10 Moments Legendary WWE Careers Almost Died
8. Ric Flair And The Plane Ride From Hell (Part I)
It's 2002 and Ric Flair is naked but for a robe and in the process of deeply offending air stewards in his all-too-typical quest to drink the bar dry and pop the boys. It wasn't the first time he was f*cking smashed to bits at 35,000 feet, but his first experience of such a thing may explain why he's happily lived every day as if it were his last since.
In October 1975, 'The Nature Boy' was flying to a show alongside Johnny Valentine, Tim Woods, David Crockett and Bobby Bruggers when the Cessna 310 plane carrying them ran out of fuel and careered into trees and telephone poles before crashing to the ground.
The accident killed the pilot and left Valentine paralysed, but the others remarkably recovered after extensive reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation. Flair in particular was informed by doctors that he'd never wrestle again after breaking his back in three places but he miraculously returned to the ring just eight months later.
Outside of adjusting the way he took bumps, Flair's wrestling style changed little, but his personality became substantially more significant to his act. The facade that would come to define him (and at times, consume him) was greatly enhanced following the accident, propelling him to immense stardom that brought with it a gimmick he was scarcely able to switch off.