Coordinates	51°30′09″N0°07′39.7″N
name	Shane Jacobson
birth date
death date
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	Since 1999
website	http://www.shanejacobson.com.au/ }}

Shane Jacobson is an Australian actor, director, writer, and comedian, best known for his performance as the eponymous character Kenny Smyth in the 2006 film ''Kenny''. In 2006 he won the Australian Film Institute's Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for that performance.

Career

Jacobson began his career on the stage at the tender age of 10 with amateur theatre, and also performed in the Melbourne Gang Show. At age 18 he began his comedy career with regular theatre restaurant, musical theatre, stand-up and MC gigs. He was also hired to play to corporate functions, impersonating business icons and luminaries.

In 1999, Jacobson received a regular segment on Melbourne's Gold FM radio station, called The 60 Minute Challenge. He also created the character voice of Sergio the Hairdresser, who featured regularly on Gold FM’s Breakfast show. Jacobson’s focus eventually moved towards the camera and he began acting in music videos, short films and television commercials whilst continuing to perform audience warm-ups for major TV networks.

In 2006, Jacobson starred in the Australian mockumentary film Kenny as Kenny Smyth, a Melbourne plumber who works for plumbing company Splashdown. The film was a critical and financial success, and is considered to be Jacobson's break-out role. In 2008, he reprised the role for Channel Ten's short-lived TV series ''Kenny's World''.

In 2007, Jacobson filmed two Australian feature films ''Cactus'', Directed by Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan which was released in cinemas May and ''Newcastle'', directed by Dan Castle which was released later in 2008.

In April 2008, he began his role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the major stage production ''Guys and Dolls'', currently playing at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. For this role, he won a 2008 Helpmann Award for "Best Supporting Actor in a Musical."

On 24 April 2009, Jacobson guest co-hosted Australian television program The Morning Show with Kylie Gillies, while the program's regular male co-host Larry Emdur was on holidays.

He is a current co-host of the car show Top Gear Australia with Steve Pizzati and Ewen Page, airing since 28 September 2010 on Nine Network.

Filmography

!Year!!Film
2006 in film	2006	Kenny (film)>Kenny
rowspan=2	2008	Cactus (2008 film)>Cactus
Newcastle (film)	Newcastle
	Charlie & Boots

Awards

Jacobson has won several awards:

2006 Australian Film Institute award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Kenny

2006 Film Critics Circle of Australia awards for Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Screenplay for Kenny

2006 Inside Film Award for both Best Feature Film and Best Script (shared with Clayton Jacobson)

2007 Film Ink Magazine Awards for Best New Comer

2007 Australian Star of the Year Award at the Australian International Movie Convention.

2008 Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, for his role as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the stage production Guys and Dolls.

References

External links

Shane Jacobson Official Website

Category:Australian film actors Category:People from Victoria (Australia) Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people

Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943 in Philadelphia), is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.

Biography

His talent first came to wider recognition when he took the piano chair in the 1960s Dizzy Gillespie quartet. He graduated in 1978 with a BA in Arts from Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, NYC).

He also co-led the groups Sphere and the Classical Jazz Quartet.

Between 1987 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with Stan Getz, most notably ''Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions'', ''Serenity'', ''Anniversary'' and ''People Time'', a 2CD set.

He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.

For over 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He now teaches at the Juilliard School of Music. His piano students have included Noah Baerman, Earl MacDonald, Harry Pickens, and Aaron Parks.

Discography

As leader

Year	Album	Personnel	Label
1973	''Sunset To Dawn''		Muse Records
1974	''Peruvian Blue''	Ted Dunbar, David Williams, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Richard Landrum, Sonny Morgan	Muse
1975	''Lucifer''	Carlos Alomar, Bill Barron, Billy Hart, James Spaulding, Charles Sullivan, Chris White	Muse
1975	''In Tandem''	Ted Dunbar	Muse
1978	''Innoncence''
1980	''Golden Lotus''		Muse
1981	''At the Piano''	Solo	Xanadu Records
1983	''Green Chimneys''	Buster Williams, Ben Riley	Criss Cross Jazz
1984	''1+1+1''		Black Hawk
1985	''Autumn In New York'' (LP) ''New York Attitude'' (CD)	Rufus Reid, Frederick Waits	Uptown Records
1985	''Scratch''	Dave Holland, Daniel Humair	Enja Records
1986	''What If''	Wallace Roney, John Stubblefield, Cecil McBee, Victor Lewis	Enja
1986	''Two as One''	Buster Williams	Red Records
1988	''Live At Fat Tuesdays''		Enja Records
1989	''Rhythm-a-ning''		Candid Records
1990	''Invitation''	Ralph Moore, David Williams, Lewis Nash	Criss Cross
1990	''Live at Maybeck Hall''	Solo	Concord
1990	''The Only One''	Ray Drummond, Ben Riley	Reservoir
1991	''Lemuria - Seascape''	Drummond, Riley	Candid
1991	''Confirmation''	Drummond, Riley, Barry Harris	Candid
1991	''The Moment''	Victor Lewis, Rufus Reid	Reservoir
1991	''Quickstep''	John Stubblefied, Eddie Henderson, David Williams, Victor Lewis,	Enja
1992	''People Time''	Stan Getz	Polygram
1993	''Other Places''	Mino Cinelu, Bobby Hutcherson, Victor Lewis, Ralph Moore, Rufus Reid	Verve Records
1993	''Spiral''	Solo	Enja
1993	''Sambao''	Toninho Horta, Victor Lewis, Nico Assumpção, Mino Cinelu	Verve
1994	''Wanton Spirit''	Roy Haynes, Charlie Haden	Verve
1996	''Swamp Sally''	Mino Cinelu	Polygram
1993	''Things Unseen''	Eddie Henderson, John Scofield, John Stubblefield	Verve
1998	''Night and the City''	Charlie Haden	Verve
2001	''Freefall''	Regina Carter	Verve
2002	''Canta Brazil''	Trio da Paz	Sunnyside
2003	''Peace''	George Robert	DIW Records
2004	''Images''	Anne Drummond, Kimberly Thompson, Kiyoshi Kitagawa	Sunnyside
2008	''The Traveler''		Sunnyside
2009	''Minor Blues''	George Mraz, Ben Riley	Venus Jazz Japan

As sideman

With Ron Carter

''Piccolo'' (1977)

With Continuum ''Mad About Tadd'' (1980, Palo Alto Records) With Charles Davis

''Dedicated to Tadd'' (1979, West 54 Records)

With Booker Ervin

''Tex Book Tenor'' (Blue Note, 1968)

With Ella Fitzgerald

''All That Jazz'' (1989)

With Stan Getz

''Bossas & Ballads - The Lost Sessions'' (1989)

With Joe Henderson

''The Kicker'' (1967)

With Ron Holloway

''Struttin''' (1995)

With Bobby Hutcherson

''Now!'' (1969)

With Freddie Hubbard

''Outpost'' (1981)

With Marvin Peterson

''Naima'' (1978)

''The Angels of Atlanta'' (1981)

With Charles Sullivan

''Re-Entry'' (1975)

''Kamau'' (1995)

With Tom Varner

''Jazz French Horn'' (Soul Note, 1985)

With Tyrone Washington

''Natural Essence'' (1967)

References

External links

Kennybarron.com

Kenny Barron Discography at ''www.JazzDiscography.com''

Int'l Jazz Prod.

Kenny Barron at NPR Music

I Remember Kenny Barron, by Steve Holt

Category:American jazz pianists Category:American jazz keyboardists Category:Jazz fusion pianists Category:Mainstream jazz pianists Category:Post-bop pianists Category:Hard bop pianists Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Enja Records artists Category:Muse Records artists Category:Red Records artists Category:Verve Records artists Category:Xanadu Records artists Category:Criss Cross Jazz artists Category:Candid Records artists Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

da:Kenny Barron de:Kenny Barron es:Kenny Barron fr:Kenny Barron it:Kenny Barron nds:Kenny Barron

Coordinates	51°30′09″N0°07′39.7″N
name	Kenny Rogers
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kenneth Donald Rogers
born	August 21, 1938
origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica
genre	Country, country pop, rock (with The First Edition)
occupation	Singer-songwriter, actor, record producer
years active	1958–present
label	Cue, Carlton, Mercury, United Artists, RCA, Reprise, Giant, Atlantic, Curb, Dreamcatcher, Capitol Nashville, WEA
associated acts	The New Christy Minstrels, The First Edition, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Juice Newton, Sheena Easton, Kim Carnes
website	}}

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All-Time" in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People. He has received such awards as the AMAs, Grammys, ACMs and CMAs, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003.

Later success includes the 2006 album release, ''Water & Bridges'', an across the board hit, that peaked at #5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting high in the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You," was also a chart hit. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world, the following year he completed a tour of the United Kingdom and the Ireland telling BBC Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright, his favorite hit was "The Gambler". He has also acted in a variety of movies and television shows, most notably the title roles in ''Kenny Rogers as The Gambler'' and the MacShayne series as well as his appearance on the Muppet Show.

Personal life

Rogers was born in Houston, Texas in 1938, the fourth of seven children born to Lucille (née Hester; d. 1991), a nurse, and Edward Floyd Rogers (d. 1975), a carpenter. Rogers graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in Houston.

Career

Early career

His career began in the mid-1950s, when he recorded with a doo-wop group called The Scholars who had some success with a single called "Poor Little Doggie". Rogers was not the lead singer of the group and after two more singles they disbanded when their leader went solo.

Now on his own, Kenneth Rogers (as he was billed then) followed the breakup with his own single, a minor solo hit called "That Crazy Feeling" (1958). After sales slowed down, Rogers joined a jazz group called The Bobby Doyle Trio, who got a lot of work in clubs thanks to a reasonable fan following and also recorded for Columbia Records. The group disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single Rogers recorded for Mercury Records, called "Here's That Rainy Day" failed. Rogers also worked as a producer, writer and session musician for other performers; including country artists Mickey Gilley and Eddy Arnold. In 1966 he joined The New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.

Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted, Rogers and fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho left the group. They formed The First Edition in 1967 (later renamed "Kenny Rogers and The First Edition"). They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country charts, including "Something's Burning", "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", "Reuben James" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)". In his First Edition days, Rogers had something of a hippie image, with long brown hair, an earring, and pink sunglasses. Known affectionately in retrospect as "Hippie Kenny", Rogers had a much smoother vocal style than in his later career.

When the group split in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career. Rogers soon developed a more middle of the road sound, with a somewhat rough but tuneful voiced style that sold to both pop and country audiences; to date, he has charted more than 60 top 40 hit singles (including upwards of 25 #1's) and 50 of his albums have charted. His music has also been featured in top selling movie soundtracks, such as ''Convoy'', ''Urban Cowboy'' and ''The Big Lebowski''.

Solo career

thumb|Rogers in 1981.After leaving The First Edition in 1976, after almost a decade with the group, Rogers signed a solo deal with United Artists. Although producer Larry Butler had no doubts about Rogers's talent, he was advised by several colleagues not to sign Rogers, who some saw as a has-been. Nevertheless, Butler and Rogers began a partnership that would last four years.

Rogers first outing for his new label was ''Love Lifted Me''. The album charted and two singles "Love Lifted Me" and "While the Feeling's Good" were minor hits. The song "Runaway Girl" was featured in the motion picture ''Trackdown''. Later in 1976, Rogers issued his second album, the self-titled ''Kenny Rogers'', whose first single "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)", was another solo hit.

However, the single "Lucille" (1977) was a major hit, reaching number one on the pop charts in 12 countries, selling over five million copies, and firmly establishing Rogers's post-First Edition career. On the strength of "Lucille", the album ''Kenny Rogers'' reached #1 in the Billboard Country Album Chart. More success was to follow, including the multi-million selling album ''The Gambler'' and another international Number 1 single, "Coward of the County", taken from the equally successful album, ''Kenny''. In 1980, the Rogers/Butler partnership came to an end, though they would occasionally reunite: in 1987 on the album ''I Prefer the Moonlight'' and again in 1993 on the album ''If Only My Heart Had a Voice''.

In the late 1970s, Rogers teamed up with close friend and country singer Dottie West for a series of albums and duets. Together the duo had three hit albums, selling out stadiums and arenas while on tour. Their hits together "Every Time Two Fools Collide", "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" and "What Are We Doin' in Love" became Country standards. Of West, Rogers stated in a 1995 TNN interview "She, more than anybody else I ever worked with, sang with such emotion that you actually believed what she sang." Rogers was with West when she died after sustaining injuries in a 1991 car accident. In 1995 he starred opposite Michele Lee in the CBS biopic ''Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story''.

In 1980, his duet with Kim Carnes "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" became a major hit. Later in 1980 came his partnership with Lionel Richie who wrote and produced Rogers's #1 hit "Lady". Richie went on to write and produce Rogers's 1981 album ''Share Your Love'', a chart topper and commercial favorite featuring hits such as "I Don't Need You" (Pop #3), "Through the Years" (Pop #13), and "Share Your Love with Me" (Pop #14). His first Christmas album was also released that same year. In 1982, Rogers released the album ''Love Will Turn You Around''. The title track reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the country and AC charts. Shortly after he started working with producer David Foster in 1983 recording the smash Bob Seger cover "We've Got Tonight", a duet with Sheena Easton.

He went on to work with the Bee Gees to record and produce his 1983 hit album ''Eyes That See in the Dark'', featuring the title track and yet another #1 hit "Islands in the Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton. The Gibbs originally wrote the song for Marvin Gaye in an R&B; style, only later to change it for the Kenny Rogers album. The partnership with Bee Gees only lasted one album, which was not a surprise considering that Rogers's original intentions were to work with Barry Gibb in only one song but Barry insisted on them doing the entire album.

"Islands in the Stream", Rogers' duet with Dolly Parton, was the first single to be released from ''Eyes That See in the Dark'' in the United States, and it quickly went to #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 (it would prove to be the last country single to reach #1 on that chart until "Amazed" by Lonestar did so in 2000), as well as topping Billboard's country and adult contemporary singles charts; it was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping two million copies in the US. Rogers would reunite with Parton in 1984 for a holiday album and TV special, ''Once Upon a Christmas'', as well as a 1985 duet "Real Love", which also topped the U.S. country singles chart.

Despite the "Islands in the Stream"s success, however, RCA insisted on releasing ''Eyes''' title track as the first UK single, and the song stalled at a disappointing #61 there, although it did stay in the top 100 for several weeks (when it was eventually released in the US, it was more successful, charting high on the Adult Contemporary chart and making the country top 30). "Islands in the Stream" was issued as a followup single in Britain and sold well, making #7. The album itself reached #1 on the country charts on both sides of the Atlantic and enjoyed multi-million sales. "Buried Treasure," "This Woman" and "Evening Star"/"Midsummer Nights" were also all successful singles from the album.

Shortly after came the album ''What About Me?'', a hit whose title track, a trio performance with James Ingram and Kim Carnes, was nominated for a Grammy award; the single "Crazy" (not to be confused with the Willie Nelson-penned Patsy Cline hit) topped the country charts. David Foster was to work again with Rogers in his 1985 album ''The Heart of the Matter'', although this time Foster was playing backing music rather than producing, a role given to George Martin. This album was another success, going to #1, with the title track making to the top ten category in the singles charts.

The next few years saw Rogers scoring several top country hits on a regular basis, including "Twenty Years Ago," "Morning Desire," "Tomb of the Unknown Love", among others. On 28 January 1985 Rogers was one of the 45 artists who recorded the worldwide charity song "We Are the World" to support hunger victims in Africa. The following year he played at Giants Stadium.

On January 1987, Rogers co-hosted the American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. By 1988 to 1990, Rogers had In the 1990s Rogers continued to chart with singles such as "Crazy In Love", "If You Want To Find Love" and "The Greatest". His second Christmas album entitled "Christmas in America" was released in 1989 for Reprise Records. From 1991-94, Rogers hosted ''The Real West'' on A&E;, and on The History Channel since 1995 (Reruns only on The History Channel). He visited Miller's during this time period. From 1992-95, Rogers co-owned and headlined Branson, Missouri's 4,000 seat Grand Palace Theatre. In 1994, Rogers released his "dream" album titled ''Timepiece'' on Atlantic Records. It consisted of 1930s/40s jazz standards; it was the type of music he performed in his early days with The Bobby Doyle Three in Houston.

In 1996 he released an album ''Vote For Love'' where the public requested their favorite love songs and Rogers performed the songs (several of his own hits were in there). The album was the first for the TV shopping channel QVC's record label, onQ Music. The album, sold exclusively by QVC, was a huge success and was later issued in stores under a variety of different titles. It reached #1 in the UK country charts under the title ''Love Songs'' (a title also used for various compilations) and also crossed over into the mainstream charts.

In 1999 Rogers scored with the single "The Greatest", a song about life from a child's point of view (looked at through a baseball game). The song reached the top 40 of Billboard's Country singles chart and was a Country Music Television Number One video. It was on Rogers's album ''She Rides Wild Horses'' the following year (itself a top 10 success). In 1999, Rogers also produced a song, "We've Got It All", specifically for the series finale of the ABC show ''Home Improvement''. Not on any album, the recording sells for a high sum at auction.

Beyond the 1990s

In the 21st century, Rogers was back at #1 for the first time in more than a decade with the 2000 single "Buy Me a Rose", making him, at 61, the oldest artist in the history of country music to reach the chart summit. In doing so, he broke a 26-year-old record held by Hank Snow (who, in April 1974, was 59 years and 11 months old when he scored with "Hello Love"). Rogers held the record until 2003, when then 70-year-old Willie Nelson became the oldest artist to have a No. 1 on the country charts with his duet with Toby Keith, "Beer for My Horses". Rogers also released the critically acclaimed album ''Back to the Well''.

Although Rogers did not record new albums for a couple of years, he continued to have success in many countries with more greatest hits packages. In 2004 ''42 Ultimate Hits'', which was the first hits collection to span his days with the First Edition to the present, reached Number 6 on the American country charts and went gold. It also featured two new songs, "My World Is Over" with Whitney Duncan and "We Are the Same". "My World Is Over" was released as a single and was a minor hit. In 2005 ''The Very Best of Kenny Rogers'', a double album, sold well in Europe. It was the first new solo Kenny Rogers hits album to reach the United Kingdom for over a decade, despite many compilations there that were not true hits packages.

Rogers also signed with Capitol Records and had more success with the TV advertised release ''21 Number Ones'' in January 2006. Although this CD did contain 21 chart-toppers as the title claims (recorded between 1976 and the present day), this was not a complete collection of Rogers's #1 singles, omitting such singles as "Crazy in Love" and "What About Me?"

Much of his success was during the period from 1976 to 1983, when he was signed to United Artists and later Liberty. It is very rare for an artist of Rogers's age to be signed to a major label. Capitol followed ''21 Number Ones'' with Rogers's new studio album, ''Water And Bridges'', in March 2006 on the Capitol Nashville Records label. The first single from the album was "I Can't Unlove You" which peaked at #17 on the country charts, after spending over 6 months on the hit list, more than 50 years after he formed his first group and 38 years after his first major hit as leader of The First Edition; the song remains in recurrent airplay on some radio stations today. "I Can't Unlove You" was followed up with the second single from the album, "The Last Ten Years (Superman)", in September 2006. The third single, "Calling Me," which features Don Henley, became popular in early 2007, and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Also in 2007, the 1977 "Kenny Rogers" album was re-issued as a double play CD, also featuring the 1979 "Kenny" album and this once again put Rogers's name into the sales charts worldwide. The following year, another compilation album ("A Love Song Collection") also charted. He currently lives in Atlanta.

As of 2011 Rogers has recorded 65 albums and sold over 190 million records.

On August 26, 2008, Rogers released "50 Years" exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores. The album includes some of Rogers's greatest hits, plus 3 new songs. The release is designed to celebrate Rogers's 50th year in the music business. However, it should be noted Rogers has been in the music business for more than 50 years including his releases with The Scholars, who recorded for a local label in Houston. 1958 was the year he signed his first recording deal with a major label. In 2007 the England national rugby union team team adopted Rogers song "The Gambler" as their unofficial 2007 Rugby World Cup anthem, after hearing prop Matt Stevens playing it in the team hotel. Before the Semi-final against France and the Final against South Africa, Rogers sent video messages of support to the team in light of them choosing his song. He offered to come to England and party with the team if they won the World cup.

In 2008 Rogers toured with his very popular Christmas Show. However, he decided to split the show up, making the first half his "best of" and the second half consisted of his Christmas songs. One such show was at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In 2009 he toured the UK, playing in Cardiff CIA (March 27), Birmingham NIA (March 28), Manchester MEN (March 29), Newcastle Arena (March 30), Plymouth Pavilions (April 1), Nottingham Concert Hall (April 2), London Hammersmith Apollo (April 3) and Bournemouth BIC (April 4), with support band - Savannah Jack. In 2009, Kenny embarked on his 50th Anniversary Tour. The tour went around the United States, Britain and Ireland.

On April 10, 2010, a TV special was taped, ''Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Year''s. Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie were among those set to perform with Kenny during a show celebrating his contribution to country, blues and pop music, It took place at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods. This special is set debut on March 8, 2011 on Great American Country.

Outside music

Rogers also had success as an actor. His 1982 movie ''Six Pack'', in which he played a race-car driver, took more than $20 million at the US box office, while made-for-TV movies such as ''The Gambler'', ''Christmas in America'', and ''Coward of the County'' (based on hit songs of his) topped ratings lists.

As an entrepreneur, he collaborated with former Kentucky Fried Chicken CEO John Y. Brown, Jr. in 1991 to start up the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters. The chicken and ribs chain, which is similar to Boston Market, was famously featured in an episode of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' called "The Chicken Roaster". On the November 27, 1997, broadcast of ''Late Night with Conan O’Brien'', Rogers could not pick his chicken out in a taste test, claiming he preferred "greasy burgers."

Rogers and his restaurant were subjects of comedy from ''MADtv'', especially the impersonation done by Will Sasso; the sketch of the faux-Rogers hosting ''Jackass'' became popular on the Internet.

Rogers put his name to the Gambler Chassis Co., a Sprint car racing manufacturer started by C. K. Spurlock in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The company used the name from Rogers hit song ''The Gambler''. During the 1980s/90s, Gambler was one of the fastest and widely used Sprintcars with such drivers as Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell and Doug Wolfgang driving the cars to victory in the World of Outlaws and the famous Knoxville Nationals. Gambler sprintcars were also successful in Australia with drivers such as Garry Rush and Steve Brazier using Gamblers to win multiple Australian Sprintcar Championships.

Rogers appeared in a 2004 episode of Reno 911 as himself being subjected to incompetent security provided by starstruck sheriff's deputies to comical effect. In this episode, Deputy Garcia, who is obsessed with Rogers, reveals that he thinks that Rogers should focus all of his effort on acting, and "give that singing thing a rest for a while," because Garcia believes that Rogers could win an Oscar. In order to "protect" Rogers the deputies take down all of the posters announcing his appearance in Reno, when he finds out he angrily berates the deputies and leaves. He is then promptly shot and wounded by an obsessed fan played by Patton Oswalt, though he is only superficially wounded, and asks for "mall security".

Rogers is also the inspiration behind the pop culture website menwholooklikekennyrogers.com. The site features close to a thousand photos of men who look like the real Rogers, as well as tips on how to look like Rogers, places to spot Rogers look-alikes, and even a Kenny of the Month and sells t-shirts and buttons.

Marriages

Wanda Miller June 1, 1997 – present; 2 children

Marianne Gordon October 1, 1977 – 1993, divorced; 2 children

Margo Anderson October 1964 – 1976, divorced; 1 child

Jean Rogers October 1960 – 1963, divorced

Janice Gordon May 15, 1958 – April 1960, divorced; 1 child

Discography

Awards/Honors

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Award ! Category |- | 2010 | American Eagle Award | American Eagle Award |- | 2009 | ACM Honors | Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award (w/ Jerry Reed, Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr.) |- | 2007 | ASCAP Golden Note Award | ASCAP Golden Note Award |- | 2007 | CMT Music Awards | Album of the Year - ''Water & Bridges'' |- | 2005 | CMT Music Awards | Favorite All Time Country Duet - "Islands In the Stream" (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 2004 | CMT's 100 Greatest Cheating Songs | "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town"- #6 |- | 2003 | International Entertainment Buyers Association | Lifetime Achievement Award |- | 2003 | CMT's 100 Greatest Country Songs | "The Gambler" - #26 |- | 2002 | CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music | Ranking - #19 |- | 2000 | TNN Music Awards | Career Achievement Award |- | 1999 | BBC's Greatest Country Singer | Ranking - #2 |- | 1988 | Grammy Awards | Best Duo Country Vocal Performance - "Make No Mistake She's Mine" (w/ Ronnie Milsap) |- | 1986 | USA Today | Favorite Singer of All Time |- | 1985 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - ''Eyes That See In the Dark'' |- | 1985 | American Music Awards | Favorite Male Country Artist |- | 1983 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Single of the Year - "Islands In the Stream" (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 1983 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Vocal Duet - (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 1983 | American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Country Artist |- | 1983 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Single - "Love Will Turn You Around" |- | 1983 | ASAP Awards | Favorite Single - "Islands In the Stream" (w/ Dolly Parton) |- | 1982 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - ''Greatest Hits'' |- | 1981 | American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist |- | 1981 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - ''The Gambler'' |- | 1981 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Single - "Coward of the County" |- | 1980 | American Music Awards | Favorite Male Country Artist |- | 1980 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - ''The Gambler'' |- | 1980 | Music City News Country | Single of the Year |- | 1979 | American Music Awards | Favorite Male Country Artist |- | 1979 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album - ''10 Years of Gold'' |- | 1979 | Country Music Association Awards | Male Vocalist of the Year |- | 1979 | Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year - (w/ Dottie West) |- | 1979 | Country Music Association Awards | Album of the Year - ''The Gambler'' |- | 1979 | Music City News Country | Male Artist of the Year |- | 1979 | Music City News Country | Single of the Year - "The Gambler" |- | 1979 | Grammy Awards | Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "The Gambler" |- | 1978 | American Music Awards | Favorite Single - "Lucille" |- | 1978 | Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year - (w/ Dottie West) |- | 1978 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Entertainer of the Year |- | 1978 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Male Vocalist |- | 1977 | Country Music Association Awards | Single of the Year - "Lucille" |- | 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Male Vocalist |- | 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Single of the Year - "Lucille" |- | 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Song of the Year - "Lucille" |- | 1977 | Grammy Awards | Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Lucille" |}

Record labels

The following is a list of record labels to which Rogers signed:

Cue (1957, with the band The Scholars and also as a solo singer)

Carlton (1958, solo deal)

KenLee (one single, label owned by Rogers and his brother Lelan)

Columbia (1960s, with jazz combo, The Bobby Doyle Three)

Reprise (1967, with The First Edition, all material recorded during this time has since been acquired by Universal Music)

Jolly Rogers (1973, with The First Edition, label was owned by Rogers)

United Artists (1975, solo deal)

Liberty (1980, United Artists merged into EMI/Capitol in 1980; some pressings of albums were issued on Capitol's imprint labels, EMI, EMI America, and EMI Manhattan.)

RCA (1983, solo deal)

Reprise (1989, solo deal)

Giant (1993, one solo album)

Atlantic (1994, one solo album)

onQ Music (1996, one solo album; onQ Music was created by the QVC Network to release exclusive albums for sale only on QVC. The first onQ release was Rogers's Vote for Love, a two-disc set that would later become available in standard retail stores.)

Magnatone (1996, solo deal)

Dreamcatcher (1998, solo deal; Dreamcatcher was owned and run by Rogers and Jim Mazza for the purpose of releasing Rogers albums and certain reissues of Rogers's catalog. Other artists such as Marshall Dyllon and Randy Dorman were released on Dreamcatcher Records, also. The label closed in 2004)

Capitol Nashville (2004, solo deal)

See also

Brady Hawkes

References

External links

Official website

delafont.com profile

[ Allmusic.com profile]

CMT.com profile

Kenny Rogers's Classic Weekend 1988

Goldsmith, Thomas. (1998). "Kenny Rogers". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 455–6.

Category:1938 births Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:University of Houston alumni Category:The First Edition members Category:United Artists Records artists

ar:كيني روجرز bcl:Kenny Rogers bg:Кени Роджърс ca:Kenny Rogers cs:Kenny Rogers da:Kenny Rogers pdc:Kenny Rogers de:Kenny Rogers es:Kenny Rogers fa:کنی راجرز fr:Kenny Rogers ga:Kenny Rogers ko:케니 로저스 id:Kenny Rogers it:Kenny Rogers he:קני רוג'רס mk:Кени Роџерс ml:കെന്നി റോജേർസ് mr:केनी रॉजर्स arz:كينى روجرز nl:Kenny Rogers ja:ケニー・ロジャース (カントリー歌手) no:Kenny Rogers pl:Kenny Rogers pt:Kenny Rogers ru:Роджерс, Кенни simple:Kenny Rogers fi:Kenny Rogers sv:Kenny Rogers tl:Kenny Rogers tr:Kenny Rogers uk:Кенні Роджерс

Coordinates	51°30′09″N0°07′39.7″N
Name	John Cena
Names	John CenaThe Prototype
Height
Weight
Birth date	April 23, 1977
Birth place	West Newbury, Massachusetts
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Billed	Classified (UPW)West Newbury, Massachusetts (WWE)
Trainer	Ultimate Pro WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling
Debut	2001 }}

John Felix Anthony Cena (; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.

In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 World Titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010). He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan & Bruno Sammartino.

Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).

Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album ''You Can't See Me'', which debuted at No.15 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and starred in the feature films ''The Marine'' (2006), ''12 Rounds'' (2009), and ''Legendary'' (2010). Cena has also made appearances on television shows including ''Manhunt'', ''Deal or No Deal'', ''MADtv'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Punk'd'', and ''Psych''. Cena was also a contestant on ''Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race'', where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.

Early life

Cena, who is of part Italian descent was born April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Carol and John Cena, Sr. He is the second eldest of five brothers – Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54, which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology, after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding, and also worked as a chauffeur for a limousine company.

Professional wrestling career

Training (2000–2001)

UPW

Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype. Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program ''Inside Pro Wrestling School''. While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000.

OVW

In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). During his time there, Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–present)

Debut (2002–2004)

Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002. Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity and almost beat Angle kicking out of his finishing move, the Angle Slam and enduring the ankle lock submission hold. Cena ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin. Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho. In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round. The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.

Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of ''SmackDown'', Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap. The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo – dropping the "F" – as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life". Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared"). Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg, until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.

For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches. During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to mock Lesnar's F-5. Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker. At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.

United States and WWE Champion (2004–2005)

In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble, making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit. The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show, which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX. During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson. The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he accidentally knocked him over, thus attacking an official. Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy, only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week. After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús. This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming ''The Marine''. Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.

Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and re-started the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena. The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match, beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan, who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt. Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship. Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made, while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion,

Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery. Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him. During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches. More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle, who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 ''Raw''. As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins, the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion. Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification – which titles do not change hands in WWE – at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series. The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU (a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 ''Raw''.

WWE Championship feuds and injury (2006–2007)

Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract – a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owners choosing." After two quick spears pinned Cena, winning the championship. Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble. After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain, Triple H. Cena beat Triple H at Wrestlemania 22 to retain his WWE Title. The negative reaction towards Cena intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "Fuck you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old shit". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.

In July, after Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena, re-ignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means – getting himself disqualified (for which Championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles – he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena eventually won the championship back in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven. The match had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown. Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's ''Raw''.

On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line. At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on ''Raw'', Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship. 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship, while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first ''Raw'' of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.

One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion. On the April 2 episode of ''Raw'', after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23, Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship. For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt. For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day and then by pinfall at One Night Stand. Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship, starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship. A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.

During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of ''Raw'', Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss. Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation. As a result, Cena was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ''ECW'', ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years. Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time. Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24.

Return and various feuds (2008–2010)

Cena made an unannounced return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot, by last eliminating Triple H. Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, the title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way Out pay-per-view in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in him not getting the championship. The night after No Way Out, Cena was placed back into WrestleMania XXIV's WWE Championship match, making it a Triple Threat match also involving Triple H, during which he was pinned by Orton. At Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match, in which he was pinned by Orton. Triple H won the title during that match. During the match, Cena eliminated JBL, renewing their feud from 2005. Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match. JBL, however, defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash in July.

On the August 4 episode of ''Raw'', Cena became a World Tag Team Champion for a second time, teaming with Batista to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, but failed to retain the titles the following week against the former champions. Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam; shortly after, he was named one of four contenders for CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship scramble match at Unforgiven. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio, however, after announcing Cena had suffered a herniated disc in his neck, which would require surgery. Cena underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.

Cena made his in-ring return at the November pay-per-view event, Survivor Series, defeating Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon, where Cena retained his championship. Cena lost the championship at No Way Out, to Edge after Kofi Kingston was attacked by Edge, who took his place in the Elimination Chamber match. Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at WrestleMania XXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.

Cena lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash after interference from Big Show, who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight. This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with Big Show. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day and at Extreme Rules in a Submission match by applying the STFU.

At the July pay-per-view, Night of Champions, he participated in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, which also involved Triple H and WWE Champion Randy Orton. Cena, however, did not win the match. Two months later, at Breaking Point, Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match to win his fourth WWE Championship. At Hell in a Cell, Cena dropped the title to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match. Three weeks later, at WWE Bragging Rights, Cena defeated Orton in a 60-minute Iron Man match.

Two months later, Cena would lose the title to Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables match.

In February 2010, Cena regained the WWE title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in an Elimination Chamber match after last eliminating Triple H. However, immediately after the match Mr. McMahon declared that he would immediately defend his title against Batista, who had been involved with Cena in Vince McMahon and Bret Hart's rivalry. Cena lost that match to Batista, and the WWE Championship and marking one of the shortest WWE Championship reigns in history. The following night after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena asked for a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which McMahon gave him the opportunity to as long as he defeated Batista that night. Later that night, Batista intentionally got himself disqualified by kicking Cena in the groin to set up their match at WrestleMania XXVI. At the event, Cena defeated Batista to win back the WWE title. At the April pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Batista in a rematch for the WWE title in a Last Man Standing match. He faced Batista one more time in an I Quit match at Over the Limit which he successfully won.

Feuding and joining Nexus (2010–2011)

On the June 7, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk, he was attacked by all eight former contestants of WWE NXT Season 1, with Wade Barrett as their leader. Punk, his follower Luke Gallows, and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well, but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher. This group would later refer to themselves as The Nexus.

At June's Fatal 4-Way event, Cena lost the WWE title to Sheamus in a fatal four-way match that also involved Edge and Randy Orton due to interference by Nexus. The following month, in a WWE title rematch against Sheamus in a steel cage match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the group interfered, thus costing Cena the chance of regaining the championship. Cena later formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali and Bret Hart to face the Nexus at SummerSlam, where Cena's team defeated Nexus with the returning Daniel Bryan, a former member of Nexus, who replaced Khali after getting injured.

Nexus's actions, however, did not stop after SummerSlam. Hoping to end Nexus for good, Cena challenged Wade Barrett to a match at "Hell in a Cell" only to lose due to interference by two fans, later identified as Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty. Due to the stipulations in place, Cena was forced to join Nexus. Cena had originally planned to destroy Nexus from within as a member of the group, but the Raw general manager ordered him to follow orders from Barrett, or else he would be fired. At Bragging Rights, Cena and Nexus member David Otunga defeated "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship.

Later in the show Cena was forced to help Barrett to win his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton. If Barrett didn't win the match Cena would be fired. Cena twisted his words around and attacked Barrett, giving Barrett the win via disqualification but not Orton's title. The following day, Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title. At Survivor Series, Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. As a part of a pre-match stipulation, if Barrett didn't win the championship, Cena would be fired from the WWE.

Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title, thus ending Cena's career in the WWE. The following day on ''Raw'', Cena gave a farewell speech, before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton. A week later, Cena invaded ''Raw'', first as a spectator, but he then attacked members of Nexus, explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one, despite not having a job in the WWE anymore. On the December 13 episode of ''Raw'', Cena was rehired by Barrett, in exchange that he would face him at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Chairs Match. Prior to TLC, Cena teamed up with Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio to defeat Wade Barrett, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio at The WWE Tribute to the Troops. On December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, John Cena was victorious against Wade Barrett in a Chairs match in the main event of the evening.

On the December 27 episode of ''Raw'', The Nexus, minus Wade Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with John Cena, to which Cena refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to, what looked like attack John Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus. The next week, Wade Barrett returned to ''Raw'' and confronted CM Punk over the issue of who the leader of The Nexus was and who was responsible for Cena's attack the week before. Barrett was placed into a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match that night that would determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. CM Punk added his own stipulation to the match saying if Barrett lost, he would be banished from the group, but if he won he would remain leader. Wade Barrett would lose the match after CM Punk interfered by ripping of Barrett's armband.

On the January 17 episode of ''Raw'', Cena returned and faced Punk in a match. During the match, a man, who would later be revealed to be Mason Ryan, attacked Cena. During the 2011 Royal Rumble match, Cena would eliminate most of the Nexus, ending his feud with them.

WWE Champion and various feuds (2011)

Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, making it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, the current WWE Champion at the time, who wasn't an official participant in the match. On the January 31 episode of ''Raw'', Cena competed in a 7-man ''Raw Rumble'' match, where the winner would challenge The Miz for his WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, but Cena was eliminated by Sheamus. As a result, Cena was entered into the Elimination Chamber match with the other five competitors who lost the match, to determine the number one contender for the title at WrestleMania XXVII. At the pay-per-view, Cena won the match, earning his title shot at WrestleMania against The Miz. On the February 21 episode of ''Raw'', Cena replied to The Rock's comments about him from the previous week, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania, where he made a rap about Rock. That same night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, Wade Barrett invoked Gabriel and Slater's rematch clause straight away, where they won their titles back, after Miz attacked Cena. After weeks of insults to each other, Cena met Rock face-to-face on the March 28 episode of ''Raw'', where Cena would hit his Attitude Adjustment finishing move on Rock. At WrestleMania, Cena and Miz would fight to a double count-out, but guest host Rock would restart the match, only for him to hit his Rock Bottom finishing move on Cena, allowing Miz to retain his title. The next night on ''Raw'', Cena and Rock agreed to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up at WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena would defeat Miz and Morrison to become WWE Champion. Cena would then defend his title successfully against Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match and against R-Truth at Capitol Punishment.

Cena was scheduled to defend his title against CM Punk at Money in the Bank, but Punk would deliver a shoot promo on-air on the June 27 episode of ''Raw'', concerning the way in which the company is run and owner Vince McMahon. This would then result in Punk being suspended from televised WWE events. Cena would petition against McMahon to reinstate Punk, to which McMahon would agree, adding that Cena would get fired if he were to lost the WWE Championship to Punk at the pay-per-view. At the pay-per-view, McMahon tried to recreate the Montreal Screwjob by sending John Laurinaitis down to ringside to end the match as Cena had Punk in the STF submission move. Cena would hit Laurinaitis before he could, only for Cena to lose the match as he re-entered the ring. The following night on ''Raw'', before McMahon announced Cena was fired, Triple H returned, announcing he is the new COO of the WWE, which would see him run the day-to-day operations of the company. Triple H then announced that McMahon was relived of his duties. On the July 25 episode of ''Raw'', Cena defeated Rey Mysterio to become WWE Champion for a record breaking ninth time. Following the match, CM Punk returned to the company, with the WWE Championship he won at Money in the Bank. The following week, Triple H would announce that Cena and Punk where both recognized as WWE Champion, which would lead to a title unification match at SummerSlam, with Triple H serving as special guest referee for the match, where the winner would become "undisputed" WWE Champion. At the pay-per-view, Punk defeated Cena to become "undisputed" WWE Champion. Punk would lose the championship following the match, after Kevin Nash returned and attacked him, with Alberto Del Rio then cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the title. On the August 22 episode of ''Raw'', Cena defeated Punk to become number one contender for the WWE Championship, where Cena would defeat Del Rio at Night of Champions to become WWE Champion. Cena would then lose the title back to Del Rio two weeks later at Hell in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving Punk, after Ricardo Rodriguez and Del Rio locked Cena outside of the Cell. Cena would get a rematch with Del Rio at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, where Del Rio defeated Cena after The Miz and R-Truth would attack Cena during the match. After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series. Cena would announce that he had chosen The Rock to be his partner. At the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena another Rock Bottom.

On the December 12 episode of ''Raw'', during his match with Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane. The following week on ''Raw'', Cena would call out Kane for his actions last week, but Henry would come out instead. Kane would then come out soon after, and once again attacked Cena. The following week, Kane would explain to Cena that the reason he had attacked him was in disgust of Cena's "Rise Above Hate" t-shirt slogan, stating that hate is a "natural impulse" and shouldn't be contained. He then lead the fans in attendance who were not fond of Cena into chanting "Cena Sucks!" as RAW went off the air.

Other media

Film

WWE Studios, a division of World Wrestling Entertainment which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — ''The Marine'', which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office. After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million. Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks. His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was ''12 Rounds''. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans; the film was released on March 27, 2009.

Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled ''Legendary'', which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time, then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.

That same year, Cena starred in the children's film ''Fred: The Movie'', a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2000	''Ready to Rumble''	Gym Trainer	Extra
2006	''The Marine''	John Triton	Lead role
2007	''Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race''	Himself	Reality TV series
2009		Danny Fisher	Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2010	''Psych''	Ewan O'Hara	"You Can't Handle This Episode" (season 4: episode 10)
2010	''True Jackson, VP''	Himself	"Pajama Party" (season 2: episode 12)
2010		Mike Chetley	Nominated—Nevada Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2010	''Hannah Montana''	Himself	"Love That Let's Go" (season 4: episode 7)
2010	''Fred: The Movie''	Fred's (imaginary) Dad	TV film
2010	''Generator Rex''	Hunter Cain	Voice role"The Hunter" (season 1: episode 13)
2011		Sam Cleary
2011	''Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred	Fred's (imaginary) Dad	TV film

Guest appearances

Before his WWE debut, Cena made an appearance on the Internet stream show ''Go Sick'' as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler in 2001.

During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' three times. Cena has also appeared on morning radio shows; including the CBS and XM versions of Opie and Anthony as part of their "walkover" on October 10, 2006. Other appearances have included ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', Fuse's ''Celebrity Playlist'', Fox Sports Net's ''The Best Damn Sports Show Period'', ''MADtv'', ''G4's Training Camp'' (with Shelton Benjamin), and two appearances on MTV's ''Punk'd'' (August 2006 and May 2007), as the victim of a practical joke. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of ''Nashville Star'', and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards.

In January 2007, Cena, Batista, and Ashley Massaro appeared representing WWE on an episode of ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'', giving the children of the family whose house was being renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23. Two months later, he and Bobby Lashley appeared on the NBC game show ''Deal or No Deal'' as "moral support" to long time WWE fan and front row staple, Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge and Randy Orton also appeared, but as antagonists. On April 9, 2008, Cena, along with fellow wrestlers Triple H and Chris Jericho, appeared on the ''Idol Gives Back'' fund-raising special. In March 2009, Cena made an appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'' during the show's cold opening sequence. On March 7, 2009, he was a guest on NPR's quiz show ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' in a Not My Job sequence titled "Sure, pro wrestling is a good gig, but when you win, do they throw teddy bears into the ring?"

Television

In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling, Cena was involved in the UPN produced reality show ''Manhunt''. Cena portrayed Big Tim Kingman, leader of the group of bounty hunters who chased down the contestants who acted as fugitives. The show, however, was mired in controversy when it was alleged that the portions of the show were rigged to eliminate certain players, scenes were re-shot or staged to enhance drama and contestants read from scripts.

Cena was also featured on the ABC reality series ''Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race'', which aired in June 2007, making it to the final round before being eliminated on June 24, placing third in the competition overall.

In 2007 Cena was also interviewed for the ''CNN Special Investigations Unit'' documentary, "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling", which focused on steroid and drug use in professional wrestling. When asked if he had taken steroids he was heard to reply, "I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never prove that I have." The day after the documentary aired WWE accused CNN of taking Cena's comments out of context to present a biased point of view, backing up their claim by posting an unedited video of his answering the same question—filmed by WWE cameras from another angle—in which he is heard beginning the same statement with "Absolutely not". A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet should apologize for misrepresenting him, which CNN refused in a statement, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "My answer to that question". They did, however, edit the documentary on subsequent airings to include the "Absolutely not".

Cena hosted the Australian Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards with Natalie Bassingthwaighte on October 11, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.

He guest starred as Ewan O'Hara in an episode of the fourth season of the comedy drama ''Psych'', as the brother of Juliet O'Hara, played by Maggie Lawson.

He also guest starred in the seventh episode of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever as himself.

Make-A-Wish Foundation

John Cena has granted over 200 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and in 2009 was a recipient of the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award.

Endorsements

Before his professional wrestling career, Cena appeared in an advertisement for Gold's Gym. As a wrestler he has endorsed the energy drink YJ Stinger, appearing in commercials beginning in October 2003, and Subway, for whom he filmed advertisements with their spokesperson Jared Fogle in November 2006 that began airing the next January. For a time in 2007 he also endorsed two "signature collections" of energy drinks and energy bars sold by American Body Builders. In 2008, Cena filmed a commercial as part of Gillette's "Young Guns" NASCAR campaign.

In 2009, Cena expanded his relationship with Gillette by introducing a new online campaign called "Be A Superstar" featuring himself alongside WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign features motivational videos.

Fashion

For the extent of his WWE career, Cena's attire has attempted to reflect the most current thug fashions and stylings within the hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing "throwback jerseys" until WWE produced specific Cena merchandise which he began wearing. While Cena was a member of the ''SmackDown!'' brand, one of his WWE produced t-shirts bore the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck Fules". Whenever it appeared on television the image was censored, not by the network, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was "too hot for TV." He also wore a chain with a large padlock, occasionally using it as a weapon, until WrestleMania 21, when it was replaced with a chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion—reminiscent of the ones worn by members of G-Unit—matching his spinner title belt.

Around the time ''The Marine'' was released, Cena began wearing attire more military related, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine soldier cap and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault Battalion." Shortly after WrestleMania 23, when promotion for The Marine ended, the military attire diminished and was replaced with apparel bearing his new slogan "American Made Muscle" along with denim shorts, not seen since he was a member of the SmackDown roster. He then wore shirts that promoted Cenation and his trademark line "You Can't See Me." In late 2011, Cena again switched to wearing camo shorts (to honor the U.S. Armed Forces), coininciding with his new black "Rise Above Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign.

Music

In addition to his wrestling career, Cena is a rapper and a hip hop musician. Cena performed his fifth WWE theme song, "Basic Thugonomics," himself, and it was featured on the WWE soundtrack album ''WWE Originals''. He also recorded a song,"Untouchables", for the company's next soundtrack album ''WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6''. He collaborated on the song H-U-S-T-L-E remix along with Murs, E-40, and Chingo Bling.

Cena's debut album, ''You Can't See Me'', was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. It features, amongst other songs, his entrance theme, "The Time is Now", and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which a music video was made that parodied 1980s culture, including the television show ''The A-Team''. A video was also made for the second single, "Right Now," and premiered on the August 8 ''Raw''. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later featured on a track by The Perceptionists named "Champion Scratch." Cena will appear on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' upcoming album ''Still Cool'' featuring other guests.

;Albums

''You Can't See Me''

* Released: May 10, 2005

Chart positions: 15 U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, 10 U.S. Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums, 3 U.S. Rap, 103 UK Albums Chart

* Singles: "The Time Is Now", "Bad Bad Man" (featuring Bumpy Knuckles), "Right Now"

Personal life

Cena writes left-handed. He is a fan of Japanese animation and has mentioned that his favorite animated movie is ''Fist of the North Star''. He has also said he is a fan of the video game series ''Command & Conquer'' and noted that it was his favorite game. Cena is also a fan of the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Cena collects muscle cars and has over 20, some of which are one-of-a-kind.

While promoting his 2009 film, ''12 Rounds'', Cena announced his engagement to his girlfriend Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married on July 11, 2009.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Attitude Adjustment'' (formerly ''FU'') (Fireman's carry transitioned into a takeover or a powerslam, sometimes from the second rope) – 2003–present

STF (formerly ''STFU'') – 2005–present

Signature moves

Diving leg drop bulldog

Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

* Emerald Flowsion

Fisherman suplex

''Five Knuckle Shuffle'' (Running delayed fist drop, with theatrics, sometimes diving from the top rope)

* Gutwrench suplex

* ''Protobomb'' (OVW / UPW) / Spin-out powerbomb (WWE)

Running leaping shoulder block

Running one–handed bulldog

Sitout hip toss

''Rapper Punch'' ("You can't see me!" taunt followed by haymaker)

Spinebuster - 2002 - 2005 used rarely there after

''Throwback'' (Running neck snap to a bent–over opponent)

Twisting belly to belly suplex

Nicknames

"The Doctor of Thuganomics"

"The Champ" (as either the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion) – 2005–present

* "The Chain Gang Commander"

"The Chain Gang Soldier"

*"The CeNation Commander-in-Chief"

"The Marine"

* "Superman"

* "The Voice of Little Jimmys" (while feuding with R-Truth)

Managers

Kenny Bolin

* B–2

* Redd Dogg

Entrance themes

"Slam Smack" by R. Hardy (FirstCom Production Music) (June 27, 2002–November 7, 2002)

"Insert Bass Here" by DJ Case (FirstCom Production Music) (November 14, 2002–February 13, 2003)

* "Basic Thuganomics" by John Cena (March 27, 2003–March 10, 2005; April 5, 2009 for his entrance at WrestleMania XXV)

*"We Are One" by 12 Stones (WWE; October 3, 2010-November 21, 2010; Used While a part of Nexus)

* "The Time is Now" by John Cena and Tha Trademarc (March 17, 2005–present)

Championships and accomplishments

Ohio Valley Wrestling

OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rico Constantino

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (2006)

PWI Feud of the Year (2011)

PWI Match of the Year (2007)

PWI Match of the Year (2011)

PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2003)

PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2004, 2005, 2007)

PWI Wrestler of the Year (2006, 2007)

PWI ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2007

Pro Wrestling Report

*Match of the Year (2006) vs. Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand II

Ultimate Pro Wrestling

UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Shawn Michaels (1) and Batista (1)

WWE Championship (10 times)

WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with David Otunga (1), and The Miz (1)

WWE United States Championship (3 times)

* Royal Rumble (2008)

* Slammy Award winner – 2009 and 2010 Superstar of the Year

Slammy Award for Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2010)

*Slammy Award for Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with The Rock

'''Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestler of the Year (2007, 2010)

* 5 Star Match vs. CM Punk at WWE Money in the Bank on July 17, 2011

Best Box Office Draw (2007)

Best on Interviews (2007)

Most Charismatic (2006–2010)

Most Charismatic of the Decade (2000–2009)

Best Gimmick (2003)

References

Further reading

External links

John Cena at WWE.com

Professional wrestling record for John Cena from The Internet Wrestling Database

John Cena at Online World of Wrestling

Category:1977 births Category:American film actors Category:American football offensive linemen Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Drifting drivers Category:Formula D drivers Category:Living people Category:People from Essex County, Massachusetts Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Rappers from Florida Category:Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni Category:Springfield Pride football players

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Coordinates	51°30′09″N0°07′39.7″N
Name	Ric Flair
Names	Ric FlairThe Black ScorpionRick RudeNature Boy
Height
Weight
Birth date	February 25, 1949
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee
Billed	Charlotte, North Carolina
Trainer	Verne Gagne
Debut	December 10, 1972
Wwe retired	March 31, 2008
Management company	Legacy Talent and Entertainment, LLC 704 . 334 . 7727 }}

Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is considered to be one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world.

He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and is noted for his lengthy and highly decorated tenures with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (now known as simply WWE).

Flair is officially recognized by WWE, TNA and PWI as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion (seven-time NWA Champion, seven-time WCW Champion and two-time WWF Champion) although his actual tally of World Championship reigns varies by source—Flair considers himself a 21-time world champion.

In World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he also had two stints as a booker—in 1989–1990 and 1994. Flair also became the first and only man to have won the WWF Championship in a Royal Rumble match, when he accomplished this in the 1992 edition of the event. Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, being the first to be inducted while still a part of the active roster. The same year, he was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame.

Flair's hair styles and mannerisms are based on those of Buddy Rogers, who previously and famously used the "Nature Boy" gimmick in the 1950s and '60s. Coincidentally, Flair also followed Rogers in becoming only the second man to win both the WWF and the NWA World heavyweight Championships.

Using the officially recognized totals (by WWE, TNA and PWI) of 16 World Championships and a record-tying 5 US Championship reigns, Flair has won a total of 30 different major championships between the NWA, WCW, and WWE, with numerous regional titles also to his credit.

Early life

Flair was born on February 25, 1949. In the opening chapter of his autobiography ''To Be the Man'', titled "Black Market Baby," he notes that his birth name is given on different documents as Fred. At the time of his adoption (arranged by the notorious Tennessee Children's Home Society, later shut down for adoption fraud), his father was completing a residency in Detroit. Shortly afterward, the family settled in Edina, Minnesota, where the young Richard Flair lived throughout his childhood. After grade 9, he attended Wayland Academy, a coeducational boarding school in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, for four years (five years total in high school) during which time he participated in interscholastic wrestling, football and track.

As a teen, Flair took a summer job as a lifeguard at a local pool in Minnesota, where he received his first exposure to the wrestling business when he met the legendary Vachon brothers. In both 1966 and 1968, Flair won the state private school wrestling championship and was recruited to the University of Minnesota on a football scholarship, where he played alongside Greg Gagne, the son of Verne Gagne. Flair dropped out of college before receiving his degree, and he then worked as a bouncer at a nearby club, where he met Olympic weightlifter Ken Patera, who was preparing for a ring career at Verne Gagne's wrestling school. Patera introduced Flair to Verne Gagne, who agreed to take him on as a member of his training class.

Professional wrestling career

American Wrestling Association (1972–1974)

Under the tutelage of Josh Klemme and Billy Robinson, Flair attended Gagne's first Wrestling camp with Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, Iron Sheik, and Ken Patera at Gagne's barn outside of Minneapolis in the winter of 1971. Flair met Ken Patera when he was working as a bouncer after dropping out of school at the U of M after completing his freshman year there in 1968-69. They lived together for a while in South Minneapolis. Flair made fast progress, and in December 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." Then weighing nearly 300 pounds with short brown hair, Flair scarcely resembled his future "Nature Boy" image. But he drew attention with his charismatic personality and ring endurance. During his time in the American Wrestling Association, Flair had matches with Dusty Rhodes, André the Giant, Larry Hennig, and Wahoo McDaniel.

National Wrestling Alliance

Becoming the Nature Boy (1974–1981)

In 1974, Flair left the AWA for Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic region in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA); and he soon captured his first singles title when, on February 8, 1975, he beat Paul Jones for the Mid-Atlantic TV Championship. On October 4, 1975, however, Flair's career nearly ended when he was in a serious plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina that took the life of the pilot and paralyzed Johnny Valentine (also on board were "Mr. Wrestling I" Tim Woods, 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 six months later, where he resumed his feud 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.

Groomed by Jim Crockett Jr. as his future top star, Flair won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Bobo Brazil on July 29, 1977; and during the next three years, he held five reigns as U.S. Champion while feuding with Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Mr. Wrestling II, Jimmy Snuka, and Greg Valentine (with whom he also formed a championship tag team). Flair, however, 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", Buddy Rogers, who put Flair over in one encounter.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (1981–1986)

On September 17, 1981, Flair reached the top of the mountain when he beat Dusty Rhodes for his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In the following years, Flair eventually established himself as the promotion's main franchise in the midst of emerging competition from Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. With his outlandish wit and entertaining interview style, Flair embodied the role of the World Champion—sporting bleached blond hair, elegant jewelry, designer suits, and elaborate custom robes while dishing out his trademark chops and figure four leglock. All the while, Flair taunted his opponents with his "Wooo!" shout while boasting that "To be 'The Man,' you gotta beat the man!".

In 1982, Jack Veneno and Flair had a series of matches. Veneno defeated Flair for the World Title, but the NWA did not recognize this change. Flair also wrestled matches with Ricky Steamboat throughout the year. Harley Race won the title from Flair in 1983, but Flair regained the title at Starrcade in Greensboro, North Carolina in a Steel Cage match; afterward, Race and Flair fought in many different matches in early 1984. Flair won the NWA title, officially, eight more times. As the NWA champion, he defended his belt around the world. Flair lost the title to Race and won it back in the span of three days in New Zealand in March 1984. At the first David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium, Flair was pinned by Kerry Von Erich. Flair regained the title eighteen days later in Japan.

He then reigned for two years, two months, and two days, losing his title to Dusty Rhodes on July 26, 1986 at The Great American Bash; Rhodes had been an ever-present foe in Flair's career after Flair helped break Rhodes's ankle on September 29, 1985. Flair regained the title two weeks later. Flair defended his titles against opponents like Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Kerry Von Erich, Jay Youngblood, Sting, Ronnie Garvin, Magnum T.A., and Rhodes throughout his career, as well.

The Four Horsemen

In the spring of 1985, the tag team of Ole Anderson and Arn Anderson began aiding Ric Flair (whom they claimed as a "cousin") in attacks against Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and Sam Houston. A few weeks later, the Andersons interrupted Houston's match against Tully Blanchard, and the three villains combined to rough up the youngster while sending a message to the rest of the NWA. Shortly thereafter, Flair, Blanchard, and the Andersons formalized their alliance, calling themselves the Four Horsemen, with Blanchard's manager J.J. Dillon also coming on board. Upon the group's inception, it was clear that the Horsemen were unlike any villainous alliance that had ever existed. 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. Over the years, there would be various incarnations of the group, with Flair and Arn Anderson as the two permanent members, while a number of different wrestlers, including Lex Luger, Barry Windham, Sting, Sid Vicious, Paul Roma, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Jeff Jarrett, Steve McMichael, Curt Hennig, and Dean Malenko, have held the other two spots in the Horsemen.

World Championship Wrestling (1986–1991)

By 1986, wrestling promoter Jim Crockett 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 custom championship belt was created for Flair. In 1987, Flair and Barry Windham had a series of matches for the NWA World Championship. Flair defeated Windham at the Crockett Cup tournament and they fought to a time limit draw in January. Flair lost the NWA World Championship due to his flamboyant ways in Detroit to Ron Garvin 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, Starrcade, in Chicago.

In early 1988, rising star Sting had challenged Flair to a match at the first ever ''Clash of the Champions''. Flair accepted and fought Sting to a 45 minute time-limit draw. In late 1988, booker Dusty Rhodes proposed that Flair lose the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Rick Steiner in a short match at Starrcade when no agreement could be met regarding the finish to the scheduled main event between him and Lex Luger. Rhodes was fired for various issues within the company, and former JCP booker George Scott was given his role as a booker. Scott immediately negotiated to bring in Ricky Steamboat for a series of matches. On February 20, 1989, at Chi-Town Rumble in Chicago, Steamboat 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 ''Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun'' on April 2, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7, 1989 at WrestleWar. This match was voted 1989's "Match of the Year" by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'', and is widely considered among the greatest matches of all time. Flair was attacked by Terry Funk (serving as a judge for the match, as per its stipulations) after the match when Flair refused to grant Funk a title match, telling Funk that he had spent too much time in Hollywood and out of wrestling, and was not a listed title contender. The attack reached its conclusion when Funk gave Flair a piledriver onto the judges' table.

Months later, a "recovered" Flair returned to competition in an emotional match against Funk at The Great American Bash. The two continued feuding through the summer and eventually Flair reformed the Four Horsemen, with the surprise addition of longtime rival Sting, to combat Funk's J-Tex Corporation. This led to an "I Quit" match at ''Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout''. Before the match, Funk stated that he would shake Flair's hand if he lost, a promise he kept when he shouted, "Yes, I quit!" after being in Flair's figure four leglock. Flair then kicked Sting out of the Horsemen upon his challenge for the NWA Championship, resulting in a revived feud between the two which had to be delayed due to Sting injuring his knee, forcing WCW to slot Lex Luger as Flair's main challenger until Sting returned. On July 7, 1990, Flair dropped the title to Sting at The Great American Bash. After being unmasked as the Black Scorpion at Starrcade in 1990, Flair regained the title from Sting on January 11, 1991, in front of a near empty house due to the blizzard conditions in the New York City area. Prior to this reign, WCW split their recognition of a World Heavyweight Champion from the NWA, and Flair was subsequently recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion, while still being recognized as NWA World Champion.

At the Clash of the Champions XIV: Dixie Dynamite on January 30, he wrestled Scott Steiner to a draw. On March 21, 1991, Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Flair in a controversial match in Tokyo at the WCW/New Japan Supershow. 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 SuperBrawl in St. Petersburg, Florida to reclaim the NWA title and retain the WCW Title. In doing so, he became a nine time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, breaking Harley Race's record of eight reigns. On June 12, at the Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA, he defeated Bobby Eaton in a two out of three falls match.

In the spring of 1991, Flair had a contract dispute with WCW president Jim Herd, 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 (''i.e.'' by shaving his hair, wearing a diamond earring and going by the name "Spartacus") as well as his in-ring name in order to "change with the times". Flair disagreed with the proposals, and two weeks before The Great American Bash, Herd fired him and vacated the WCW Championship. While Flair had left for the WWF he was still recognized as the NWA World Champion until September 8, when the title was officially vacated.

World Wrestling Federation

The Real World Heavyweight Champion (1991)

Flair signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in August 1991 and began appearing on television as one of the most hated heels the next month. Initially, he appeared on WWF shows with the "Big Gold Belt," calling himself "The Real World Heavyweight Champion." Led by his "financial advisor" Bobby Heenan and his "executive consultant" Mr. Perfect, Flair repeatedly issued challenges to WWF wrestlers like Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan, wrestling a team led by Piper at Survivor Series in 1991 and helping The Undertaker defeat Hogan for the WWF Championship that same night. WCW sued Flair in an attempt to reclaim the belt, but Flair claimed that he owned the belt in lieu of the $25,000 deposit paid by NWA champions upon winning the title, which had not been returned to him when he was fired from WCW. In the 2008 WWF Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection DVD, Flair claimed that to this day he has never been paid $25,000 deposit, plus interest. Later in the DVD Triple H said that Flair gave him the actual WCW title belt as a gift.

WWF Champion and feud with Randy Savage (1991–1992)

At the Royal Rumble in 1992, he won the Rumble match to claim the vacant WWF Championship. Flair drew number three in the Rumble match and lasted a then-record nearly 60 minutes, last eliminating Sid Justice with help from Hulk Hogan, who had been eliminated by Justice seconds earlier. In so doing, Flair joined Buddy Rogers as the only men to win the WWF and NWA World Championships in their careers.

After a planned program with Hogan was scrapped due to Hogan's hiatus following the WWF's steroid scandal, Randy Savage challenged Flair for the WWF title at WrestleMania VIII. In the storyline, Flair taunted Savage by claiming that he had a prior relationship with Savage's wife, Elizabeth, and that he had the pictures to prove it (which were later revealed to be doctored photos). Savage defeated Flair for the title at WrestleMania. In July 1992, as Savage prepared to defend the title against The Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam, 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 Bret Hart on October 12, 1992.

Flair teamed with Razor Ramon to take on Savage and Perfect at the Survivor Series 1992. After losing a Loser Leaves the WWF match to Mr. Perfect on an episode of ''Monday Night Raw'', Flair appeared in the Royal Rumble in 1993 (although the match with Perfect had been taped six days prior, it did not air until the following night) and then fulfilled his remaining house show commitments, making his last appearance on February 10, 1993, before returning to WCW. On ''The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection'' DVD, Flair described his first stint with the WWF as "the greatest year and a half of my career, outside the time I spent with Arn Anderson and The Four Horsemen."

Return to World Championship Wrestling

Retirement teases (1993–1996)

Flair returned to WCW as a face in February 1993 and, as a result of a "no-compete" clause, hosted a short-lived talk show in WCW called ''A Flair for the Gold'' as he was unable to appear wrestling. Arn Anderson usually appeared at the bar on the show's set, and Flair's maid, Fifi (portrayed by Wendy Barlow), cleaned or bore gifts. Once he returned to action, Flair briefly held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a tenth time after defeating Barry Windham at Beach Blast before WCW finally left the NWA in September 1993. At Starrcade in 1993, Flair was placed in a match, which was billed that if Flair lost, he would retire from wrestling. The match ended with Flair using a chop block and roll-up on the gigantic Vader to win the title for the second time.

In June 1994, Flair defeated Sting in a unification match, merging the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship with the WCW World Championship. This concluded a slow heel turn for Flair that started when he defeated Ricky Steamboat in a controversial manner some months earlier. Flair later feuded with Hulk Hogan upon Hogan's arrival in WCW in June 1994, losing the WCW World Championship to him in July at Bash at the Beach. Flair lost a retirement match to Hogan at Halloween Havoc and took a few months off before returning as a wrestler and part-time manager in 1995 (explained on-air by having Flair nag Hogan for months until Hogan agreed to let Flair come back). He and Randy Savage renewed hostilities when Savage arrived in WCW late in 1994, and their feud continued off and on for almost two years with each wrestler winning the WCW World Championship from each other at different times. Flair defeated Savage in a steel cage at SuperBrawl VI to win the WCW World title, which saw Savage betrayed by Elizabeth in favor of Flair. The Nature Boy also defeated Konnan on July 7 at Bash at the Beach to win the United States Championship. He vacated it in November of that year due to an arm injury he suffered in Japan, during a match with Kensuke Sasaki.

Feud with nWo (1996–1997)

Once again as a top babyface, Flair played a major role in the New World Order storyline in late 1996 and throughout 1997. He and the other Horsemen often took the lead in the war against Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan. Flair also feuded with Roddy Piper, Syxx, and his old nemesis, Curt Hennig, in 1997 after Hennig was offered a spot in the Four Horsemen only to turn on Flair and the Horsemen at Fall Brawl in 1997. Hennig punctuated the act by slamming the cage door onto Flair's head. After Fall Brawl. Flair would return a month later to feud with Curt Hennig over the US title (which Hennig won from Steve McMichael). Flair would challenge for the title at Halloween Havoc and World War 3, losing both times.

Return from hiatus and various feuds (1998–2001)

In April 1998, Flair disappeared from WCW television, due to a lawsuit filed by Eric Bischoff for no-showing a WCW Thunder TV taping. After the case was settled, Flair made a surprise return on September 14, 1998 to ceremoniously reform the Four Horsemen (along with Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit). Flair feuded with Bischoff for several months afterward. This culminated in a match at Starrcade 1998 between Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair. Bischoff was victorious after interference from Curt Hennig, a former member of the Four Horsemen. The following night in Baltimore on Nitro, Flair returned with a crazy streak angle in what became one his most notable interview promos reviving the "custom made from head to toe" catchphrase. He began by stripping to his boxers and threatening to leave WCW, demanding a match against Bischoff for the presidency of the company, and later handcuffing himself to the ring. 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 David Flair. In spite of this betrayal, Flair signed a rematch at Uncensored 1999 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 submission thanks to the bias of the referee Charles Robinson, who counted Hogan out. This match was a double turn for Flair (who turned heel) and Hogan (who turned face). Robinson would be nicknamed "Lil' Naitch", idolizing Flair and officiating all of Flair's matches in his favor .

As on-air President, Flair began abusing his power much like Bischoff had, favoring villains over fan favorites and even awarding the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship to his son David and resorting to whatever means necessary to keep David U.S. Champion. This also led to many more notable promos with Flair proclaiming, "I am the President". Flair eventually formed a stable of followers which included Roddy Piper, Arn Anderson, and the Jersey Triad to keep things in order. Flair's reign as president came to an end on the July 19 episode of ''Nitro'', facing Sting for the WCW presidency. 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 the WCW World 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 Magnificent Seven. During the final episode of ''Nitro'' on March 26, 2001, he gave an emotional speech regarding the company's greatness and his best matches and opponents in WCW throughout the years, including Sting. Later in the night, Flair lost the final match of ''Nitro'' to Sting, recreating the first main event 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 World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

WWF co-owner (2001–2002)

After hiatus from wrestling, Flair made a popular return to the WWF in November 2001 as the on-camera co-owner of the company and as a face in Charlotte on RAW in November 2001. Flair reappeared on ''Raw'' following the end of the "WCW/ECW Invasion" that culminated in a "Winner Take All" match at Survivor Series won by the WWF. Flair's new on-screen role was that of the co-owner of the WWF, with the explanation that Shane and Stephanie McMahon had sold their stock in the company to a consortium (namely Flair) prior to purchasing World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling. Flair's feud with Vince McMahon led them to a match at the Royal Rumble in 2002 in a Street Fight, where Flair defeated McMahon. Flair also wrestled The Undertaker at WrestleMania X8 in 2002 where Flair lost after a hard fought battle and interference by Arn Anderson. From then, the "co-owner" angle culminated in early 2002, when Flair controlled Raw, and McMahon controlled Smackdown!. After Steve Austin abruptly left WWE while in a program with Flair, a match was hotshotted between Flair and Vince for sole ownership of WWE, which McMahon won, thanks to interference by Brock Lesnar.

Evolution (2003–2005)

Flair later became a villain by joining Triple H's "Evolution" stable. Flair won the World Tag Team Championship with Batista twice in 2003 and 2004. After HHH took time off following Vengeance and for the rest of the summer, Flair would become a fan favorite again by beginning a short feud with Kurt Angle. Later, at Unforgiven in 2005, Flair defeated Carlito for the Intercontinental Championship.

On the October 3 edition of ''Raw'', Flair was attacked by his Evolution tag team partner Triple H, after Triple H threw him into a limousine and smashing into limousine window for using sledge hammer. On November 1, 2005 at Taboo Tuesday, Flair defeated Triple H in a steel cage match. Flair continued his feud with Triple H until Survivor Series, when Triple H defeated him in a Last Man Standing match to end the feud.

Various rivalries and retirement (2006–2008)

At the end of 2005 Flair had a feud with Edge, culminating in a WWE championship TLC match on the RAW in early 2006. On the February 20 edition of ''Raw'' he lost to Shelton Benjamin. Flair then took some time off in mid-2006 to rest and marry for the third time; he returned in June to work a program with his real life rival Mick Foley that played off their legitimate past animosity. Flair defeated Foley at SummerSlam in an "I Quit" match.

Subsequently, he was involved in a rivalry with the Spirit Squad on ''Raw''. On November 5, 2006 at Cyber Sunday, he captured the World Tag Team Championship from the Squad with Roddy Piper. On the November 13 edition of ''Raw'', Flair and Piper lost the Tag Titles to Rated-RKO, 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 Survivor Series, Flair was the sole survivor of a match that featured himself, Ron Simmons (replacing an injured Piper), Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter versus the Spirit Squad. Flair then left television due to his divorce hearings. On the December 11, 2006 edition of ''Raw'', Flair returned to team up with DX again. They defeated Rated-RKO and Kenny Dykstra.

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 Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a number one contender's match for the World Tag Team Championship but were defeated. The two teamed up at Wrestlemania 23, and defeated the team of Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms. After weeks of conflict between Flair and Carlito, the team split up when Carlito attacked Flair during a match. At Judgment Day, Flair defeated Carlito with the figure four leglock. His career was put at risk following a match with Randy Orton on June 4, 2007.

On the June 11 edition of ''Raw'', Flair was drafted from ''Raw'' to ''SmackDown!'' as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. He briefly feuded against Montel Vontavious Porter 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 three month hiatus, Flair returned to WWE programming on the November 26 edition 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 by Chris Jericho. On March 29, 2008, Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2008 by Triple H. Flair became the first active wrestler to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. The day after, Flair wrestled at WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, Florida, losing to Shawn Michaels. This match was voted the 2008 PWI Match of the Year. Flair's fight to keep his career going garnered him the 2008 PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award.

Part time appearances (2008–2009)

On the March 31, 2008 edition 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, Harley Race, and Chris Jericho, followed by The Undertaker and then Vince McMahon. Along with the wrestlers, the fans gave Ric a standing ovation. This event represented a rare moment in WWE as both the heels and the faces broke character and came out to the ring together. The Undertaker's and McMahon's entrances, however, were not shown on the TV taping of ''Raw'' for the week in order to preserve their characters, more in the case of the Undertaker as it involved him hugging Ric Flair and then raising his arm in victory, but were included in ''Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection DVD'' as extras.

Flair made his first post retirement appearance on the June 16, 2008 edition of ''Raw'' to confront Chris Jericho about his actions from the previous week, when Jericho brutalized Shawn Michaels. Flair did not want to come out of retirement and have an official match, but challenged Jericho to a fight in the parking lot, until he was ejected from the building by Vince McMahon.

On the February 9, 2009 episode of ''Monday Night Raw'', Flair made an appearance to once again confront Chris Jericho, telling him to respect the WWE Legends and the fans. The segment ended with Flair punching Jericho. Exactly one month later, on the March 9, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', Flair appeared during a Money in the Bank qualifier match between Jericho and Kofi Kingston, distracting Jericho which cost him the match. Flair distracted Jericho as revenge for Jericho's attacks on Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat. Jericho subsequently suggested Flair come out of retirement and challenged him to a match on the March 16, 2009 ''Raw''.

That week, Flair declined Jericho's challenge to come out of retirement. Instead he, along with Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka attacked Jericho. Flair made another appearance the next week, to accept Jericho's challenge on behalf of Steamboat, Piper and Snuka for a 3-on-1 handicap match at WrestleMania XXV. Jericho then proceeded to brutally attack Flair, causing him to bleed and even destroying the watch that was given to Flair from Michaels after Wrestlemania.

At the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Flair inducted Ricky Steamboat whom Flair called the hardest competition he ever fought. The next day at Wrestlemania XXV, Flair was in the corner of Piper, Snuka, and Steamboat for the match against Jericho. Jericho went on to win the match, and then went after Flair. While Flair was knocked down, Mickey Rourke came into the ring and nailed Jericho with an upper left hook, at which time Flair came in and held up Rourke's hand in victory.

On May 17, 2009, Flair returned to WWE during the Judgment Day pay-per-view, coming to the aid of Batista, who was being attacked by The Legacy faction (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase). His last appearance in WWE on the June 1 episode of ''Raw'', Flair challenged Randy 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, after his contract had expired on June 2, 2009.

Ring of Honor and Hulkamania Tour (2009)

Flair signed with Ring of Honor (ROH) and appeared at the aptly titled ''Stylin' And Profilin''' event in March 2009, clearing the ring after an ROH World Championship 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 ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'' 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 heel on the "Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin" tour of Australia, losing to Hulk Hogan in the main event of the first show by brassknuckles. Flair lost to Hogan again on November 24 in Perth, Australia. Both men bled and Flair was pinned after being hit with a megaphone by Hogan. Flair also lost to Hogan on the two remaining matches on the tour, both times after being struck by a megaphone.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Fortune (2010–2011)

On the January 4, 2010, live, three-hour edition of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's ''Impact!'' television show, Flair as a face made his debut appearance for the company arriving via limo and later observing the main event between A.J. Styles and longtime rival Kurt Angle. It was later reported that Flair had signed a one-year deal with the company. In the past, Flair has openly stated that he was loyal to the McMahons and wanted to end his career in WWE, however he hadn't had contact from WWE since June 2009 and decided to sign with TNA Wrestling after waiting for the call from WWE for six months.

On January 17 at Genesis, Flair helped A.J. Styles cheat to pin Kurt Angle and retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship thus once again becoming a heel. On the following episode of ''TNA Impact!'', Flair announced that he was going to make A.J. Styles the next Nature Boy. In addition to Styles, Flair began informally managing Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) and Desmond Wolfe as a loose heel alliance. Flair has also confirmed that he will return to wrestling in TNA. On the February 25 edition of ''Impact!'', Hulk Hogan announced that both he and Flair will make their in-ring TNA debuts on the March 8 Monday night edition of ''Impact!'', when Hogan and Abyss face Flair and Styles in a tag team match. On the March 8 Monday night edition of ''Impact!'' Hogan and Abyss defeated Flair and Styles, when Abyss pinned Styles. Afterwards, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Abyss and Hogan from a beatdown at the hands of Flair, Styles and Beer Money, Inc. At Lockdown Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) was defeated by Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) in a Lethal Lockdown match. On the April 26 edition of ''Impact!'' Flair was defeated by Abyss in a match, where Flair's and Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame rings were at stake and as a result Flair lost possession of his ring to Hogan. The following week Hogan gave the ring to Jay Lethal, who returned it to Flair out of respect. This, however, wasn't enough for Flair, who attacked Lethal along with the members of Team Flair. After Styles dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Rob Van Dam, then failed to regain it in a rematch and later was pinned by Jay Lethal, Flair adopted Kazarian as his newest protégé, seemingly replacing Styles as his number one wrestler.

On the June 17 edition of ''Impact!'' Flair announced that he would reform the Four Horsemen under the new name Fourtune, comparing A.J. Styles to Arn Anderson, Kazarian to Barry Windham, Robert Roode and James Storm to Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard and Desmond Wolfe to Lex Luger, while also stating that each of them would have to earn their spots in the group. Flair made a return to the ring on July 11 at Victory Road, losing to Jay Lethal. On the July 15 edition of ''Impact!'' Flair announced A.J. Styles and Kazarian as the first two official members of Fourtune and two weeks later added Robert Roode and James Storm as the final two members of the group. On the August 5 edition of ''Impact!'' Flair faced Lethal in a rematch, this time contested under Street Fight rules, with the members of Fourtune banned from ringside. Flair managed to win the match, after an interference from Douglas Williams. The following week Williams and Matt Morgan were added to the renamed Fourtune, as the stable attacked EV 2.0, a stable consisting of former Extreme Championship Wrestling performers. On September 23, Flair headlined a live event in Oklahoma City titled Lord of the Ring in his honor. Competing in his first TNA house show match, Flair lost to Kurt Angle in the main event. In the weeks leading to Bound for Glory, Flair's stable's name was tweaked to Fortune to represent the expansion in the number of members in the group. On the October 7 live edition of ''Impact!'' Flair was defeated by Mick Foley in a Last Man Standing match. At Bound for Glory Flair was in Fortune's corner, when Styles, Kazarian, Morgan, Roode and Storm were defeated in a Lethal Lockdown match by EV 2.0 members Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Sabu and Stevie Richards. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan's and Eric Bischoff's new stable, Immortal. On the November 18 edition 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 Berlin, Germany, Flair returned to the tour on January 27 in Glasgow, 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, tearing his rotator cuff in the process.

Immortal (2011)

During Flair's time away from TNA, Fortune turned on Immortal, becoming a face group. Flair returned at the February 14 tapings of the February 17 edition of ''Impact!'', turning on Fortune during a match between A.J. Styles and Matt Hardy and jumping to Immortal. On the March 10 edition 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 Lockdown, Immortal, represented by Flair, Abyss, Bully Ray and Matt Hardy, was defeated by Fortune members James Storm, Kazarian and Robert Roode and Christopher Daniels, 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 edition of ''Impact!''. Flair would not appear again for three months, until making his return on August 9 at the tapings of the August 18 edition 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.

Legacy

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 ''"Woooooo!"'' (Flair got the inspiration from Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire") Flair's moveset became limited in the last ten years of his career due mainly to his age and years of competition taking a toll on his body, but remained a visible character. The ''"Woooooo!"'' 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. 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 Richard Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra" (famous for being used in the motion picture ''2001: A Space Odyssey'').

On May 19, 2003 in Greenville, South Carolina, Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a match against Flair. After ''Raw'' went off the air, most of the people who were backstage came out to honor Flair, including Vince McMahon, the Undertaker, Shane, and Stephanie McMahon. Triple H then appeared, and after a stare down, he placed the World Heavyweight Championship belt on Flair's shoulder and embraced him. Flair then gave a speech thanking everyone for the tribute.

Flair released his autobiography, ''To Be the Man'', in July 2004. The title is taken from one of his catchphrases, ''"To be the man, you gotta beat the man!"''

Over the years, Flair has personally trained Stan Lane, Scott McGhee, and, David Flair, his son, to be professional wrestlers.

On the February 18, 2008 edition of ''Raw'', Shawn Michaels announced Flair as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008. The induction ceremony took place on March 29, 2008, with Triple H inducting him. This made him the first, and, as of 2009, only, person to be inducted while still an active competitor. 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. Flair was later inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, his second straight Hall of Fame induction in four months, but he did not participate in the event. He received the key to the city of Greensboro, North Carolina on December 5, 2008, to commemorate Flair's victory in a cage match against Harley Race at the inaugural Starrcade event. 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 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 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 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 April 15, 2008 Flair was honored in Congress by a representative from North Carolina, Republican Sue Myrick, 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 match, would be placed in the pop culture section of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Flair also lends his voice and image to the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team. During at home games, he appears on the monitor giving his trademark "Wooooo" whenever the Hurricanes scored a goal.

In 2002, Flair was named the greatest pro wrestler of all time in the book ''The Top 100 Wrestlers of All Time'' by John Molinaro, edited by Dave Meltzer and Jeff Marek.

On April 2, 2011, Flair was present at the WWE Hall of Fame. In a clip during Shawn Michaels's induction, Flair can be seen sitting behind Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Personal life

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

Legal issues

In December 2005, a magistrate issued arrest warrants for Flair after a road rage incident that took place in Charlotte, NC in which Flair allegedly got out of his car, grabbed a motorist by the neck, and kicked the door of the motorist's sport utility vehicle. Flair was charged with injury to personal property and simple assault and battery, both misdemeanors. This incident was ridiculed on WWE programming, most notably by the wrestler Edge.

Following Flair's debut in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling his former employer, Ring of Honor, filed a lawsuit alleging that Flair owed them over $40,000 and that he had not appeared at several events that he was contractual obligated to appear at. Due to ROH's purchase by Sinclair Broadcasting Group it is uncertain if they will continue to seek legal action against Flair.

In August 2010, Highspots Inc. filed a lawsuit against Flair alleging that Flair had never repaid $35,000 that they had loaned him. Highspots also claimed that Flair had given them the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt as collateral. 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 offical Facebook page stating that somebody had paid Flair's debts.

Family

Flair's son David is a semi-retired professional wrestler. Flair's youngest son Reid, who signed a developmental contract with WWE near the end of 2007, is 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 oldest daughter, Megan Fliehr-Ketzner, gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Morgan Lee Ketzner on May 9.

On May 27, 2006, Ric married his third wife, fitness competitor Tiffany VanDemark. On August 7, 2008, Tiffany announced that she had filed for divorce from Flair. On November 11, 2009, Flair married his fourth wife, Jackie Beems, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Family arrests

Flair's daughter Ashley was arrested on September 5, 2008 for assaulting a police officer. The incident occurred after police were called to a fight involving Flair, Ashley, and her boyfriend. Flair also claimed in his autobiography that, despite Hart's popularity in Canada, he was not a formidable money-making draw elsewhere, a claim which Hart dismissed as "plain ridiculous" in a column written for the ''Calgary Sun''. 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 Mick Foley and Randy Savage, both personal friends of Hart's. Hart did acknowledge 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, WWE owner Vince McMahon has asserted that whichever company hired Hart could "have built the entire franchise around [him]", describing him as an "extraordinary star who you know is going to give you the best match of the night every time he goes out there." 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."

Shane Douglas

Flair also had a long running feud with Shane Douglas, 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 partner Ricky Steamboat. Flair, in turn, 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 ''"took the needle out of his ass."'' They were able to come to a working relationship during Douglas' last stint with WCW.

Mick Foley

Flair has also had issues with Mick Foley. In his 1999 autobiography ''Have a Nice Day!'', Foley said, ''"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, 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."'' They have since buried the hatchet and are now friends.

Backstage problems

Altercation with Eric Bischoff

Flair described in his autobiography how he attacked Eric Bischoff backstage at a WWE house show, saying it was due to hating how Bischoff treated him in WCW. Flair stated that Arn Anderson kept watch while he tried to get Bischoff to fight him, but that the confrontation was interrupted by Sgt. Slaughter, who promptly informed Vince McMahon of the incident. McMahon then scolded Flair, telling him that his actions were unprofessional and that it couldn't happen again.

Tension with Hulk Hogan

In his book, Flair also touched on some real life tension between himself and Hulk Hogan which largely stemmed from an incident that followed the conclusion of a tag match between Flair and his son, David, and the team of Curt Hennig and Barry Windham at WCW's Souled Out pay-per-view on January 17, 1999, in Charleston, WV. Flair described Hogan and members of the New World Order coming out to attack them, as well as Hogan whipping an incapacitated David with a leather belt as Flair was forced to look on. ''"What no one had told me was that Hogan would try to be cute and whip David over and over again....there was Hogan—with all his experience, and all his celebrity—trying to be cute. He whipped David like a dog. It was sickening, and I'll never forgive him for it"'', Flair wrote of the incident. Flair also noted that, following a backstage altercation with Eric Bischoff at a WWE house show, he was asked by Vince McMahon if he planned to do the same to anyone else, to which he replied "Yeah, Hogan" in what he claimed to be only a half-joking manner. Despite this, the two have managed to maintain a working relationship, both in Hogan's promotion and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling currently.

Disagreement with Bruno Sammartino

Flair and wrestler Bruno Sammartino have 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 disagrees. Sammartino referred to Flair as a "liar," stating, "No, I don’t respect Ric Flair. I don’t respect him at all." Sammartino contends that Flair violated him, and not vice versa.

Politics

Flair has long supported Republican political candidates in North Carolina politics. In 2000, Flair explored the possibility of running for governor of North Carolina, but he never filed the papers.

In the 2008 presidential race, Ric Flair declared his support for the Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. 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."

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Diving knee drop – early career

Figure four leglock – adopted from "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers

Signature moves

Chop block, usually as a setup for the figure four leglock

Elbow drop

Knife-edged chop, usually with Flair or the crowd shouting "Wooooooooo!"

Low blow

*Multiple suplex variations

*Belly to back

*Delayed vertical

*Double arm

Poking or raking the opponent eyes

Running jumping knee drop

Shin breaker, usually as a setup for the figure four leglock

Snapmare

Nicknames

"Ramblin'" Ricky Rhodes

*"(The) Nature Boy"

*"Naitch (Short for "Nature Boy")"

*"The Dirtiest Player in the Game"

*"Stylin' and Profilin'"

*"The Man"

*"The Alimony Pony"

*"The Limousine Ridin', Jet Flying, Kiss Stealin', Wheelin' Dealin', Son of a Gun"

*"Space Mountain"

*"The Sixty-Minute Man"

*"Slick Ric"

"The Master of the Figure Four"

"The Golden Stallion"

*"Wrestling God"

*"The 16 Time World Champion"

Managers and valets

Arn Anderson

*Ole Anderson

*Babydoll

*Debra

*James J. Dillon

*Double D

*Miss Elizabeth

Fifi (Wendy Barlow)

Jimmy Hart

*Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

*Curt Hennig

*Sherri Martel

*Hiro Matsuda

*Woman

Wrestlers managed

*Evolution (Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton)

*Stone Cold Steve Austin

*The Big Show

*Carlito

David Flair

Reid Flair

Ricky Morton

Fortune (A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm), Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan)

Desmond Wolfe

Rob Terry

Matt Hardy

Entrance themes

"Dawn" section of the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss

*"Galaxy Express" (AJPW)

"The Wanderer" by Dion

*"Dawn" section of the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra (remix) by Dale Oliver (TNA) 2010–present

*"Line in the Sand" (with Evolution) by Motorhead

"Fortune 4" by Dale Oliver

"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver

Championships and accomplishments

All Star Pro Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

All Japan Pro Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Central States Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling

NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times)—with Rip Hawk (1), Greg Valentine (1) and Big John Studd (1)

NWA (Mid Atlantic)/NWA Television Championship (2 times)

NWA (Mid Atlantic)/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (6 times)¹

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (7 times)²

NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' (3 times)—with Greg Valentine (2) and Blackjack Mulligan (1)

WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)³

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (7 times)

National Wrestling Alliance

*NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)

'''Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

PWI ranked him #3 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991, 1992, and 1994

Feud of the Year (1987) Four Horsemen vs. Super Powers and Road Warriors

Feud of the Year (1988, 1990) vs. Lex Luger

Feud of the Year (1989) vs. Terry Funk

Match of the Year (1983) vs. Harley Race (June 10)

Match of the Year (1984) vs. Kerry Von Erich at Parade of Champions 1

Match of the Year (1986) vs. Dusty Rhodes at The Great American Bash in a steel cage match

Match of the Year (1989) vs. Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar

*Match of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV

*Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXIV

Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1978, 1987)

*Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2008)

Rookie of the Year (1975)

*Stanley Weston Award (2008)

Wrestler of the Year (1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1992)

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

*Class of 2006

Pro Wrestling Report

Match of the Year (2008)

Most Memorable Moment—

St. Louis Wrestling Club

NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame

*Class of 2007

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWF Championship (2 times)

World Tag Team Championship (3 times)—with Batista (2) and Roddy Piper (1)

WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

Royal Rumble (1992)

*WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)

*Thirteenth Triple Crown Champion

Slammy Award for Match of the Year (2008)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

* Best Heel (1990)

*Best Interviews (1991, 1992, 1994)

*Feud of the Year (1989) vs. Terry Funk

*Match of the Year (1983) vs. Harley Race in a steel cage match at Starrcade

*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 Clash of the Champions I

*Match of the Year (1989) vs. Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar

*Most Charismatic (1980, 1982–1984, 1993)

*Most Outstanding (1986, 1987, 1989)

*Readers' Favorite Wrestler (1984–1993, 1996)

*Worst Feud of the Year (1990) vs. The Junkyard Dog

*Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Arn Anderson, Meng, The Barbarian, Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta and The Ultimate Solution vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in a Towers of Doom match at Uncensored

*Wrestler of the Year (1982–1986, 1989, 1990, 1992)

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

¹Flair did win the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Championships five times and the five reigns were recognized even after World Championship Wrestling 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 and used to give the WWE United States Championship a prestigious history. However, WWE does not recognize some of the reigns of some wrestlers when the title was still the Mid-Atlantic NWA United States Championship. As of now, only four of Flair's five reigns with the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' are officially recognized by WWE. ²His last four reigns with the championship were after Jim Crockett, Jr. sold his promotion to Ted Turner in November 1988, which became World Championship Wrestling. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended exclusively in WCW until WCW's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1993. ³Title reigns aren't recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment. ⁴He won the title for the third time in Kallang, Singapore. Records are unclear as to which promotion hosted the event.

Notes

References

Where Flair got the "Nature Boy" name

Ric Flair at TheSmokingGun.com

Ric Flair career bio at Wrestleinfo.com

External links

RicFlair.com (Official Website)

Professional wrestling record for Ric Flair from The Internet Wrestling Database

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

WWE Hall of Fame Profile

TNA Profile

Category:1949 births Category:American adoptees Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American writers Category:Living people Category:North Carolina Republicans Category:People from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Category:WWE Hall of Fame

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