Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″N
name	Jerry Jarrett
names	Hawaiian FlashJerry Jarrett
height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
weight	189 lb (86 kg)
birth date	September 04, 1942
birth place	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
resides	Hendersonville, Tennessee
trainers	Sailer MoranTojo Yamamoto
debut	1965
retired	}}

Jerry W. Jarrett (born September 4, 1942 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Like World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon, Jarrett was initially a promoter and became a wrestler later in life.

Career

Born into poverty, Jerry Jarrett was exposed to the wrestling business at a very early age. His mother worked as a ticket vendor, and Jarrett began selling programs for a promotion owned by Roy Welch and Nick Gulas at the age of seven. After receiving his driving license at fourteen, he became a wrestling promoter, renting buildings, advertising shows, constructing the ring, selling tickets, and stocking refreshments. He worked as a promoter until he left Nashville to attend college. Upon graduating, Jarrett worked for Welch and Gulas as an office assistant, and became a referee by default after a referee no-showed. He soon returned to promoting, working his way up from local promotions to regional, then national promotions.

While working as a referee, Jarrett decided to become a wrestler, and was trained by his friend and future tag team partner Tojo Yamamoto and veteran wrestler Sailor Moran. He wrestled his first match in Haiti in 1965.

Jarrett became a successful wrestler in the South, particularly in his home state of Tennessee, forming tag teams with Jackie Fargo and Tojo Yamamoto. At one point he participated in the extremely hazardous Scaffold Match.

Jarrett operated multiple wrestling promotions throughout his career, including Mid-Southern Wrestling, the Continental Wrestling Association, the United States Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling and, most recently, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Jarrett was often the business partner of Jerry Lawler. In the 1970s, Jarrett began televising his shows.

On June 18, 2003 Jarrett made an infrequent onscreen appearance when he was interviewed by commentator Mike Tenay in the course of the first TNA Anniversary Show.

On June 19, 2005 Jarrett appeared at the third TNA anniversary show, Slammiversary. He admonished his son Jeff when he struck a fan during a brawl. Jarrett was accompanied by wrestler Oleg Prudius.

Personal life

Jerry is married to Eddie Marlin's daughter Deborah, with whom he has four children, sons, Jerry Jr., Jeff and Jason, and daughter, Jennifer.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*Crucifix armbar

Signature moves

*Thesz press

Championships and accomplishments

Continental Wrestling Association

*CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tojo Yamamoto

NWA Mid-America

*NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with George Gulas

*NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (10 times) – with Tojo Yamamoto (5), Jackie Fargo (4), and Johnny Marlin (1)

*NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (1 time) – with Jackie Fargo

Southeastern Championship Wrestling

*NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) – With George Gulas

National Wrestling Alliance

:*NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)

References

External links

Interview with Jerry Jarrett covering his years as a promoter

Memphis Wrestling History

Remembering Christine Jarrett

Retro book review: Early days of TNA extra relevant now

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional wrestling trainers

it:Jerry Jarrett lt:Jerry Jarrett nl:Jerry Jarrett ja:ジェリー・ジャレット pt:Jerry Jarrett

Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″N
name	Dixie Carter
birth date	May 25, 1939
birth place	McLemoresville, Tennessee, U.S.
birth name	Dixie Virginia Carter
death date	April 10, 2010
death place	Houston, Texas, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years active	1960–2010
spouse	(divorced; 2 daughters) (divorced) (her death)
website	http://www.dixiecarter.com}}

Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American film, television and stage actress, best-known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom '' Designing Women'' (1986–1993). She is also known for her roles as Randi King on the CBS legal drama ''Family Law'' (1999-2002) and as Gloria Hodge on the ABC series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2006-2007).

Early life

Carter was born in McLemoresville, Tennessee, and spent many of her early years in Memphis. She attended college at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). She was a graduate of Memphis State (now University of Memphis) with a degree in English.

At school, she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. In 1959, Carter competed in the Miss Tennessee pageant, where she placed first runner-up to Mickie Weyland. Ms. Carter won the Miss Volunteer beauty pageant at the University of Tennessee in the same year 1959.

Career

In 1960, Carter made her professional stage debut in a Memphis production of ''Carousel''. She moved to New York City in 1963 and got a part in a production of Shakespeare's ''The Winter's Tale''.

After an eight-year hiatus from acting, she returned to the craft in 1974, when she filled in for actress Nancy Pinkerton as Dorian Cramer on ''One Life to Live'', while Pinkerton was on maternity leave. She subsequently was cast in the role of Assistant D.A. Olivia Brandeis "Brandy" Henderson on the soap opera ''The Edge of Night'', on which she appeared from 1974 to 1976. (She went along with the show when it switched from CBS to ABC.) Carter took the role even though some advised her that doing a daytime soap might negatively affect her career. However, it was with this role that Carter was first noticed, and after leaving ''Edge of Night'' in 1976, she relocated from New York to Los Angeles and pursued prime-time television roles.

She appeared in series such as ''Out of the Blue'', ''On Our Own'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'', The Greatest American Hero (playing a KGB spy), and ''Filthy Rich'' (1982). Carter's appearance in ''Filthy Rich'' paved the way for her best-known role, that of interior decorator Julia Sugarbaker in the 1980s/1990s television program ''Designing Women'', set in Atlanta, Georgia. ''Filthy Rich'' had been created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who went on to create ''Designing Women''. (''Filthy Rich'' also featured future ''Designing Women'' cast member Delta Burke in its cast.) Hal Holbrook, her real-life husband, had a recurring role as Reese Watson, and Carter's daughters, Ginna and Mary Dixie, also had guest-star roles as Julia Sugarbaker's nieces, Jennifer and Camilla.

Coincidentally, actress Mary Ann Mobley who replaced Dixie as Maggie on ''Diff'rent Strokes'', guest starred on Designing Women, as Karen, a snide head of a historical society who put Julia's home on a tour of homes, and ended up angering Julia.

Famous for portraying strong-minded Southern women, Carter provided the voice of Necile in Mike Young Productions' direct-to-video 2000 cartoon feature ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus''. She was also in the voice cast of My Neighbors the Yamadas, the English-language dub of Studio Ghibli's 1999 anime movie ''My Neighbors the Yamadas''.

From 1999 to 2002, she portrayed Randi King on the legal drama ''Family Law'', portraying a lawyer for the first time since she was Brandy Henderson on ''The Edge of Night''. In 2004, she made a guest appearance on ''Law and Order: SVU'', playing a defense attorney named Denise Brockmorton in the episode called ''Home'', in which she defended the paranoid mother of two children (Diane Venora) who had manipulated her older son to kill the younger son, after breaking her home rules.

Carter starred in several Broadway musicals and plays. She appeared on and off-Broadway as well, playing the role of Melba Snyder in the 1976 Circle in the Square revival of ''Pal Joey'' and diva Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's ''Master Class'', a role created by Zoe Caldwell.

In 2006–07 Carter found renewed fame with a new generation of fans as the disturbed Gloria Hodge on ''Desperate Housewives'', earning an Emmy nomination for her work on the series. ''Desperate Housewives'' creator Marc Cherry started out in Hollywood as Carter's assistant on the set of ''Designing Women''. She was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for ''Desperate Housewives'' in 2007.

Carter gave an interview in 2006 for the feature length documentary, ''That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor'', which received support from Taylor's family and many of Dub's previous co-workers, including Bill Cosby, Peter Fonda, Don Collier, Cheryl Rogers-Barnett and many others. The project was scheduled to have its World Premiere at Taylor's childhood hometown of Augusta, Georgia on April 14, 2007.

Her final film was ''That Evening Sun'', which she filmed on site with her husband Hal Holbrook in East Tennessee in the summer of 2008. The film was produced by Dogwood Entertainment (a subsidiary of DoubleJay Creative) and is based on a short story by William Gay. ''That Evening Sun'' premiered at South By Southwest, where it competed for the narrative feature grand jury prize.

Personal life

In 1967, Carter married businessman Arthur Carter (no prior relation). They had two daughters (who would later appear in an episode of ''Designing Women''), Mary Dixie and Ginna. Following the birth of her daughters, Carter left acting for eight years to focus on raising her children.

She divorced Arthur Carter in 1977, and married Broadway and TV actor George Hearn the same year. Two years later, in 1979, she divorced Hearn. She married for the third time on May 27, 1984, to Hal Holbrook (14 years her senior), who is most noted for his appearances as Mark Twain. Carter renovated her old family home in McLemoresville. She and Holbrook divided their time between their homes in Beverly Hills, California, and McLemoresville, Tennessee, where Carter's elderly father, Halbert, resided until his death in early 2007, at age 96.

In 1996, Carter published a memoir titled ''Trying to Get to Heaven'', in which she talked frankly about her life with Hal Holbrook, ''Designing Women'', and her plastic surgery during the show's run. She acknowledged, along with other celebrities, having used HGH (Human Growth Hormone) for its anti-aging properties.

Political views

Carter was also a registered Republican who described her political views as libertarian. She was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly along with Pat Boone at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Although her ''Designing Women'' character, Julia Sugarbaker, was known for her liberal political views and subsequent monologues, Carter disagreed with many of her character's left-of-center commentaries, and made a deal with the producers that for every speech she had to make, with which she disagreed, Julia would get to sing a song in a future episode. Carter once jokingly described herself as "the only Republican in show business". She was also a strong supporter of the gay community.

Death and legacy

Carter died on April 10, 2010, in Houston, Texas. Her death was announced by her husband, actor Hal Holbrook, who stated the cause as complications from endometrial cancer which was diagnosed earlier in 2010. In addition to Holbrook, she is survived by her daughters from her first marriage: Ginna Carter (of Los Angeles) and Mary Dixie Carter (of Brooklyn) as well as a sister, Melba Helen Heath (of San Anselmo, California) and several nephews and nieces. In addition to family, her funeral, held on April 15, 2010, was attended by ''Designing Women'' co-stars Delta Burke, Annie Potts and Jean Smart. Dixie Carter was interred in her hometown, McLemoresville, Tennessee.

The Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center (informally called "The Dixie") in Huntingdon, Tennessee is named in honor of Carter.

A public service announcement made by Carter in 2003 describing and offering outreach to sufferers of Spasmodic Torticollis / Cervical Dystonia began appearing in New York and New Jersey, and then across the United States in 2010.

Filmography

! Year !! Title !! Role !! Other notes
late 1970s
1974-1976	''The Edge of Night''	A.D.A Olivia Brandeis Henderson
1977	''The Andros Targets''	Rita	1 episode " The Killing of a Porno Queen"
1977-1978		April Baxter	22 episodes
1979		Marion Richards	12 episodes
1980		Nora Wing
1981	''The Killing of Randy Webster''	Billie Webster
	''Cassie & Co.''	Evelyn Weller	1 episode "The Golden Silence"
''Bret Maverick''	Hallie McCulloch	1 episode "Hallie"
''Best of the West''	Mae Markham	1 episode "The Pretty Prisoner"
''Quincy, M.E.''	Dr. Alicia Ranier	1 episode "The Face of Fear"
''The Greatest American Hero''	Samantha O'Neill	1 episode " Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell"
	Jessica Lindner	1 episode "Suspect"
1982-1983		Carlotta Beck	15 episodes
1983	''Going Berserk''	Angela
1984-1985	''Diff'rent Strokes''	Maggie McKinney	28 episodes
1986			1 episode "Fox on the Range"
1986-1993	''Designing Women''	Julia Sugarbaker	163 episodes
		Louise Archer
	Lillie Langtry
	Julia Huddleston	1 episode "The Sweetest Gift"
	''Dazzle''	Lydie Kilkullen
''Diagnosis: Murder''	D.A. Patricia Purcell	1 episode "Murder in the Courthouse"
1996	''Gone in the Night''	Ann Dowaliby
1997		Rita	2 episodes "The Mother of All Gwens" and "Honey, I Shrunk the Turkey"
1999-2000		Peaches	9 episodes
1999-2002		Randi King	68 episodes
1999	''My Neighbors the Yamadas''		voice: English version
2000	''The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus''	Necile	voice
2001	''The Big Day''	Carol
2003		Frederica
			TV pilot
''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''	Denise Brockmorton	1 episode "Home"
2005	''Hope & Faith''	Joyce Shanowski	1 episode " A Room of One's Own"
2006-2007	''Desperate Housewives''		7 episodes
2008	''Our First Christmas''	Evie Baer
2009		Ellen Meecham

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Series or Play	! Result
1976	Theatre World Award	Outstanding Actress	''Jesse and the Bandit Queen''
1979	Drama Desk Award	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play	''Fathers and Sons''
1989	''Los Angeles Women in Film Festival''	Excellence in TV Episodic Comedy	''Designing Women''
2007	Emmy Awards		'Desperate Housewives''
2009	SXSW Film Festival	Best Ensemble Cast

References

External links

Official site

Category:1939 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Actors from Tennessee Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American libertarians Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American soap opera actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Cabaret singers Category:California Republicans Category:Cancer deaths in Texas Category:Deaths from uterine cancer Category:University of Memphis alumni

da:Dixie Carter de:Dixie Carter fr:Dixie Carter hr:Dixie Carter it:Dixie Carter pl:Dixie Carter pt:Dixie Carter ro:Dixie Carter ru:Картер, ДикÑ?и simple:Dixie Carter fi:Dixie Carter tl:Dixie Carter

Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″N
Name	Matt Hardy
Names	Evil KnievalExecutionerGrim ReaperIgnis FatuusHigh VoltageMatt HardyMatt Hardy Version 1.0SurgeWhite Cheetah
Height
Weight
Birth date	September 23, 1974
Birth place	Cameron, North Carolina
Resides	Cameron, North Carolina
Billed	Cameron, North Carolina
Trainer	Dory Funk, Jr.
Debut	October 15, 1992
Retired	}}

Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Before signing with WWE, Hardy, with his brother Jeff, founded a wrestling organization called Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA). While there, Hardy held many championships including the Heavyweight and Tag Team Championship, which he held with Jeff. The promotion folded in October 1999 when they signed contracts with WWE. The Hardys gained notoriety in WWE's tag team division due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. As a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a six-time World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion, and a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion.

Apart from his success as a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a one-time world heavyweight champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in 2008. He also has won other singles championships, having held the Hardcore, European, Cruiserweight, and United States Championship on one occasion each.

Professional wrestling career

Hardy, along with his brother Jeff and friends, started their own federation, the Trampoline Wrestling Federation (TWF) and mimicked the moves they saw on television. They later created their own wrestling promotion, OMEGA Wrestling, in which Hardy competed under the name High Voltage. Shortly after Hardy sent in a tape for the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Amateur Challenge using the ring name High Voltage, a tag team named High Voltage began competing in WCW, causing Hardy to change his name to Surge. A few years later, it was revealed to him by Chris Kanyon that the tape had been kept in the WCW Power Plant, watched multiple times, and that the name High Voltage was blatantly stolen from it.

The Hardys also wrestled for several other North Carolina based wrestling organizations and adapted a number of alter-egos. As The Wolverine, Hardy captured the New England Wrestling Alliance (NEWA) Championship in May 1994. As High Voltage, he teamed with Venom to claim the New Frontier Wrestling Association (NFWA) Tag Team titles in March 1995. A month later, High Voltage defeated the Willow for the NFWA Championship.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

The Hardy Boyz (1998–2001)

Hardy worked as a jobber for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 up until he signed a full-time contract. His first WWF match was against Nikolai Volkoff on May 23, 1994, which he lost by submission He wrestled sporadically throughout 1994 in the WWF, losing matches against Crush, Razor Ramon, Owen Hart and The Undertaker. Hardy continued wrestling with the WWF sporadically, including matches against Hunter Hearst Helmsley and "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin. It was not until 1998, however, that the Hardy brothers were given full-time WWF contracts, and sent to train with former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr.. The Hardy Boyz used a cruiserweight, fast-paced high flying style in their matches, often leaping from great heights to do damage to their opponents (and themselves in the process). Although Jeff was better known for his extreme moves, Hardy was a prodigious high-flier himself. In 1999, while feuding with Edge and Christian, the duo briefly picked up Michael Hayes as a manager. On July 5, they won their first WWF Tag team Championship by defeating the Acolytes, but lost it back to them a month later. They soon dumped Hayes however, and joined the short lived stable The New Brood with Gangrel. After breaking away from Gangrel, Hardy and Jeff were briefly managed by Terri Runnels, after they won her services in the first ever tag team ladder match.

In 2000, the Hardy Boyz found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme". Throughout 2000 they continued feuding with Edge and Christian, defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Titles on two occasions. Hardy won the WWE Hardcore Championship on April 24, 2000, on ''Raw is War'', by defeating Crash Holly, but lost it back to Holly three days later on ''SmackDown!''. At SummerSlam the Hardy Boyz competed in the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, for the Tag Team Titles against the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, but were unsuccessful.

Singles career (2001–2005)

In 2001, after Jeff's Intercontinental Championship run, Hardy was given a singles championship push. He won the European Championship on ''SmackDown!'' four days before Backlash. Hardy believes that he was pushed to win the title because of Jeff winning the Intercontinental Championship, and because of the effort he put into his previous storyline with Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin. He became the second-longest reigning European Champion in history and the longest-reigning American-born European Champion.

Throughout the year, the Hardy Boyz continued to win as a tag team, winning the WWF Tag Team Titles two more times, and the WCW Tag Team Championship during the Invasion. By the end of the year, the Hardy Boyz began a storyline where they were having trouble co-existing. This culminated in a match between the two, with Lita as the guest referee, at the Vengeance pay-per-view, which Jeff won.

At the beginning of 2002, it seemed Team Xtreme had patched things up. After the Brand Extension, however, Hardy was relegated to ''Heat'' while Jeff wrestled on the main show, ''Raw''. On the August 12 episode of ''Raw'', Hardy turned against Jeff during Jeff's match against Rob Van Dam, because Hardy was frustrated at not receiving a match against Van Dam for the number one contendership for the Intercontinental Championship. A short time later, Hardy joined the ''SmackDown!'' roster. On the October 3 episode of the show, Hardy took advantage of a run-in from Brock Lesnar to defeat The Undertaker.

Having now dubbed himself "Matt Hardy: Version 1", and with his MF'er (Mattitude Follower) Shannon Moore in his corner, 2003 began with Hardy frantically trying to lose weight to get under the weight limit to compete for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. After just barely making weight, Hardy defeated Billy Kidman at No Way Out to win the Cruiserweight title. At WrestleMania XIX, he successfully defended it against Rey Mysterio. The Mattitude faction then expanded to include Crash Holly as Moore's "Moore-on" (follower). He later disbanded the group and returned to ''Raw'' in order to be able to travel and work with his then girlfriend Lita, who just returned from an injury. On his first night back, he turned on Lita in storyline after teasing a proposal to her. Hardy spent little time on ''Raw'' and later turned into a fan favorite by engaging in a rivalry with Kane. Lita was also involved in the storyline, and Hardy took time off after a chokeslam from Kane off the stage during Lita and Kane's wedding. This time off was due to a knee injury.

Release and independent circuit (2005)

Along with his friend Rhyno, Hardy was released by WWE on April 11, 2005. Edge and Lita received jeers from the crowds at WWE events, often resulting in chants, "You screwed Matt", and, "We want Matt". Paul Heyman, in a "shoot" promo, mocked Edge for his actions at One Night Stand. Lita, for the first time in over five years, became a heel (villainous character) as a result of the affair becoming public knowledge. Fans began a petition on the internet, wanting WWE to re-sign Hardy, and amassed over fifteen thousand signatures.

Hardy released two character promotional vignettes, that he was planning to use before he was offered a new contract by WWE. Hardy called himself The Angelic Diablo with the tagline "the scar will become a symbol" in reference to the way in which he had been treated by Lita and WWE. On the June 20 episode of ''Raw'', during the storyline wedding of Edge and Lita, Hardy's entrance music and video were played when the priest asked if anyone had a reason why Edge and Lita should not be wed. On the July 11 episode of ''Raw'', Hardy made his return, attacking Edge as he made his way to the ring. On the July 13 edition of WWE's webcast ''Byte This!'', which featured Lita as its guest, one of the callers was Hardy himself. The two engaged in a huge argument which led to Lita walking off the set.

Hardy appeared at a scheduled Ring of Honor (ROH) event on July 16 in Woodbridge, Connecticut where he defeated Christopher Daniels via submission. Hardy also cut a brief promo where he continued in full 'worked shoot' mode, attacking WWE and John Laurinaitis. Following his official return to WWE, Hardy was met with backlash following a match with Homicide from the fans at a subsequent ROH event, which Hardy won. The next day at his final ROH appearance, he lost to Roderick Strong.

Return to World Wrestling Entertainment

Return (2005–2006)

On July 11, 2005, Hardy posted on his website that he was finally "free", that wrestling fans had not seen the last of him, and that he had a surprise for the fans who had supported him. That night on ''Raw'', Hardy attacked Edge backstage and again later during Edge's match with Kane, leaving the commentators speechless. Before being escorted out of the building by security, Hardy stated that Edge and Lita would pay for their actions and told fans that they could see him at Ring of Honor while security officials and event staff were trying to restrain him. Hardy also called out Johnny Ace as security had him in handcuffs taking him out of the arena. This caused an uproar amongst fans, who were confused and wondered if the whole thing was a work or a shoot. Similar occurrences repeated during the following two weeks.

On the August 1 episode of ''Raw'', Vince McMahon officially announced Hardy's return to WWE, adding that Hardy would face Edge at SummerSlam. Hardy made his in-ring return, defeating Snitsky on the August 8 ''Raw''. Seconds after the victory, Hardy was attacked by Edge, and as he was being carried backstage, Matt counterattacked Edge in the locker room. On August 21 at SummerSlam, their match came to a premature end when Edge dropped Hardy onto the top of a ring post, causing him to bleed heavily. The referee ended the match on the grounds that Hardy could not continue, and Edge was declared the winner. After SummerSlam, the two continued fighting on ''Raw'', including a Street Fight that resulted in Hardy performing a Side Effect on Edge off the entrance stage and into electrical equipment below. At Unforgiven, Edge faced Hardy in a steel cage match. Hardy caught an interfering Lita with the Twist of Fate and won the match with a leg-drop off the top of the cage. Hardy and Edge faced each other at ''WWE Homecoming'' in a Loser Leaves ''Raw'' ladder match. Edge's briefcase holding the contract for his WWE World title shot was suspended above the ring. The winner of the match received the contract and the loser was forced to leave ''Raw''. After a contentious match, Edge tied Hardy's arms in the ropes, and Lita trapped Hardy in a crucifix hold, leaving Hardy only able to watch Edge win. When the match ended, Edge and Lita gloated over the victory, but Hardy took it in stride and left the arena. With his defeat at the hands of Edge, Hardy was moved to the SmackDown! brand where he re-debuted with a win over Simon Dean on October 21 in Reno, Nevada.

Back on ''SmackDown!'', Hardy started an angle with MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) and their manager Melina when Melina approached Hardy, seemingly wanting Hardy to join with her team. Hardy refused the offer, which led to him facing the tag team on several occasions with a variety of partners. One of his partners, Road Warrior Animal, brutally attacked him after they were defeated – sick of "pulling all the weight in tag teams". Animal, who was renamed The Road Warrior, and Hardy feuded for a while after this, with Hardy picking up several wins over the veteran, including a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22, which was ultimately won by Rob Van Dam.

Hardy next competed in the ''SmackDown!'' King of the Ring tournament, losing to eventual winner Booker T in the opening round thanks to a low blow and distraction from Sharmell. Hardy also became the first man to defeat Mr. Kennedy. On July 25, after the ''SmackDown!'' taping, Hardy was taken out of action after doctors found the remnants of the staph infection that had plagued him the previous year. He was sidelined until August 25 while he healed. Hardy made a surprise appearance backstage at Unforgiven after Jeff's match against Johnny Nitro. Lita joined the two in the segment, making this the first time the three had been seen together on WWE television since February 2003. Hardy then began a rivalry against Gregory Helms which saw both winning over each other time and time again. Then at No Mercy, in both of their hometown, Cameron, North Carolina, Hardy beat Helms. The two met again one more time at Survivor Series, where Hardy's team won in a clean sweep.

The Hardys reunion (2006–2007)

On the November 21, 2006 episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi'', Hardy and Jeff competed in a match together for the first time in almost five years, defeating the Full Blooded Italians. At Survivor Series, the Hardy Boyz competed with CM Punk and D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) as part of Team DX versus Team Rated-RKO (which included Edge, Randy Orton, Johnny Nitro with Melina, Mike Knox, and Gregory Helms) in a traditional Survivor Series match. Team DX won with a shut out, last eliminating Orton. At December to Dismember, the Hardy Boyz issued an open challenge to any tag team who wanted to face them. MNM answered their challenge by reuniting at December to Dismember, but ultimately lost to the Hardy Boyz. At Armageddon, Hardy and Jeff competed against Paul London and Brian Kendrick, MNM, and Dave Taylor and William Regal in a Ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship but lost. Subsequently, he and Jeff feuded with Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro after the legitimate incident where they injured Mercury's face at Armageddon 2006. This led to a bitter long term rivalry, and at the 2007 Royal Rumble, Hardy and Jeff defeated MNM. Mercury and Hardy continued to feud until Mercury was released from WWE in March. Before Mercury's release, however, Hardy defeated him to earn a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23, which was ultimately won by Mr. Kennedy.

The next night on ''Raw'', the Hardys competed in a 10-team battle royal for the World Tag Team Championship. They won the titles for the sixth time after last eliminating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. After briefly feuding with Cade and Murdoch, the Hardys retained their World Tag Team Championship in their first title defense at Backlash. Similar results occurred at Judgment Day. One month later at One Night Stand, they defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team to retain the titles in a Ladder match. The following night on ''Raw'', The Hardys lost their titles to Cade and Murdoch, after Murdoch pushed Jeff's foot off the bottom rope during Cade's pinfall, causing the three count to continue. They invoked their rematch clause against Cade and Murdoch at Vengeance: Night of Champions, but were unsuccessful.

Storyline with MVP (2007–2008)

On the July 6, 2007 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Hardy won a non-title match against WWE United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), which resulted in a feud between the two. Hardy was unable to defeat MVP at The Great American Bash for the WWE United States Championship. MVP then claimed that he was "better than Hardy at everything", which led to a series of contests between Hardy and MVP, such as a basketball game, an arm wrestling contest, and a chess match which MVP "sneezed" on and ruined when Hardy put him in check. MVP challenged Hardy to a boxing match at ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', however MVP was legitimately diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Since MVP was unable to compete, Hardy faced his replacement, former world champion boxer, Evander Holyfield. The match ended in a no contest after MVP entered the ring to verbally abuse Holyfield, who then knocked him out. MVP also challenged Hardy to a beer drinking contest at SummerSlam, but as revenge for what happened at SNME, Hardy allowed Stone Cold Steve Austin to replace him; Austin simply performed a stunner on MVP then kept drinking.

After a segment involving MVP inadvertently choosing Hardy as his tag-team partner, Theodore Long promptly set up a match against Deuce 'n Domino for the WWE Tag Team Championship which the duo were able to win, therefore setting up Hardy's first reign as WWE Tag Team Champion. It was the first time Hardy held a tag team championship with someone other than his brother. Hardy and MVP retained the titles at Unforgiven in a rematch against former champions Deuce 'n Domino. Hardy was scheduled to face MVP at Cyber Sunday, but due to a head injury sustained on the previous episode of ''SmackDown!'', he was not medically cleared to compete.

On the November 16 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Hardy and MVP dropped the WWE Tag Team Championship to John Morrison and The Miz. Despite the fact that Hardy was hurt, MVP immediately invoked the rematch clause. After the rematch, in which Hardy was forced to tap out, MVP attacked Hardy, repeatedly targeting his knee. It was later confirmed by WWE.com that Hardy had suffered an injury at his former partner's hands and that he might not be able to compete at Survivor Series. Despite his absence at the pay-per-view, his team was able to win the match. On November 21, WWE's official website reported that Hardy underwent an emergency appendectomy in Tampa, Florida. A CAT scan revealed an inflamed appendix after Hardy was feeling extreme pain. Later surgery revealed that his appendix had already burst. According to Hardy himself, on December 8 doctors back in North Carolina found an abscess of infection that had not been caught, and he had it drained, spending an additional several days in the hospital. Hardy made an appearance at the December 31 episode of ''Raw'' supporting his brother Jeff. To further Jeff's storyline with Randy Orton, however, Hardy was attacked by Orton. Hardy made his return at a live event in Muncie, Indiana on March 1, 2008. On March 30, 2008, at WrestleMania XXIV, Hardy made his televised return to WWE programming in the Money in the Bank ladder match by cutting through the crowd, and attacking MVP to prevent him from winning the match. He made his official in-ring return the next night on ''Raw'', losing a singles match to WWE Champion Randy Orton. On the April 4 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Hardy faced MVP in a non-title match, which he won, re-igniting their storyline rivalry. On April 27, 2008, Hardy defeated MVP to win the United States Championship at Backlash.

After some sporadic feuds for the title, Hardy was drafted to the ECW brand on the June 23, 2008 episode of ''Raw'' during the 2008 WWE Draft, in the process making the United States Championship exclusive to ECW. After a successful title defense against Chavo Guerrero at Night of Champions, he dropped the United States Championship to Shelton Benjamin at the Great American Bash pay-per-view on July 20, 2008, which meant that the title returned to SmackDown.

ECW Champion and feud with Jeff (2008-2009)

On the July 22 episode of ''ECW'', Hardy became the number one contender to Mark Henry's ECW World Heavyweight Championship after defeating John Morrison, The Miz and Finlay in a fatal four-way match. He won the title match at SummerSlam by disqualification due to interference from Henry's manager, Tony Atlas, thus he failed to win the title. Due to the ending of the pay-per-view match, Hardy received a rematch for the title on the next episode of ''ECW'', but again failed to win the title when Henry pinned him after a distraction by Atlas.

At Unforgiven, Hardy won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship during the Championship scramble match, defeating then-champion Henry, The Miz, Finlay and Chavo Guerrero by pinning the Miz with three minutes left, thus making Hardy the first person in history to win a championship scramble in WWE, and marking his first world heavyweight championship win. He continued to feud with Henry until No Mercy, where Hardy successfully retained the title. After successful defenses against Henry, Chavo, Finlay, and Evan Bourne, Hardy lost the title to Jack Swagger on the January 13, 2009 episode of ''ECW'', which was taped on January 12. At the 2009 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, after losing an ECW Championship rematch to Swagger, Hardy turned into a villain when he hit his brother Jeff with a steel chair, allowing Edge to win the WWE Championship. On the January 27, 2009 episode of ''ECW'', it was announced by General Manager Theodore Long that Hardy had requested, and been granted, his release from ECW, and had re-signed with the SmackDown brand. As part of the buildup to this feud, Hardy implied that he was responsible for all of Jeff's accidents leading back to November, including an automobile accident and a pyrotechnics accident, in an attempt to stop Jeff holding the WWE Championship, and at WrestleMania XXV, Hardy defeated Jeff in an Extreme Rules match, and in a stretcher match on the following episode of ''SmackDown''.

On the April 13 episode of ''Raw'', Hardy was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the WWE draft. Two weeks later, in a rematch from WrestleMania, Hardy lost to Jeff in an "I Quit" match at Backlash, in which he broke his hand. Hardy continued to wrestle with his hand in a cast, incorporating it into his persona and claiming that he was wrestling under protest. At the June 22 taping of ''WWE Superstars'', Hardy suffered an injury, when his intestines "exploded" through his abdominal wall, during a Triple Threat match against MVP and Kofi Kingston. Hardy had suffered a tear in his abdominal muscle two years previously, but had not needed surgery until it worsened, and became a danger to his health.

Return to SmackDown and departure (2009–2010)

He was then traded to the SmackDown brand on June 29, and underwent surgery for the torn abdominal muscle on July 2. He made his return on the August 7 episode of ''SmackDown'' as the special guest referee in the World Heavyweight Championship match between his brother, Jeff, and CM Punk, and helped Jeff retain the championship by counting the pinfall. The following week Hardy saved his brother when CM Punk and The Hart Dynasty attacked both Jeff and John Morrison, turning into a fan favorite again. On the August 21 episode of ''SmackDown'', after apologizing for his past actions towards Jeff, he had his first match back after his injury when he teamed with Jeff and John Morrison to defeat The Hart Dynasty and CM Punk.

In early 2010, Hardy began an onscreen relationship with Maria; the relationship was short-lived, however, as Maria was released from her WWE contract. On the February 16, 2010 episode of ''ECW'', it was announced that Hardy would be mentoring Justin Gabriel on ''WWE NXT''. On the March 5 episode of ''SmackDown'', Hardy qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI by defeating Drew McIntyre, but was unsuccessful at WrestleMania, as the match was won by Jack Swagger. Hardy was kayfabe suspended by Vince McMahon because he attacked Drew McIntyre after McIntyre lost to Kofi Kingston at Over the Limit. He was able to get his revenge on McIntyre during the Viewer's Choice episode of ''Raw'' when chosen as the opponent for McIntyre, with Theodore Long stating that Hardy was suspended from ''SmackDown'' but not from ''Raw''. On the following edition of Smackdown however, McIntyre announced per orders of Vince McMahon, that Hardy had been suspended from all WWE programming. At Fatal 4-Way however, Hardy prevented McIntyre from regaining the Intercontinental Championship, thus continuing their feud. On the following edition of ''SmackDown'' he was reinstated by General Manager Theodore Long and had a match with McIntyre which Hardy won. After the match, it was announced that McIntyre's visa had legitimately expired and was sent back to Scotland, thus ending their feud.

On September 12, WWE confirmed they had sent Hardy home from a European tour. Following this Hardy began posting videos on his YouTube channel expressing his disinterest in the WWE product and insisting that he wanted to be released from the company. On October 15, 2010, WWE announced that Hardy had been released from his contract. Hardy later stated that his release had been in effect two weeks before WWE made the announcement.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2011)

On January 9, 2011, Hardy made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the Genesis pay-per-view, as part of the heel stable Immortal. He was the surprise opponent for Rob Van Dam, and defeated him to prevent Van Dam from receiving a match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, held by Hardy's brother Jeff. In the main event, Hardy attempted to interfere in Jeff's World Heavyweight Championship match with Mr. Anderson, but was stopped by Van Dam, which led to Jeff losing both the match and the championship. On the January 13 episode of ''TNA Impact!'' the Hardy Boyz reunited to defeat Anderson and Van Dam in a tag team match, following interference from Beer Money, Inc.. Two weeks later, Hardy suffered his first loss in TNA when he was defeated by Mr. Anderson. On February 13 at Against All Odds, Rob Van Dam defeated Hardy in a rematch.

On the following edition of ''Impact!'', Hardy, along with the rest of Immortal and Ric Flair, betrayed Fortune. On March 13 at Victory Road Hardy was defeated by Flair's previous protégé, A.J. Styles. On April 17 at Lockdown, Immortal, represented by Hardy, Abyss, Bully Ray and Ric Flair, 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. On the April 21 episode of ''Impact!'', Hardy faced Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Hardy's first World Title match in TNA, but was defeated. The following month Hardy was granted a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship against James Storm and Robert Roode, Beer Money, Inc. While the champions looked to defend the title against the Hardy Boyz, Matt instead introduced the returning Chris Harris, Storm's old tag team partner, as his partner for the title match. The match took place at Sacrifice, where Storm and Roode retained their title. On June 20 Hardy announced that he was taking a few weeks off from TNA. The following day, it was reported that the promotion had suspended Hardy for his repeated lateness. On August 20, Hardy was released from TNA following a DWI arrest that occurred earlier that same day.

Other media

In 1999, Hardy, along with his brother Jeff, appeared as an uncredited wrestler on ''That '70s Show'' episode "That Wrestling Show". Hardy and Jeff also appeared on Tough Enough in early 2001, talking to and wrestling the contestants. He appeared in the February 25, 2002 episode of ''Fear Factor'' competing against five other World Wrestling Federation wrestlers. He became the eventual winner, and won $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Hardy also appeared on the October 13, 2009 episode of ''Scare Tactics'', as a mental patient who threatens to attack the prank's victim.

In 2001, Hardy, Jeff and Lita appeared in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2001 Sports Hall of Fame issue. In 2003, Hardy and Jeff, with the help of Michael Krugman, wrote and published their autobiography ''The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire''. As part of WWE, Hardy appeared in their DVD, ''The Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith'' in 2001. On April 29, 2008, WWE released ''"Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story"''. The DVD featured footage of the brothers in OMEGA and WWE. Hardy also appears on ''The Hardy Show'', an internet web show which features the Hardys, Shannon Moore and many of their friends.

Personal life

Son to Gilbert and Ruby Moore Hardy, he is the older brother of Jeff Hardy. Their mother died of brain cancer in 1986. Hardy played baseball as a child and throughout high school, but had stopped by his senior year. He also played football, either as a linebacker or a defensive end. Hardy was a good student at Union Pines High School in North Carolina, and was a nominee for the "Morehead Award", a scholarship to any university in North Carolina. Hardy attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he majored in engineering; however, after a year he dropped out due to his father being ill. He then attended Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst to gain his associate's degree.

Hardy is good friends with Marty Garner, Shannon Moore and Gregory Helms. Hardy was in a six year relationship with former WWE Diva Amy Dumas, known by the ring name "Lita". They first met in January 1999, at a NWA Mid-Atlantic show, but did not begin dating until a few months later. They used to share a home in North Carolina. The couple broke up when she had an affair with one of Hardy's close friends, fellow wrestler Adam "Edge" Copeland in February 2005. Hardy has stated in interviews that he and Dumas have since patched things up, and he still considers her a close friend. He also dated former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro. In February 2011, Hardy stated he was dating Reby Sky.

Hardy was arrested on August 20, 2011 for driving while intoxicated after crashing into a tree, and was released by TNA shortly later. Hardy was later also charged with reckless driving, with a hearing scheduled to take place October 11. Four days later, Hardy was rushed to an emergency room, after falling down in his house.

On August 30, Hardy posted a video on his YouTube channel, which has since been taken down by the site, implying that he was about to commit suicide: ''"Goodbye, World... My time here is Almost complete... I only have a few hours & minutes... I loved you all... Regardless of how you felt about me... I'll miss you all... September 23, 1974 - August 31, 2011."'' The video sparked 25 to 30 phone calls to 911 to check on Hardy's well being. Police checked on Hardy and confirmed that he was not planning to commit suicide, with the video apparently being a hoax by Hardy. The stunt drew much criticism; his sister-in-law Beth Britt claimed that "the f---ing joke is over. Stop trying to work the internet." and WWE commentator Jim Ross commented that the "Matt Hardy fiasco [was] totally embarrassing and inexplicable", asking for Hardy to "seek answers". Hardy later claimed on Twitter that the "YouTube Video was not in any way a suicide note.. No words such as death, suicide, kill, heaven or hell were included", and defended his actions as he "needed one last attention grabber to let the World know that Matt Hardy has re-found his true self."

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Ice Pick'' (TNA; 2011) / ''Scar'' (Independent circuit; 2005, used rarely in WWE) (Double underhook with bodyscissors)

''Twist of Fate'' / ''Twist of Hate'' (TNA), sometimes from the top rope or the top of a ladder

Signature moves

Corner clothesline followed by a running bulldog

Corner powerbomb

Diving elbow drop, sometimes to the back of a kneeling opponent's head

Diving leg drop

Forearm smash

Moonsault

Northern Lights suplex

''Ricochet'' (Belly to back suplex lift transitioned into an elbow drop to the opponent's midsection) – 2003

Russian legsweep

''Side Effect'' (Wrist–lock sitout side slam)

''Splash Mountain'' (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)

Managers

Michael Hayes

Terri Runnels

Gangrel

Lita

Ric Flair

Nicknames

"Version 1 (V1)"

"The Angelic Diablo"

"The Sensei of Mattitude"

"The Man Who Will Not Die"

"(Arguably) Everyone's Favorite Wrestler"

"Cold Blood"

Entrance themes

"Loaded" by Zack Tempest

*"Live for the Moment" by Monster Magnet (WWE)

"Rogue and Cold Blooded" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver

Championships and accomplishments

National Championship Wrestling

NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

New Dimension Wrestling

NDW Tag Team Championship (1 time)¹ – with Jeff Hardy

New England Wrestling Alliance

NEWA Championship (1 time)

New Frontier Wrestling Association

NFWA Championship (1 time)

NFWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Venom

NWA 2000

NWA 2000 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jeff Hardy

Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts

OMEGA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

OMEGA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jeff Hardy

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (2005)vs. Edge and Lita

PWI Match of the Year (2000) with Jeff Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian at WrestleMania 2000

PWI Match of the Year (2001)with Jeff Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian at WrestleMania X-Seven

PWI Tag Team of the Year (2000) with Jeff Hardy

PWI ranked him #17 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

ECW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jeff Hardy

WWF European Championship (1 time)

WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)

WWF/World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Jeff Hardy

WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)

Terri Invitational Tournament – with Jeff Hardy

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Best Gimmick (2002)

Worst Feud of the Year (2004) with Lita vs. Kane

¹The titles have been vacant since 1999 due to the Hardy Boys signing contracts with the WWF and have been declared inactive until they defend the titles again.

Notes

References

External links

TNA Wrestling profile

The Hardy Show

Slam! Sports bio and story archive

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1974 births Category:American bloggers Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:People from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:Reality show winners

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:''For other uses, see Honky Tonk Man.''

Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″N
{{infobox wrestler| name	The Honky Tonk Man
Names	The Honky Tonk ManWayne FarrisDanny CondreyHonky Tonk Wayne
Height
Weight
Birth date	January 25, 1953
Birth place	Bolivar, Tennessee
Resides	Gilbert, Arizona
Billed	Memphis, Tennessee
Trainer	Herb Welch
Debut	1977

Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee. Currently working on the independent circuit, he previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He is best known for his first run with WWF, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Championship for a record 64 weeks, and lost it to Ultimate Warrior in the very first pay-per-view of SummerSlam. He is the cousin of professional wrestler and color commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1977–1986)

Farris began his career in Memphis Wrestling in 1978. Originally a low-card wrestler, he later achieved greater success when he teamed with Larry Latham to form The Blond Bombers tag team with Sgt. Danny Davis as their manager. The Blond Bombers were involved in heated feuds with several baby faces across the two competing Tennessee promotions, appearing in both Nick Gulas Nashville based territory, and Jerry Jarrett's Memphis area. Their signature moment was the now famous "Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl" against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee. He then had stints in the American Wrestling Association, NWA Mid-Atlantic, World Wrestling Council, NWA Southeastern, and Stampede Wrestling through the early '80s, winning multiple singles and tag team championships in each.

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1991)

Early run (1986–1987)

Farris entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1986 under the ring name Honky Tonk Man. Honky made his televised WWF debut on the September 28, 1986 episode of ''Wrestling Challenge'', defeating Terry Gibbs. Originally pushed as a fan favorite wrestler with an Elvis impersonator gimmick, Honky soon cut a series of promos that aired on the WWF's syndicated programming asking fans for a "vote of confidence." The results came back negative, and it was not long before Honky turned into a cocky villain and took on Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart as his manager. Hart was billed as "Colonel" for Honky's matches, a reference to Col. Tom Parker.

Honky's first major feud came against Jake "the Snake" Roberts, who was in the midst of a fan favorite turn. The feud intensified when Honky attacked Roberts on his talk show set, ''The Snake Pit''. According to Roberts, Farris was supposed to hit him with a gimmicked balsa wood guitar. Roberts believes Farris accidentally grabbed a real, non-gimmicked guitar and smashed it across Roberts' back, injuring him, and starting him on his dependence of prescription pain medication. However in an interview for ''World Wrestling Insanity'', the Honky Tonk Man disputed Roberts' assertion saying "That's not true and, in fact I attribute most of that to Mick Foley, who wrote about it in his book, and Jake, who lied about it." During the feud, at WrestleMania III, Honky grabbed the ring ropes to score a tainted win; afterward, Roberts cleared the ring of Honky before he and Alice Cooper attacked Hart with Roberts' python, Damien.

Intercontinental Champion (1987–1988)

On June 13, 1987 episode of ''Superstars'', Honky defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the WWF Intercontinental Championship; Honky reversed Steamboat's inside cradle and grabbed onto the bottom ropes for extra leverage to get the pin. Honky was originally meant to be a transitional champion but as Roberts was still suffering the intermittent effects of the guitar shot several months earlier, Honky was booked to remain champion for what would be a record-setting run.

To preserve his title, Honky often got himself counted out or disqualified on purpose against challengers such as Steamboat, Billy Jack Haynes, Bruno Sammartino, and George "The Animal" Steele. Also during this time, Honky began using a 50s-styled, themed entrance song performed by Farris (included on ''Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2'', the WWF's second album of wrestling themes).

By September 1987, "Macho Man" Randy Savage was in the midst of a face turn and began challenging Honky for the Intercontinental title (after Honky had made comments about himself being "the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time" and disparaging comments about former champions, particularly Savage). Although they had several matches beforehand — they had also met in 1986, when the then-heel Savage was champion and challenged by the face Honky — the first Savage-Honky match to air on national television was on the October 3, 1987 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', which was taped on September 23 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. During that match, Savage nearly defeated Honky until Honky's allies, the Hart Foundation (who had interfered throughout the match), ran into the ring and brutally attacked Savage, getting Honky disqualified. Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth, attempted to stop the carnage but Honky shoved her down and she fled to the locker room; meanwhile, Honky completed his attempt to break his guitar over Savage's head. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth returned with Savage's former rival, Hulk Hogan, who aided Savage in running off the heels (leading to the formation of The Mega Powers). Honky continued his bitter feud against Savage. Frequently, Honky would make advances toward Elizabeth — including one such incident at the 1987 Slammy Awards — to agitate his challenger. Honky retained the title in matches with Savage and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Honky's next major rival.

During the Beefcake-Honky feud - which began at WrestleMania IV and continued during the spring and summer of 1988 - Honky vowed not to let Beefcake cut his ducktail hair, something Beefcake often said he would do in promos. In their matches, Honky was often seconded by a mysterious woman named Peggy Sue; while Sherri Martel sometimes played the role, more often than not, "Peggy Sue" was Hart dressed in drag. Beefcake countered with a "woman" of his own: "Georgina" (George "The Animal" Steele in drag).

Honky and Beefcake were scheduled to square off at the 1988 SummerSlam in what was billed as Beefcake's last shot at the Intercontinental title. However, in a storyline twist, Beefcake was thrust in a feud with "Outlaw" Ron Bass after Bass committed a sneak attack on Beefcake; the incident was aired the weekend before SummerSlam. At the event, it was announced that a "mystery opponent" would face Honky for the title. When it came time for the match, Honky proclaimed he did not care who is opponent was. The Ultimate Warrior ran out and beat his stunned opponent in just 31 seconds for the Intercontinental Championship. Honky had been the champion for one year, two months and 27 days, a record that still stands today. Honky's bids to reclaim the title were unsuccessful and he began moving down the card.

Rhythm and Blues & Departure (1989–1991)

In 1989, Honky began a feud against "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, but came up short. His last major push came in late 1989 and 1990, when he and Greg Valentine wrestled as the tag team Rhythm and Blues, competing against such teams as the Hart Foundation and The Legion of Doom. Rhythm & Blues were part of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Team" along with his "mystery" partner, the debuting Undertaker, to compete against Rhodes' "Dream Team" of the Hart Foundation and Koko B. Ware at the 1990 Survivor Series. Honky wrapped up his WWF career with a stint as a pro-heel color commentator alongside Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper on ''Superstars'' before leaving in January 1991.

World Championship Wrestling (1994)

In 1994, Honky was working for World Championship Wrestling and was challenging Johnny B. Badd for the WCW World Television Championship when he left due to a dispute with management. In his book "Controversy Creates Cash", Eric Bischoff stated that his favorite firing was that of the Honky Tonk Man. Honky has responded by saying that it was an honor as Bischoff had fired a number of people while in WCW.

World Wrestling Federation (1997–1998; 2001)

After a brief stint in the American Wrestling Federation, Honky resurfaced in the WWF in 1997 as a color commentator on ''Raw is War'' and then as the manager of Billy Gunn, who had started a singles run. Under Honky's tutelage, Gunn became known as "Rockabilly", which was a short-lived and unsuccessful gimmick. Honky then made an appearance in the 1998 Royal Rumble event.

The Honky Tonk Man returned to the WWF for a one-time appearance at 2001 Royal Rumble, but was quickly eliminated by Kane after being hit on the head with his guitar.

Independent Circuit (2000-Present)

Since 2000, the Honky Tonk Man has worked independent wrestling shows all over the world.

The Honky Tonk Man, along with Ryan Smith and a host of others, ran a series of controversial wrestling websites from 2000-2006. TheHonkyTonkMan.com featured frequent updates from the Honky Tonk Man himself, a highly interactive message board community, extensive photo gallery, audio updates, and more. Notable online feuds began between the Honky Tonk Man and Jerry "The King" Lawler, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and others. These often intense online rivalries became a major drawing point for fans. The website unexpectedly closed without much explanation in December 2006. The site now forwards to various new ventures of former website manager Ryan Smith, who remains tight-lipped about the closing.

The Honky Tonk Man has wrestled for Southern Championship Wrestling in Castroville, Texas, and MSW in eastern Canada.

On April 23, 2008, Honky Tonk Man was seen wrestling in Presque Isle, Maine for the North Atlantic American Wrestling Association promotion. He appeared on Heavy on Wrestling on June 14, 2008, in Superior, Wisconsin. He wrestled as a face, defeating Big Brody Hoofer and hitting Cameron Steele with a guitar. He also appeared at PDX Wrestling (the new-age Portland Wrestling, run by Sandy Barr's son Josh) as a face teaming with a local face against two heels. His song signaled his entrance, with the audience singing "Honky Tonk Man" when signaled, as well as after he won the match when his song again sounded.

On April 26, 2008- Honky was inducted into the XWF Hall of Fame by its creator Jack Blaze at their "XWF Superbrawl 2008" event. XWF was later re-named LPW (Legends Pro Wrestling) where Honky is still honored in their Hall of Fame- Class 2008.

On June 28, 2008, in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, he made a special guest appearance for Ring of Honor with the storyline that "Sweet N'Sour" Larry Sweeney had brought him on board with his Sweet N'Sour Inc. faction. He praised the crowd and was about to sing and dance for them until Sweeney stepped in and told him he wouldn't be doing either until their demands were met.

On July 27, 2008, Honky Tonk Man almost had the index finger of his right hand severed during a public appearance before an Ultimate Championship Wrestling show in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. As Honky Tonk Man told the story, he was doing an appearance at Boston Pizza in Charlottetown several hours before the show when someone wanted to take a photo with him with both men clashing guitars. When the guitars collided, the neck of Honky Tonk Man's guitar turned and sliced into Honky Tonk Man's finger, almost severing it. Honky Tonk Man was immediately taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where doctors stitched the finger and bandaged it. Honky Tonk Man made his appearance at the Ultimate Championship Wrestling show several hours later. He was unable to wrestle his scheduled match due to the injury and was replaced by Trash Canyon, whom he managed from ringside. Honky Tonk Man, although injured and in obvious pain, sang his theme song twice in the ring. He is expected to finish the tour with UCW, although the injury may prevent him from wrestling.

In August 2008, Honky Tonk Man appeared at Wrestling Supershows across Canada. Honky Tonk Man also made appearances in SWCW in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On October 24, 2008, he wrestled for Big Time Wrestling (his first match in four months), beating L'Empereur. On January 7, 2009, he appeared in a World Pro Wrestling event in Colusa, California, teaming with Doink The Clown (a new masked version) to face WPW World Tag Team Champions The First Class Express, Jerry Grey and Mighty Henrich. The match ended in a no-contest as Doink turn on Honky and the three triple-teamed him.

On May 7, 2009, Honky Tonk Man and Bushwacker Luke defeated "Kowboy" Mike Hughes and "Wildman" Gary Williams for the UCW Tag Team Championship.

On January 31, 2011, Honky Tonk Man made his Dynamic Wrestling Alliance debut defeating Col. Jonathan James at the "Golden Opportunity II" event in Middletown, Ohio.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2008)

In 2008, Santino Marella announced his intention to break Honky Tonk Man's record for longest Intercontinental Championship reign, usually displaying a special "Honk-a-meter" comparing Honky Tonk Man's 64-week record with the length of his own reign at the time.

On the October 6, 2008 edition of ''Raw'', the Honky Tonk Man, along with Goldust and Roddy Piper, was named as one of the possible opponents for Marella's Intercontinental Championship at Cyber Sunday. He was voted in with 35% of the vote; despite concern that his injured finger might require surgery, he did appear, winning the match by disqualification (thus failing to win the title). This was the first time that he wrestled as a face in the WWE (WWF) since he first joined it in 1986. After the match had ended, Goldust and Piper came down to the ring and, along with Honky, attacked Marella. Afterward, the three legends celebrated in the ring and shared a laugh, brought on by the Honky Tonk Man's celebratory dance, which came to an abrupt halt due to his slipping on Goldust's wig. On the October 27 edition of ''Raw'', The Honky Tonk Man appeared as a special guest commentator. After an impersonation of Marella's on-screen girlfriend, Beth Phoenix, Charlie Haas was knocked into the announcer table, and Santino attacked Honky Tonk Man, prompting Piper and Goldust to block Marella's escape from the ring. Upon Goldust's entry to the ring, Marella turned around to be smashed over the head by Honky Tonk Man's guitar.

The Honky Tonk Man inducted Koko B. Ware into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.

The Honky Tonk Man still works shows including the Del Mar Fair on July 4, 2011.

Personal life

Farris is a first cousin of professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler (the two have long had an unsteady relationship due to family issues) and is therefore a first cousin once removed of Brian Christopher. He is an avid golfer.He is a minister with the Universal Life Church.Farris has been married for 22 years and has a daughter named Megan and a son named Roy. Honky Tonk Man has had real-life feuds with members of the professional wrestling business including Hulk Hogan, Dynamite Kid, Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Ted DiBiase, Eric Bischoff, Bubba the Love Sponge and Ricky Steamboat.

Other media

The Honky Tonk Man appeared in an episode of the court based show ''Judge Jeanine Pirro'' as a witness to the defendant. The episode aired on October 11, 2010. This episode was the highest rated show for Judge Pirro of all time.

The Honky Tonk Man appears in the game ''WWE All Stars'' as a free downloadable Character.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*''Guitar shot''

*''Shake, Rattle and Roll'' (Swinging neckbreaker, with theatrics)

Signatures move

*Diving fist drop

*Scoop slam

With Greg Valentine

*Double belly to back suplex

Managers

*Sgt. Danny Davis

Jimmy Hart

*Judd the Studd

*Peggy Sue

*Judge Lawless

*Gentleman Jim Holiday

Wrestlers managed

*Rockabilly

Entrance themes

*'''"It's Alright Honky Tonk Mama" by Elvis Presley (WWF/E)

*"Cool Cocky Bad" by The Honky Tonk Man (WWF/E; 1987-1990, 1997–1998, 2001, 2008)

*"Hunka, Hunka Honky Love" by Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire (WWF; 1990)

*"Honky Dog Baby" by Jimmy Hart (WCW)

Championships and accomplishments

All Pro Wrestling

APW Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Big Time Wrestling

*BTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

International Championship Wrestling

*ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Legends Pro Wrestling

:* XWF/LPW Hall of Fame- Class 2008 (4/26/08)

Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation

*MEWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association

*AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Larry Latham (3) and Tojo Yamamoto (1)

*NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Larry Latham

Northern States Wrestling Alliance

*NSWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Greg Valentine

Southeastern Championship Wrestling

*NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Northern Division)'' (1 time)

*NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ron Starr

*NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Stampede Wrestling

*Stampede International Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Ron Starr (2) and The Cuban Assassin (1)

*Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Ultimate Championship Wrestling

*UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bushwacker Luke

World Wrestling Council

*WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation

*WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time, longest reign)

XJAM Pro Wrestling

*XJAM Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)

Notes

Official Website

Official site of Honky Tonk Man's Radio Show "Shake Rattle & Roll"

Kayfabe Commentaries with the Honky Tonk Man

Interview with the Honky Tonk Man

Shoot Interview with Raven and the Honky Tonk Man

On The Road with the Honky Tonk Man

Shoot Interview with the Honky Tonk Man 2004

Shoot Interview with the Honky Tonk Man 2001

APW title histories

MEWF title histories

NWA Mid-America and Mid-Southern title histories

Stampede title histories

WWC title histories

WWF title histories

Recent match results

Honky Tonk Man's Interview with GENICKBRUCH.com

Honky Tonk Man's 2nd Interview with GENICKBRUCH.com

Whatever happened to … the Honky Tonk Man

Bio file: the Honky Tonk Man

Jun 21 2007 Audio Interview with The Honky Tonk Man

Interview Recap - Honky Tonk Man Jun 22 2007

Honky Tonk Man's Interview with Insane Wrestling

Honky Tonk featured on XJAM Pro Wrestling site

Honky Tonk Man interview on WWE.com

References

External links

Tha O Show Episode 160 Honky Tonk Man Interview

Category:1953 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:People from Bolivar, Tennessee Category:People from Gilbert, Arizona

de:The Honky Tonk Man es:Roy Farris fr:The Honky Tonk Man (catcheur) it:Wayne Farris nl:Roy Wayne Farris ja:ウェイン・ファリス pt:The Honky Tonk Man fi:The Honky Tonk Man

Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″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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