast was placed on hiatus after episode 46 which was uploaded on April 1, 2016. Flair returned to podcasting on with a new show called The Ric Flair Show in July 2016. The final episode of The Ric Flair Show was uploaded on December 16, 2016. Aired Nature Boy, a directed by Rory Karpf.

On December 5, 2017, Bad Bunny released a new music video entitled Chambea, of which Flair made an appearance. Year Title Role Notes 1996 Himself Television series One episode: Bash at the Beach 2009 Commander Douglas Hill Video game 2013 Dr. Roland Grayson Television series One episode: Bacteriopolis 2014 Himself Animated series One episode: History of Wrestling 2015 Leather Faced Old Man Feature film 2017 Nature Boy Himself documentary Personal life [ ] Family [ ] Flair married his first wife, Leslie Goodman, on August 28, 1971. They had two children, daughter Megan and son, before divorcing in 1983 after twelve years of marriage. On August 27, 1983, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Harrell. Promoter served as the best man for the wedding. They had two children, daughter and son.

Beth also made periodic appearances in WCW between 1998 and 2000. Flair and Beth divorced in 2006 after nearly 23 years of marriage. On May 27, 2006, Flair married his third wife Tiffany VanDemark, a fitness competitor. In 2008, Tiffany filed for divorce from Flair, which was finalized in 2009. On November 11, 2009, Flair married his fourth wife, Jacqueline 'Jackie' Beems, in. In 2012, Flair filed for divorce from Beems, which was finalized in 2014.

Flair is dating Wendy Barlow (the maid 'Fifi' from Flair's WCW interview segment 'A Flair for the Gold') as documented on ABC TV's Celebrity Wife Swap where he swapped wife/girlfriend with Roddy Piper and his wife Kitty. Flair and Barlow got engaged in July 2016. Flair's son David is a semi-retired professional wrestler.

Flair's younger son Reid, who signed a developmental contract with WWE near the end of 2007, was an accomplished high school wrestler and made several appearances on WCW television along with his sister Ashley and half-sister Megan. In 2004, Flair became a grandfather at the age of 55, when his older daughter, Megan Fliehr Ketzner, gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Morgan Lee Ketzner on May 9. On May 17, 2012, it was reported that Flair's daughter Ashley had signed with WWE adopting the ring name, Charlotte (which was later changed to include the Flair surname). On March 29, 2013, Reid died from an accidental overdose of, and a muscle relaxer. Legal issues [ ] In December 2005, a judge issued arrest warrants for Flair after a incident that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina in which Flair allegedly got out of his car, grabbed a motorist by the neck, and kicked the door off the motorist's sport utility vehicle. Flair was charged with two misdemeanors, injury to personal property and simple assault and battery. This incident was ridiculed on WWE programming, most notably by the wrestler.

In September 2007, Flair opened a financial business called Ric Flair Finance. In July 2008, Flair Finance filed for bankruptcy.

Following Flair's debut in his former employer,, filed a lawsuit in 2010, alleging that Flair owed them over $40,000 and that he had not appeared at several events that he was contractually obligated to appear. The lawsuit was never resolved. Highspots Inc. Claimed that Flair had given them the belt as collateral for the loan. A warrant for Flair's arrest was issued in May 2011 for being held in contempt of court for violating the terms of his settlement with Highspots. If Flair had failed to comply he could have potentially faced 90 days in jail. On June 25, Highspots released a statement over their official Facebook page stating that someone had paid Flair's debts.

Politics [ ] Flair has long supported political candidates in politics. In 2000, Flair explored the possibility of running for, but he never filed the papers.

In the 2008 presidential race, Flair declared his support for the Republican presidential candidate. He said of Huckabee, '[Huckabee] is a quality person, self-made, a great family man and he has a great vision for our country. And I'm here to excite the crowd'. Medical problems [ ] Flair has a heart condition called. On August 14, 2017, Flair had surgery in Georgia to remove an, which led to various complications, most seriously, necessitating treatment and ongoing hospitalization. He was discharged from rehabilitation and allowed to return home on September 21, 2017.

Real life feuds and backstage problems [ ] Bret Hart [ ] Flair engaged in an off-screen rivalry with. In October 1993, Hart gave a radio interview in which he said Flair 'sucks' and described his workplace, WCW, as 'minor league'.

In Flair's autobiography, Flair criticizes Hart for over-exploiting the death of his brother and the controversy surrounding the. Flair also claimed in his autobiography that—despite Hart's popularity in Canada—he was not a formidable money-making in the United States, a claim which Hart dismissed as 'plain ridiculous' in a column written for the. Hart claimed that he drew greater revenue than Flair, citing his headlining performances on consistently sold out tours throughout his WWF career, while Flair wrestled to allegedly near-empty arenas. He also criticized Flair on what he perceived as insults to fellow wrestlers and, both personal friends of Hart. Hart acknowledged a decline in the WWF's popularity during the mid-1990s, but he and others felt that this was largely attributed to the WWF's well publicized sex and steroid scandals, as well as WCW's acquisition of former top WWF stars. In contrast to Flair's claims, prominent industry historian said there was 'no denying' Hart's major drawing power in the United States.

WWE owner asserted that whichever company hired Hart could 'have built the entire around Hart' and described him as an 'extraordinary star'. McMahon added that it was 'fortunate for me, in terms of my company', that his chief competitor, WCW, did not utilize Hart to his full potential. WCW described Hart as 'an incredible international draw, attracting standing room only crowds in every corner of the globe'. Professional wrestling magazine has spoken to Hart's drawing power, placing him number 7 in 'The 10 Best U.S.-Style All-Rounders', a list that considered drawing ability along with workrate and promo skills. Hart also criticized Flair in his own autobiography, mainly his in-ring talent and what Hart perceived as Flair's unsubtle.

However, they have reconciled and are now friends. Shane Douglas [ ] Flair also had a long running feud with, who would refer to him as 'Dick Flair' and accuse him of sabotaging his push in the NWA/WCW after getting a solid push and a rub from his tag team partner Ricky Steamboat.

In turn, Flair responded that Douglas was always the guy that would blame his shortcomings on others. He called Douglas out as well as accused him of steroid abuse during a broadcast of the Internet radio show WCW Live! In which he said that he would meet him anytime and anywhere if he would 'take the needle out of his ass'. Mick Foley [ ] Flair has also had problems with. In his 1999 autobiography, Foley said that 'Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side of it'. This was in reference to how poorly Foley thought he was booked during his WCW career when Flair was on the booking committee. Flair responded in his autobiography by writing: 'I do not care how many thumbtacks Mick Foley has fallen on, how many ladders he's fallen off, how many continents he's supposedly bled on, he will always be known as a glorified stuntman'.

However, they have reconciled and are now friends. Hulk Hogan [ ] In his book, Flair also touched on some real-life tension between himself and which largely stemmed from an incident that followed the conclusion of a tag team match between Flair and his son David and the team of and at WCW's Souled Out pay-per-view on January 17, 1999, in Charleston. [ ] However, Flair has stated that he and Hogan remained friends despite their differences. Bruno Sammartino [ ] Flair and wrestler had a real-life disagreement over what reports call 'the infamous backstage snub' where Flair claims that Sammartino refused to shake his hand at a live event. While Flair claims Sammartino ignored him due to comments made in his book, stating Sammartino was 'a Northeast star who couldn’t draw fans outside New York', Sammartino referred to Flair as a 'liar' and stating: 'No, I don't respect Ric Flair.

I don't respect him at all'. They have since reconciled and are now friends. In wrestling [ ]. Flair delivering to • Finishing moves • – early career • • Signature moves • • to an opponent's leg •, usually as a setup for the figure-four leglock • – early career • • Flop (Dropping face first to the mat, usually after a punch, with theatrics) •, usually followed by a 'Woooo!'

From the crowd • • Multiple variations • • • • • • or • •, usually as a setup for the figure-four leglock • • Turnbuckle flip evasion, landing on the apron, with theatrics • • • • • • • • • • Fifi (Wendy Barlow) • • • • • •. Flair managing Charlotte in 2016 • Wrestlers managed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Nicknames • ' The Alimony Pony' • ' The Dirtiest Player in the Game' • 'The Golden Stallion' • 'I Da! Flair was also inducted in 2012 as a member of • International Wrestling Institute and Museum • George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame (2013) • / • () • () • () • () • () • () – with (1), (1), and (1) • () – with Greg Valentine (2) and (1) • First • • () • (class of 2008) • • (1987) vs. And • Feud of the Year (1988, 1990) vs.

• Feud of the Year (1989) vs. • (2008) • (1983) vs.

(June 10) • Match of the Year (1984) vs. At • Match of the Year (1986) vs. At in a • Match of the Year (1989) vs. At • Match of the Year (2008) vs. At • Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs.

Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV • (1978, 1987) • (1975) • (2008) • (1981, 1984–1986, 1989, 1992) • Ranked No. 3 of the top 500 wrestlers in the in 1991, 1992, and 1994 • Ranked No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 • • • • () • • • • () – with (2) and (1) • () • () • () • • for Match of the Year () vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV • () • Class of 2008 for his individual career • Class of 2012 as a member of • • (1986) vs. Barry Windham at • 5 Star Match (1987) vs.

Barry Windham at the on April 11 • 5 Star Match (1989) vs. Ricky Steamboat at • 5 Star Match (1989) vs. Ricky Steamboat in a at • 5 Star Match (1989) vs.

Ricky Steamboat at • 5 Star Match (1989) vs. Terry Funk in a at • 5 Star Match (1991) with Barry Windham,, and vs.,,, and in a at • 5 Star Match (1987) with Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, The War Machine, and Tully Blanchard vs. Animal, Dusty Rhodes, Hawk, Nikita Koloff, Paul Ellering in a at • (1990) • (1991, 1992, 1994) • (1989) vs. Terry Funk • (1983) vs. Harley Race in a steel cage match at • Match of the Year (1986) vs. Barry Windham at Battle of the Belts II on February 14 • Match of the Year (1988) vs. Sting at • Match of the Year (1989) vs.

Ricky Steamboat at Clash of the Champions VI: Rajin' Cajun • (1980, 1982–1984, 1993) • (1986, 1987, 1989) • (1984–1993, 1996) • (1990) vs. The • (1996) with,,, Lex Luger,,, and vs. And in a at • (1982–1986, 1989, 1990, 1992) • (1994) Retirement angle • (class of 1996) Notes [ ].

• According to Flair's autobiography, his birth name was listed on different documents as Fred Phillips, Fred Demaree, and Fred Stewart. Given that his biological father's surname was Phillips, it is suspected that Fred Phillips is his actual birth name, but Flair has never followed up on the fact. On March 18, 1949, he was legally adopted by the Fliehr family and was renamed Richard Morgan Fliehr.

Is officially termed with four o's according to his autobiography, but can extend to any number of o's. • His last four reigns with the championship were after Jim Crockett Jr. Sold his promotion to Ted Turner in November 1988, which became WCW. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended exclusively in WCW until WCW's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1993. • ^ Flair did win the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship six times and the six reigns were recognized even after World Championship Wrestling (WCW) took control over the championship and renamed it the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in 1991. After WCW's purchase by WWE, the lineage of the championships were kept in the WWE United States Championship.

WWE.com has published contradictory information on Flair's reigns – recognizing five reigns in one article, but describing him as a six-time champion in another article. References [ ]. • ^ Westcott, Brian.. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved August 14, 2017.

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How To Use Input Type File In Jsf Technologies. My biological mother's name was Olive Phillips, Demaree, or Stewart. My biological father is listed as Luther Phillips. • Flair, Ric (June 2004). 'Chapter One: Black Market Baby'.

(Hardcover, 352pp ed.). [Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group]. Retrieved July 2, 2017. My father's salary was a bit of an issue. He was only making $3,000 a year, but my mother explained he was only doing his residency in Detroit, and that any child they adopted would live a relatively privileged life, and most likely go to college. • Flair, Ric (June 2004).

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The Dirtiest Player in the Game also had six stints with the United States Title, which is enough to build a legacy on in and of itself • At wrestling-titles.com • At wrestling-titles.com •. Retrieved August 14, 2017. The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 4, 2015.

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Further reading [ ] • Flair, Ric; Keith Elliot Greenberg, Mark Madden (ed.) (2005). Ric Flair: To Be the Man. New York: Pocket Books... CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list () • Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks.

• Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen. Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. External links [ ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to.

I read this book to get a sense of the history of the concept of “lean”. For that, it was interesting. There were also gems of wisdom throughout. The book is like a collection of thoughts or perhaps answers to interview questions. The author was 70 when this book came out i 1982. Some things seems very modern and timely, while certain attitudes to people seem very archaic.

This is puzzling when you read that he puts people first. He puts people first because it is from people that you get the id I read this book to get a sense of the history of the concept of “lean”. For that, it was interesting. There were also gems of wisdom throughout. The book is like a collection of thoughts or perhaps answers to interview questions. The author was 70 when this book came out i 1982. Some things seems very modern and timely, while certain attitudes to people seem very archaic.

This is puzzling when you read that he puts people first. He puts people first because it is from people that you get the ideas for making improvements in the workplace. Listening and observing are key skills he promotes. The Publisher’s Forward in the 1988 edition I read had a quote from someone who experienced a visit from two of Ohno’s students at his plant in the U.S. He said, “ But what I admired most was their incredible respect for humanity.” So maybe Ohno comes across as rather stodgy at times, but if his students have this incredible respect for humanity, it can’t be all that bad.:) I give the book an overall 3-star rating and think it would be interesting for students of lean. Lean philosophies might be stated more succinctly in other books, but it never hurts to know the roots.

I found the language a bit choppy at times. This was mostly when I was in sections that I was not familiar with such as those with references to actual car manufacturing or accounting methods. I didn’t lose out from glossing over those parts because there was good material elsewhere, and, as I have said, this book is not really one coherent whole that must be grasped completely. He also mentions that you cannot fire workers in Japan. I know nothing about working in Japan so I don’t know whether this is still the case.

Because you could not just lay off people when times were bad for manufacturing, you had to deal with all these people who had nothing to do. That gave some interesting production challenges and definitely influenced some of his proposals, as far as I could see. His explanation of the just-in-time concept was slightly amusing. This is because he feels the need to spell it out. Again, this was written in 1982. For some, it was still misunderstood and new. Now, I perceive it as well known and well understood.

The preface says the Toyota production system can be summed up in one statement: “Make only what you need, in the quantities you need, when you need it.” I tried to take notes on each chapter as I read this, and then I decided I would just charge through and pick up what I could. I marked sections that I wanted to highlight with post-it notes (I had a library book:)). Each chapter’s title is supposed to sum up the contents.

I am sure they read as nice, neat mottos in Japanese. Here my notes. I actually scanned chapters 29 and 30 to keep as reference. They are taking longer to digest, but they are more digestible that the chapters I got stuck on. I just have no nice summaries of them for now. I want to mull over them. Chapter 1: The superior person knows how to adapt.

Develop personal humility. Quotes: “If you want change, you really have to persuade people first, bringing them around to your way of thinking.” “We are all human and as much as half of what we do is mistaken; managers may sometimes even tell subordinates things that are wrong. The people managers deal with will gradually begin to turn away unless those managers first adopt the attitude that those under them are human beings, too - and that at least half of what their subordinates say is right. It seems to me, in short, that the development of this sort of personal humility is an essential condition for building solid powers of persuasion.” Chapter 2: If you are wrong, admit it! All should learn to admit being wrong.

I sense an echo of the “failure” trend - learning from failures and being more open about having failed. Quote: “Many things in the world cannot be understood without trying them out. Indeed, a surprising number of things, when tried, yield results that are exactly the opposite to what one expects. This shows how inescapably dogged by illusion humanity really is.” “wouldn’t workers be even more cooperative when mistakes are met, not with reproving looks, but with encouragement and the explicit recognition that only five out of 10 ideas that you yourself come up with are right?

When workers start thinking that they have to keep quiet and stick with whatever the boss tells them to do, for better or worse, they will gradually stop listening.” Chapter 3: Illusions lower efficiency. Good chapter. It is how we are all blinded to things because “that is how we have always done this”. Even intellectuals (a term he uses now and then) fall into this trap. He encourages the attempt to try different approaches here. He has a story about the time it takes to drill holes and whether manual or automatic methods are better.

The people drilling the holes looked only at the actual drilling time. They did not count the need to cool the drill or sharpen the drill. When Ohno proposed a new method, the person couldn’t respond because it was so radical.

The worked was happy to drill 80 holes a day whereas Ohno was proposing drilling even more in one hour through automation. Moral: Try different ways when they are suggested and compare the current and proposed method carefully to see whether the new way is more efficient.

“Don’t knock it till you try it!” Chapter 4. Confirm failure with your own eyes. Identify what is valuable in ideas and suggestions. He had a section here that appealed to me as a technical communicator. He had proposed centralised grinding and sharpening of some blades.

The grinding experts were against this because there was so much you had to know before doing this job. A lot of knowledge was required. He told them that was irrelevant. “All we had to do was set up standard specifying the different blade materials to be used in each case. It would have been extremely inefficient to tell hundreds of people what they could and could not do in sharpening their bits.” As I read it, he was arguing for simple and precise instructions for doing specific tasks quickly and efficiently.

No need for the history of manufacturing each time you needed to grind or sharpen something! This was in this chapter because his idea of centralised grinding had been tried during the war and it didn’t work. He pointed out context, etc. Rationalize your operation when business is booming Prepare yourself at all times to be truly rational. That is, when times are rough and you are running out of money, it can be really hard to cut corners because there is probably no fat left to cut.

He mentions a Japanese saying: “flour is more valuable than cake”. “Indeed, I think the crucially important point in rationalisation is to make operations more rational when business is good and while the company is doing well.” “We need to lower costs in a truly rational, scientific way by totally eliminating waste.” Chapter 16: Toyoda Sakichi’s theory of autonomation This was my introduction to this word. It is basically automation with a human touch.

Setting things up to be automated, but allowing for human intervention at critical points. Chapter 17: The goal: a tenfold increase in productivity Many chapters had some explanations of Japanese words. This was critical to his tale. The words for “motion” and “work” were explained previously and here he reminded us that “everyone confuses motion with work”.

Think about it. Are you just shuffling papers at work for 8 hours, or are you actually producing something (be it thoughts or reports or whatever)?;) The words for motion and work are both “do” where the o has a macron over it. I could write “doh”, but that could be misunderstood! Anyway, to distinguish between motion and work, the graphic element that means person is added to “do” so that that combination becomes work!

Without “person”, “do” means simply to move. Chapter 25: Work is a contest of wits with subordinates Provocative title! Managers giving instructions should imagine being on the receiving end of the instructions!

And admitting they are beaten when they lose that battle of wit. A lot of it is about the trick of getting people to follow you.

The managers need to provoke employees to think and then to discuss those thoughts in a kind of discourse. Not discouraging, but investigating and examining. I think he is saying that if you just accept what subordinates tell you, they will lose respect for you. You can question, but not so as to reject their ideas.

A real give-and-take. This is what I take from this chapter. It is slightly vague and unclear in the language, but this is what I got out of it. Chapter 34: The “monaka” system Key message: “Cost reduction must be a prime concern all the time.” Monaka is a sweet bean paste bun. His message is about what can you prepare in advance efficiently so that you can cope with sudden demand, but not such that what you prepare goes to waste. Chapter 35: Only the workplace can cut cost He had a section here I was nodding.

“It is a crazy arithmetic that figures the effects of rationalisation in terms of how many percentage points more rational things get every month.” This echoes what I have heard over the past many years. I have often wondered about it - the math, and yet, I, too, have been caught in the spell (see chapter 3 about illusions). “Let’s make this x% more this, less that”. How do we know what is better or worse? Basically, he is pushing for more “kaizen” - small improvements.

Little by little does the trick even though the results may not be visible immediately. Because you need patience to tide you over when you are not seeing really tangible results, he advises that you be tenacious. When you get impatient for results, you tend to focus too narrowly. He mentions how the gap in skills is narrowing - many companies can do X very quickly and cheaply, so tenacity is what will separate the wheat from the chaff. You must adhere to your procedures through thick and thin - and yet remember that those procedures can be changed. Procedures are set merely as a starting point.

Then, as experience grows, you can learn and propose changes. He has an interesting paragraph: “If a particular device or anything else is changed in a certain way, that “change” is the improvement - even though some changes are for the worse. Any change for the worse has to be corrected right away. And that means “improved” and not simply returned to the original state.” That last sentence is crucial. I rated the book with an incomplete review. I had some more notes.

Chapter 11: Wasted motion is not work. This is crucial to Ohno's concepts of 7 wastes.

Cultivate an ability to find waste. Has an interesting discussion of success: did you manage to do something or did you 'succeed' (in achieving your goal)? He says this is akin to whether you all worked hard to complete something or did you get someone else to do the work. He plays with interesting nuances. Chapter 22: Don't hesitate to shut down machinery I saw parallels here to the quality themes in 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

Chapter 32: Production technology versus manufacturing technology I see this as a discuss of roles and how they must take care of their speciality and yet listen to the other. Production technology looks at how best to do something, what are the right tools, etc.

Manufacturing technology is using those tools and applying the processes to get things done. Both sides must work together. By the way, here as in other chapters, the Japanese railway gets real jabs about their inefficiency. And here I thought they were super efficient. Maybe there is something under the surface I don't know about. Or maybe things were different back in 1982.

Chapter 36 The best standard times are the shortest Here he had a bizarre bit about not counting bathroom breaks when evaluating the most efficient time for doing something. I think he might me count the shortest time to do something as a factor to put into the bigger efficiency equation. In other words, his comments stand a bit on their own here and come across as rather mean. This was the perfect book to read on a long flight. The chapters are short but intense. You can read a chapter or two and then sit back close your eyes and reflect on the wisdom you just read. If blogging was in fashion during Ohno’s time, I think he could have been one of the original business bloggers.

Think of this book as a collection of stand-alone blogs. Each chapter is 3-4 pages. The translation does not flow perfectly, but like Jon Miller discusses in the Afterword the Japanese language This was the perfect book to read on a long flight. The chapters are short but intense.

You can read a chapter or two and then sit back close your eyes and reflect on the wisdom you just read. If blogging was in fashion during Ohno’s time, I think he could have been one of the original business bloggers.

Think of this book as a collection of stand-alone blogs. Each chapter is 3-4 pages.

The translation does not flow perfectly, but like Jon Miller discusses in the Afterword the Japanese language is complicated, a smooth English translation isn’t always possible. Also each chapter does not lead directly into another.

Again in the Afterward it was explained that this book wasn’t meant to go from chapter to chapter perfectly but rather to be a collection of interviews and wisdom. Be warned, Workplace Management is definitely not “introductory” lean reading and would not be a good choice for someone with little or no background in the topics. It really digs to the core of how Ohno drove operational excellence within Toyota. Time for reflection is a critical piece to truly absorbing the material. One reading was sufficient for me. I discuss at the end my intentions for using this book in my continued learning.

For me, the biggest take away from this book is how Ohno separates and prioritizes kaizen. My early learning I was taught that “kaizen was kaizen”. Any improvement was good improvement. Ohno discusses three specific types of kaizenManual Work, Equipment and Process Kaizen. His key point is that manual work kaizen is ALWAYS the first place to start.

Equipment and Process kaizen have a place, but not until manual work improvement is well established. A second takeaway is counter-intuitive to much of my learning and that is not to worry about the categorizing waste.

In one of the sections Ohno discusses how more modern books have focused on identifying and reducing the 7 wastes. He makes it clear that classifying and categorizing waste for the sake of doing it is not worthwhile. To briefly paraphrase the Master, anything that adds cost without adding value should be eliminated.period. Don’t worry if it’s motions or waiting or whatever. What surprised me the most was Ohno’s approach to management. Toyota with its well established philosophy of respect for humanity/people I was surprised that Ohno actually encourages “scolding” managers.

Not only that but scolding them at the gemba. This is contrary to so much of today’s leadership training. Modern wisdom says not to “scold” but to coach these people off line. His argument is that workers want to see support.

When something isn’t right workers need to see management addressing it swiftly and with vigor. Having held middle level management positions I can see how Ohno must have been difficult to work with. But in other chapters, he says when you are wrong, no matter what your rank or title, admit it swiftly and sincerely. Another lesser surprise is a modern Lean Myth debunked.

It is well documented in many of the original Japanese translated books from authors such as Ohno-san and Shingo-san, kaizen IS about reducing costs. I have great respect for many of today’s lean bloggers and podcast hosts who discuss that you focus on the process and the costs will follow. Ohno is clear, we do improvement not for improvement’s sake we do it to reduce costs. I loved this entire book, but my absolute favorite part was not originally included in the first editionin the Afterward there is a section called The Sayings of Ohno. These 4-5 pages have single sentence quotes on specific topics. I know that quotes alone don’t paint the entire picture, but they continue to paint the picture of what Ohno created.

In summary, I plan on using this book in the future a little differently - Not to read cover to cover as I did this time at 30,000 feet, but to read a single chapter a week and to deeply reflect on that chapter throughout the week. Since format of this book is that each chapter is short and is a stand-alone piece of work I think this is very feasible and could add a lot of value to my continued learning. Very philosophical book (more towards the start then it gets more manufacturing specific). It reads very quickly and if you are into the mindset and understand the context it is a joy. There are a couple of things, specially about trying to squeeze employees that might be taken wrongly but I would guess this is mostly because of the context. I would say that the important thing is not take it as gospel as Ohno advocates but use it as a way of finding your own way.

I wouldn't read it straight awa Very philosophical book (more towards the start then it gets more manufacturing specific). It reads very quickly and if you are into the mindset and understand the context it is a joy. There are a couple of things, specially about trying to squeeze employees that might be taken wrongly but I would guess this is mostly because of the context. I would say that the important thing is not take it as gospel as Ohno advocates but use it as a way of finding your own way. I wouldn't read it straight away without some introduction to Lean Manufacturing, Toyota System etc. Some quotes I really enjoyed: 'Perhaps the more a person is an intellectual the more they are prone to misconceptions' 'Openness to admit your own mistakes makes people feel better about trying your ideas and become more willing to cooperate. While I gave this 5 stars, it is NOT for everyone.

I love the gems throughout the book. If someone is looking for formulaic advice, they will be very disappointed. If they follow without processing (repeatedly) the concepts based on their own experiences and knowledge then they will be disappointed.

For those who have been working toward a true interaction with employees, and working toward jointly considered solutions, where employees have more say in the HOW (maybe more than the WHAT). This While I gave this 5 stars, it is NOT for everyone. I love the gems throughout the book.

If someone is looking for formulaic advice, they will be very disappointed. If they follow without processing (repeatedly) the concepts based on their own experiences and knowledge then they will be disappointed. For those who have been working toward a true interaction with employees, and working toward jointly considered solutions, where employees have more say in the HOW (maybe more than the WHAT).

This will be a book FULL of gems based on Tahiichi Ohno's deep and rich experiences. This is a great source of insights. Please do NOT expect it to give you formulas to follow. Do NOT expect it to give even rules to be followed without considering the concepts, etc. Do NOT expect it to be a beginner's tutorial. If you take it for the (somewhat haphazard) list of valuable experiences and lessons learned that you can process and apply as helpful, this will be a gold mine.

In my opinion, this great man's presentation is not what I wish it were, but his content (if you do the mental work to see what applies and how) is nothing short of fantastic. In general this is a good book for manufacturing. Since I don't involve much in manufacturing subject, this is a fresh view for me.

The book talks a lot about productivity and cost reduction. Little from the book can be applied for my kind of business but some are very cool to have a perspective on, especially the ones with leadership lessons. I especially like the additional part with the timeless quotes: 'Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.'

'If you are goin In general this is a good book for manufacturing. Since I don't involve much in manufacturing subject, this is a fresh view for me. The book talks a lot about productivity and cost reduction.

Little from the book can be applied for my kind of business but some are very cool to have a perspective on, especially the ones with leadership lessons. I especially like the additional part with the timeless quotes: 'Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.' 'If you are going to do Kaizen continuously you've got to assume that things are a mess.' 'Teaching means to teach something unknown.

Training means to repeatedly practice something you know until your body remembers it.' 'Let the flow manage the processes, and not let management manage the flow'. 'Knowledge is something you buy with the money. Wisdom is something you acquire by doing it.'