- published: 27 Mar 2008
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Jonard Frank Labiak (January 26, 1929 – July 27, 2000), better known as Gordon Solie, was a Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for World Championship Wrestling. Solie was also the regular announcer for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida and Continental Championship Wrestling, among others.
Gordon Solie is possibly the most recognized voice from the days of "classic wrestling" (used here synonymous with the territorial system) and was nicknamed the "Dean" of wrestling announcers, the "Walter Cronkite of wrestling" and the "Howard Cosell of wrestling".
He is best known for his laconic, intelligent commentary, and he tried to impart a seriousness to ring action that many of his coworkers eschewed for the loud, bombastic style more common today. One of his trademarks was his pronunciation of "suplex" as "su-play," a term later used by the AWA's Rod Trongard and wrestler/announcer Terry Taylor and, more recently by Mauro Ranallo, during Pride FC broadcasts. Other famous Solieisms include: "he's not fast, he's sudden", "He'd fight a buzzsaw and give it the first two rounds", "five letters, two words, I Quit", "his face is becoming a Crimson mask", "They're going at it hammer and tongs", and "Pier 6 brawl".
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 greatest professional wrestlers of all time with a professional career that spans 40 years. 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 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. In 2012, Flair became the first ever double inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame, first inducted in 2008 for his individual career, and for a second time in 2012 as a member of the Four Horsemen. He is also an NWA Hall of Famer (class of 2008). 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 the second man to win both the WWF and the NWA World Heavyweight Championships.
Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
In NWA/WCW, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time Television Champion, a one-time Western States Heritage Champion, a four-time NWA (Mid Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Champion and a one-time NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin. In WWF, he was a two-time World Tag Team Champion with his brother-in-law, Mike Rotunda. On March 31, 2012, Windham was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen.
Windham was trained by his father Blackjack Mulligan and popular world champion Harley Race. He debuted on November 27, 1979 against J.J. Dillion in Odessa, Texas when he was 19 years old. Much of his early career was in the NWA's Championship Wrestling from Florida territory where Gordon Solie was the head announcer. He was a fan favorite for most of the early and middle periods of his career, having great success in singles and tag action. Windham had notable feuds with Kevin Sullivan and his army. With his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda, Windham formed a tag team in 1984. The duo captured the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship three times between March and May 1984.