Ric Flair may just be the greatest professional wrestler of all time, but it depends how you are judging says Media Man agency; Pro wrestling aka sports entertainment very subjective

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by Greg Tingle

I love Ric Flair, in a blokey way.

When I met and spoke with Ric a number of years ago it was a mix of kayfabe and behind the curtain, regarding his status with TNA and what was on the horizon. Flair was in Australia for his series of matches with the equally pleasant Hulk Hogan, as part of the Hulk-A-Mania show.

Flair is not the most famous, nor the most technical (sorry folks) professional wrestler of all time, but he is quite the total package in many ways. He has transcended the "sport", just as Hulk Hogan, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and arguably, the late 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, Randy 'Macho Man' Savage and Bruno Sammartino did. I guess we can throw in John Cena into that category as well, keeping BumbleBee and all in mind.

Some (smart marks, self appointed experts and keyboard warriors included), may say that if you've seen one Ric Flair match, you've seen them all, but the same can be said to a certain degree for Hogan, Johnson, Austin, Piper, Savage and Sammartino. With Flair for some reason the move set just seems so repetitive, much like Hulk Hogan's. That's not necessarily a bad thing - it's just his style, and what a style it is. Mind you, after seeing so many Flair flips in the corner over the decades it did start to become a bit of a here we go again scenario. Mind you, the average bloke can't do one Flair flip let alone multiple hundreds over the past 4 decades or so.

To me, Terry Funk is the greatest professional wrestler of all time. He adapted over the decades and had a vast array of moves and holds, played heel and face, wrestled all over the world, and was an unbelievable interview - cutting a great promo is part of being a great pro wrestler also. If Hogan did not know how to cut a promo, he very well may not have stayed at the top of the industry for 3 decades or so. And, contrary to what some believe, Hogan can wrestle and brawl. Look up matches against the likes of The Great Muta, Stan Hansen and Bob Backlund.

Some of my favorite Flair matches included vs Ricky Steamboat (all of them), Harley Race, Great Muta, Vader, Sting, Shawn Michaels and Terry Funk. Flair vs Funk in the WCW 'I Quit" match seriously rates as a greatest pro wrestling match ever, alongside Savage vs Steamboat, but again, it depends how you are judging. Apologies to Kenny Omega and / vs Okada. and Omega vs Chris Jericho ... the times have changed, and how do you compare one era to another.

With pro wrestling, much like a good movie, I think it's a good idea to judge each wrestler / match on its' own merits. Now, we understand the concept of the Dave Meltzer 5 star system (sorry for the reference Jim Cornette), but there's a lot more to pro wrestling aka sports entertainment than how many moves, holds and dives (reference to you Randy Orton), one does.

I also wanted to give the nod to Dory Funk Jr. as possibly the greatest pro wrestling trainer of all time, after all, he worked alongside 'The Funker' (who many feel is the best wrestler). Also kudos to Dave 'Fit' Findley, as an amazing wrestler and trainer, and has to be included in the greatest ever conversations. And Chris Jericho, what an all rounder.. moves, holds, gimmick, promos, longevity of career, Multi-skilled performing artist genius. Not a suck up Chris, you're freaking amazing, even though sometimes you do come across as pretty stuck up, and I hope that's because you're mainly in character, or perhaps it's because you're a natural heel.

Flair, keep strutting and hip-hopping away, on the drip, or on the mic, truly amazing, and as always, respect all professional wrestlers. They are in there giving it their all, risking their necks (and backs), all in the name of entertainment... and making a dollar.

Oh, 16 x champion, more, less... does it really matter. Multi-time champion, many would say champion of men. Dream life, dream career and plenty of dream matches happened because Flair traveled the world to put on, and in most cases, steal the show. The greatest catch phrase ever (that counts too) - Woooooo!

That's all their is, there isn't any more (remembering Jack Little).

Websites

Ric Flair official website

Ric Flair WWE.com

vs Terry Funk

with Vader

vs Hulk Hogan. Credit: Box Of Gimmicks / Bruce Prichard / Something To Wrestle With

Ric Flair comments on social media - December 2018

"I think it's harder because the kids on social media eat them alive. I don't think the [pro wrestling] business is any harder. I think the days are longer. I think the scrutiny [is more intense]." Flair added, "but it's equally hard physically, but it's harder on them because they're so affected by social media and the number of people trying to give them direction".

News

Terry Funk best professional wrestler of all time says Media Man agency; Closely followed by Harley Race, Kurt Angle, Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat, A.J. Styles, Chris Jericho, Chris Beniot, Eddie Guerrero, 'Cowboy' Bob Orton, Ken Shamrock, Bret 'Hitman' Hart, Dolph Ziggler