Ric Flair is considered by many professional wrestling experts and fans to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Adopting a flamboyant and stylish persona in the ring, Flair wrestled for over 40 years, capturing a record 16 world championship titles in the NWA, WCW, and WWE.
Flair grew up in Minnesota where he excelled in amateur wrestling in high school. He soon dropped out of college to train as a professional wrestler, adopting a bleached blonde hairstyle and mastery of the figure-four leglock that would become his trademark. After wrestling in the American Wrestling Association, Flair soon signed with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) where his career took off.
Over the next two decades, Flair would engage in classic matches and feuds with the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and many others. Known for his stamina and ability to wrestle 60-minute matches, Flair headlined shows all over NWA territories and eventually World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after Ted Turner purchased the promotion. On these major shows, Flair defended his NWA Heavyweight title against all challengers as the traveling champion.
Flair’s major achievement was becoming the first-ever two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee – first for his career in 2008, and again as part of the famous Four Horseman wrestling stable group in 2012. Considered a 16-time world champion between all the promotions, Flair was also known for his interview skills to hype up matches and his signature call of “Wow!” that always energized crowds.
A key part of Flair’s life has been his family, including his daughter Ashley who was born and raised in North Carolina. Ashley caught the wrestling bug early on and eventually pursued her successful career under the ring name Charlotte Flair in WWE. As a standout amateur volleyball player in high school, the athleticism ran in the family but Charlotte committed herself to intense wrestling training at the same facilities her father once did.
Moving up the ranks in WWE’s NXT developmental system, Charlotte eventually earned a main roster call-up where she went on to capture over a dozen women’s championships. Touted as “The Queen” of the women’s division, Charlotte adopted a similar flashy style to her father Ric as far as robe costumes and figure-four leglock moves. Residing still today in the Charlotte, North Carolina area that bears her namesake, Charlotte hopes to match or even one day surpass her famous father’s championship accomplishments now that women actively main event major WWE shows routinely.
As Ric Flair enters the later stages of life now, he surely beams with pride seeing his daughter carry on the family legacy inside WWE rings. Every so often, Charlotte pays tribute to her heritage with a memorable homage by strutting and wooing just like her pioneering father once did at the height of his illustrious career. Though separated by decades between their wrestling primes, Ric Flair set the stage for wrestlers like his talented daughter to take things to a whole new level on an ever-expanding global platform.
Transitioning to a behind-the-scenes role in wrestling, Ric Flair has stayed busy in retirement with his popular podcast, public appearances, and even commercial endorsements. Most recently, Flair signed on to become a brand ambassador for BetMGM and their North Carolina sports betting operations. As sports betting gains mainstream appeal across America, Flair’s trademark bombastic delivery promotes “North Carolina BetMGM bonus code” signup bonuses in the Tar Heel state.
Always one to attract attention both inside and outside the ring, Ric Flair retains significant pop culture relevancy even today. From ESPN specials to references by hip hop icons like Offset and Snoop Dogg, Flair’s signature “Wooo” and flamboyant persona stay etched in the memories of long-time fans. While a questionable lifestyle may have shortened the in-ring career of other past legends, Flair maximized nearly every year possible to build his Iron Man wrestling reputation during the territories era.
Transitioning that fame into family bonds and business opportunities today, Ric Flair remains beloved by the pro wrestling community worldwide. Though impossible to replicate the one-of-a-kind magic Flair created throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, daughter Charlotte does her part to honor the family’s excellence. Together the Flairs represent wrestling royalty now across multiple generations of entertainers.
