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Just Call Ric Flair The Greatest

Posted: Mar 9th 2008 By: CMBurnham

He is a 16-time world heavyweight champion.

He is a jet-flying and limousine-riding wheeling-dealing son of a gun.

He is the dirtiest player in the game.

At WrestleMania 24 on March 30, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair will walk that aisle one more time when he squares off against Shawn Michaels in what many believe will be his final match.

Unfortunately, no one can go on forever. For the last 35 years, Flair has been stylin' and profilin' around the world. Now, at age 59, his legendary career, the likes of which will never be seen again, is coming to the end.

"You knew from early on that Ric Flair was something special," said Jerry "The King" Lawler. "Nobody could be a better promo [interview] than when Ric Flair got out there on the microphone. In the business, we would say he could talk them into the arena. The fans could really relate to what he said, and he could make you fired up to want and come see his matches."

And once you bought a ticket to see him in the ring, he would have the best match of the night. It didn't matter if he was wrestling Dusty Rhodes, Triple H or some up-and-comer. He did what any good performer should -- make the other person look like a million bucks.

It didn't matter if the night before he partied on The Strip in Las Vegas or tipped back a few on Rush Street in Chicago. Flair always had a good time wherever he went. But once the bell rang, it was time for him to go to work.

Tully Blanchard, a member of The Four Horsemen, which included Flair, saw that first-hand on many occasions.

"What made him so special was his work ethic in the ring," Blanchard said. "When you can make people scream for 60 minutes every night, it's a true talent."

Three-time WWE champion Mick Foley has said that Flair is the greatest touring champion of all time and has nothing but high praise for him despite friction between them in the past.

"Ric is special because he loved being in the ring," Foley said. "I was really honored at WrestleMania 20 to be in the ring with him, and I had my game thrown off a bit because of who he is. Any time someone brings a passion that can't be feigned, the fans reward it with their respect."

Foley, like many of Flair's peers, will be at the Amway Arena on March 29 to see him inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It is an honor richly deserved for the man who many believe to be the greatest wrestler ever.

"As far as an in-ring performer, what can you say -- 16-time world champion," Lawler said. "I think you can arguably say he's the best that there has ever been in this business."

Another person who echoes that is Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross, who has been ringside for many of Flair's matches.

"In the complete sense of the word, and considering such factors as in ring work, high-level performances over an extended length of time, making everyone he performed with better, being one of the all-time great extemporaneous speakers in the history of the business, wrestling hurt and fatigued when no one had his road schedule as NWA champion and for the pure unadulterated passion for the business that Ric was blessed with, without question Ric Flair is the greatest pro wrestler who ever lived."

Tags: Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, Dusty Rhodes, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, NWA