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Welcome To Myshack 'Ric Flair And Pro Wrestling'

Posted By: Mark Myshack on May 29, 2008

(It turns out that THIS is the column I was supposed to re-run for a recovering reader. I apologize for the mix up. It ran last September, and I hope you enjoy it. That makes THREE visits to 'The Shack' this week for everybody--at no extra cost! At least you get some 'bang for your buck' here, right? I may have to actually tidy up the place if this keeps happening. See you all again soon, and thank you for stopping by 'The Shack' today.)

Welcome To Myshack

Hello once again everybody. Thank you for joining me today, as always it's my pleasure to have you over to visit me here at 'Myshack'. Today is Wednesday, September 12th. My next scheduled column is slated for Wednesday, September 19th. Sandwiched in between those dates is a significant wrestling related anniversary. September 17th, to be precise. On that day in 1981, Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes to win his very first world championship. Who could have guessed or imagined the absolutely amazing repercussions that match would have, and how it would end up changing the entire landscape and history of the pro wrestling industry forever? I dare say that not even Vince McMahon on his best day could not have imagined the 4 decade ride that 'The Nature Boy' was about to treat the world to.

Part of the reason that I always remember the title change occurred on Sept. 17th 1981 so well is because shortly after Flair won the NWA world title, he appeared on an AWA television program, doing a brief interview segment in which he told us that he won it on Sept. 17th. He also did this interview dressed to the nth in a splendid suit and tie, much like AWA title holder at the time Nick Bockwinkel often did. He made quite an impression, no doubt. He was cool, calm, and collected, and very much looked and talked the part of the 'worlds champion'. He spoke articulately, he looked confident. He seemed a bit brash and had a touch of arrogance about him, and he very much portrayed to the audience that he was indeed a regal, real deal.

Why he was on an AWA show when he was an NWA wrestler who wasn't in town to wrestle, I don't know for sure. Ric Flair was trained by then AWA owner/promoter/trainer Verne Gagne. Flair also had family in Minnesota, where the tv taping took place. So it's within reason to assume that it was just a favor to Verne by Flair as a 'thank you', since he was perhaps in town visiting family anyway, thus giving Verne an even bigger 'rub' as a world class trainer. At the same time it also gave Ric Flair more exposure as a world champion. A win-win situation for Gagne and Flair both. Remember, the backroom political terrain in pro wrestling at the time was very shaky, with many promoters having plans of expanding by landing a spot on a national channel in the fast growing cable television industry. It's possible that Ric Flair's appearance on the show was partly motivated by the fact that Ric did not want to burn a potential bridge in the AWA and Verne Gagne should his NWA title reign ever go awry, though history has proven he needn't have worried.

So Ric Flair told us that on Sept. 17th, 1981 he defeated Dusty Rhodes for the title. AWA fans were very familiar with Dusty from his previous stints in the area over the years. He proceeded to tell us that he began his career in the AWA, and had indeed been trained to be a pro by Verne Gagne. Then he went on about the alumni from that training school, particularly Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell, who were known as the 'High Flyers' and were the AWA world tag team champions at the time. He spoke of how HE learned his lessons well in Verne Gagne's training camp, and thus became the world champion, while Gagne and Brunzell, while in his training class, just weren't in HIS class as a wrestler. They didn't train as hard as he did. They weren't as tough as he was. They were too afraid to get their hands dirty. That's why he was a 'Worlds Champion' and they were only 'tag team champions'. He ended his interview by thanking the AWA for allowing him the interview time and for giving him his start in the business, and that because of them he now ('WOOO!') had to once again leave town--after all, he had a world title to defend!

Later in the program, Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell came out to do THEIR interview, a rebuttal if you will. They admitted that yes, Ric Flair was a tremendous wrestler. Yes, indeed he was a smooth talker, and yes, he looked good in his suit and Rolex watch. BUT....Ric Flair couldn't hack REAL wrestling, and he had to cheat profusely to win his matches. All through training camp, and all through his pro career, Ric Flair has taken short cut after short cut. They told us that they would rather be tag team champs HONESTLY than a singles champion who has to cheat to win. So the audience heaped a hearty 'Huzzah!' upon the ultra squeaky clean 'High flyers, who won their titles the old fashioned way: They earned them! Not like that Ric Flair fellow did. (I mean c'mon, Ric Flair, really, shame on you brother. You were trained better than that.) Long time readers and visitors of 'the Shack' know that, as a youth, I loved the 'High Flyers'. They were 'my' team. They were and are forever the ultimate barometer of pro wrestling integrity. These two were the absolute poster boys for the term 'baby-face'. They'd fight fire with fire if they had to, but they would never break a rule during a match unless they were severely provoked by foul tactics. I absolutely LOVED the days of when good guys were good guys who fought fair, and bad guys were bad guys because they lied and cheated. (This formula was never broken, I've always wondered why has it been 'fixed' so often throughout the years.)

Part of the reason for my little story of reflection here is to admire the fact that Ric Flair has been on top in this sport for a freaking looooooooooong time. What a run this guy has had. Never mind that his very best days have long since passed. When he's delivering a promo, he is still better than 99% of his contemporary peers. When the loud, energetic sounding "WOOOO!" plays over the loudspeaker as he begins to "walk that aisle", the ovation from the crowd is still as loud as anybodies. This man has had serious staying power my friends. Of course, legends usually do.

I also want to stress, however, that simple story telling and logic can go SO far in pro wrestling, and this story is a classic example of a plain ol' good guy vs. bad guy interview scenario. Each participant had their side of the story to tell, giving us the reasoning behind their line of thinking. The true art of the heel/face interview. What is even better is that the principals involved here weren't even going to wrestle each other in the immediate future. Yet these two interviews left you with no question of who were the good guys, and who was the bad guy. You see, years ago heels were heels because they were either cowards, liars, cheaters, thieves, or all of the above. Good guys always fought the good fight, and as fans we 'knew' that with all things being equal, with it being a fair fight that had no cheating or outside interference, and the referee wasn't looking away at the wrong time all the time, that the good guys would eventually and certainly win. But those darn cheaters! Those treacherous villains, darn them to heck! If they didn't cheat they'd never win! THAT'S what brought out the emotions in the fans! Rule enforcement (or at least the appearance of the attempt of rule enforcement by the referee or federation officials) and a simple story is far more entertaining in the long run than high spots with no purpose, a complete lack of believable or logical 'selling' of pain and injury, random and foolish title changes, eye candy 'divas' replacing storyline enhancing 'managers', nobody being a true good guy or villain, and/or storylines that mysteriously end with no explanation. The frustration of seeing cheating taking place, usually a sneaky heel hiding his cheating from the referee, is what generated true HEAT! Pulling the trunks, hiding a foreign object, having your feet on the ropes during a pin attempt, a bit of manager interference thrown in for good measure: All of these brilliant, tried and true pro wrestling tactics are rendered uselessly ineffective and do not matter one bit since the cheating is done in plain sight of the referee with rarely any penalty, if there even is a penalty, issued for the infraction at all. It's more fun as a fan when you have a reason to like or dislike a particular wrestler for their in ring actions or interview prowess. Abilities that pique our collective interests or boils our collective blood. It's more fun when then are more possibilities for how a match could potentially finish. It's more fun when things are just broken down to black and white, good vs. bad. It used to be that bad guys could only get to the top by cheating and deception, and they were always afraid of their potential comeuppance. Yet, in their mind they had a rationale or reasoning for their behavior. Good guys, however, never cheated in a match unless their opponent did so first, and they were always on the side of righteousness, justice, fair play, and truth. It was a great time to be a fan. There was good, there was bad. There was balance and harmony throughout the storylines that drove pro wrestling. As fans, we almost always witnessed logic and good sense when it pertained to the feuds, programs, and angles that existed in the sport. It's truly a good thing that we have veteran, legendary guys like Ric Flair still around to help all of the new young talent that the WWE has on it's roster become better wrestlers and performers. The wisdom and knowledge that he could impart on the new crop of talent is unfathomable. We may not see the results immediately, but it sure makes for a bit more optimistic future. Which is a nice, refreshing change. I mean please, Mr. McMahon and an illegitimate child storyline? Oh, to go back to Sept 17th, 1981...

Can it really be that over a quarter of a century has gone by since that first NWA title win for Ric Flair? It's unreal how quickly time flies. We've seen so many great Ric Flair matches and interviews since that day, please allow me a quick moment to say 'thank you' to Mr. Flair for all of the great work he's done for us fans over the years. It has been very much appreciated. And of course we can't forget to say, 'Happy Anniversary' Naitch. The pleasure has been all ours. After all of these years of cheering on Flair, now as much as ever, I'm still rootin' for the "wheelin' dealin', kiss stealin', limo ridin', jet flying, trend settin', son of a gun", and please allow me to add a, "WOOOO!" for good measure. I thank you for your indulgence.

This coming Sept 17, unfortunately and unlike the one back in '81, I will be undergoing a surgical procedure. So depending on how things go, I may have to take next week off. We shall see. So I hope to see you next week everybody. As always, if you need me I'll be at Myshack33@aol.com. Until next time, 'Good Wrestling' everybody!

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