10 Forgotten Ric Flair World Title Reigns

1. Undisputed Champion (1994)

While Jericho may have laid claim to be wrestling’s first ever “Undisputed Champion”, Ric Flair can also stake a claim of his own - dating all the way back to his clash with Sting in 1994.

When Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat for the vacant WCW Title on 14 May, he wasn’t the only man to hold the position of “World Heavyweight Champion” at the time. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t even the only man within WCW to hold that title, with the man they call Sting also holding a the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.

With Flair holding the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and Sting in possession of the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, the move was soon made to unify both championships in a historic “title for title” showdown.

The unification bout would take place on 23 June 1994 at Clash of the Champions XXVII in “Flair Country” of Charleston, South Carolina. With such a high stakes bout, it was only fitting that the match be contested between career rivals, Ric Flair and Sting, further adding to the drama and magnitude of the collision course.

After 17 minutes of action, the bout’s conclusion would see Flair defeat Sting (with a little help from Flair’s then-manager/valet, Sherri Martel) to become the final WCW International Heavyweight Champion and unify both titles in the process.

Despite the victory and Flair’s recorded status as last ever WCW International Heavyweight Champion, the win bizarrely isn’t counted as another World Title on his record. By contrast, when Randy Orton defeated John Cena to unify the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship in December 2013, his victory is classified as an additional title win, further adding to the curious double-standards of WWE title history.

As for Flair, he would hold onto the newly-unified, undisputed WCW Championship for just 25 days before succumbing to the almighty power of Hulkamania following Hulk Hogan’s monumental signing with WCW - a situation he would find himself in repeatedly throughout the remainder of his WCW career.

Ironically, 25 years later, Flair’s seemingly eternal feud with Hulk Hogan would see them carry the infamous “Hulkamania Tour” to Australia in 2009, with strong rumours that the tour was to include NWA World Heavyweight Championship implications at the time. Despite the hearsay, gossip, and speculation, the addition of an NWA World Title to their Australian feud never came to be.

Aside from one unforgettable night in Greenville in 2003 that saw Flair draped in gold even in defeat to Triple H, Flair’s brief one-night run with the WCW Championship in May of 2000 remains Flair’s final World Title victory. Whether or not that will ever be seen as more than his 16th reign remains to be seen.