Sixty-five years ago today, in Memphis, Tennessee, a legend was born. Richard Morgan Fliehr was his birth name but he’s know the world over as “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
One of the most decorated professional wrestlers of all time, Flair continues to occasionally step into the ring and mix it up with a younger generation of stars. Frankly, I wish he didn’t. I love “The Nature Boy” but watching a shirtless Flair huff and puff and sag around the ring is kind of depressing.
I want to remember him as the old Nature Boy. The kiss-stealing, wheeling-dealing…oh, you know the rest. I long for the Ric Flair who went an hour with Ricky Steamboat and claimed to sleep with Miss Elizabeth. I want the original “Nature Boy” but time can’t go backwards.
We can, however, look back at old photos as a reminder of why Ric Flair is the man.