10 Most Intense Performers In Wrestling History

9. Ric Flair

Kurt Angle Shawn Michaels Taboo Tuesday 2005
WWE.com

Ric Flair cut the greatest promos in wrestling history throughout the 1980s.

Cut from a studio, Flair ranted and raved so wildly that Tony Schiavone struggled to hold the microphone in front of his face. The best saw Flair proclaim that he was born with a "golden spoon" in his mouth. In effect, it was akin to his equally peerless in-ring performances. He started out jazzed, reined it to get his story across (getting his entire promotion over in the process) and rose to an incendiary crescendo, engaging his hypnotised audience throughout. He even screeched that were idiots. They didn't care. They were swept up in his rapture, even if it was exhausting.

Flair got so caught up in his own brilliance that he compelled himself to disrobe, literally getting so hot that he could no longer bear the layers, screaming "All the ability! Limousines! Bright lights! Big cities! Pretty ladies!" Surely, it's worth letting 100 performers crash and burn, if WWE could find just one man with a tenth of Flair's passion. Fire the f*cking writers.

Flair's in-ring work was similarly impassioned; he threw himself around the ring with incredibly athletic abandon, innovating a bumping style matching his breathless promo work.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!