10 Forgotten Ric Flair World Title Reigns

9. The Dominican Debacle (1982)

When Ric Flair travelled to the Dominican Republic in 1982 for a routine defence of his NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship, the eventual result would be anything but routine.

Squaring off against 'Slick Ric' was the pride and joy of the Dominican Republic, Jack Veneno. Adorned in the country’s colours, the hometown hero would attempt to upset the champ and capture gold for his native country.

Trapping Flair in his favoured Sleeper Hold, Veneno would be on the very brink of winning when the bell sounded, signalling that the time limit had expired and the match had ended in a draw. However, the sight of Naitch fading combined with the sound of the bell was quickly misinterpreted by the fans in attendance, who had immediately (and understandably) assumed the bell had sounded to signify victory for Veneno.

The crowd erupted in jubilant ecstasy, having seemingly witnessed the Dominican underdog achieve the impossible. Except this fact wasn’t strictly true - not yet, anyway. The reaction left those in the ring in a dangerous predicament. Ever the pro, Flair left the ring without the belt in order to avoid a full-scale riot in the stadium. Meanwhile, in the eyes of the fans, the switch was made and Jack Veneno was the new NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion.

For the rematch, Roddy Piper was placed in Flair’s corner as “insurance” should plans once again go awry, with Piper set to trip the new/defending “champ”, allowing Flair to pin him and “reclaim” the gold. However, when the time came for 'Hot Rod' to interject himself into the bout, the armed guards at ringside reacted belligerently to Piper’s shenanigans, aiming their guns directly at Roddy’s head.

Sensing another riotous situation, the quick-thinking Flair called an audible and pulled Veneno on top of him as the confused ref was ordered by Ric to count to three. As ugly as the finish may have been, the fact remained; Jack Veneno had pinned the “Nature Boy”. To the Dominican people, not only had Veneno won the title from Flair but he had also now retained it in the rematch.

Despite the unplanned title switch, Veneno was stripped of the championship just days later, with the NWA citing Veneno’s refusal to defend the title outside of his homeland as the reasoning. The belt was returned to Flair, the title switch was ignored by the NWA and the whole incident was was glossed over in championship history.