10 Most WTF Promos In Wrestling

5. The Naturist Boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_3jW_0jnzc Ric Flair was, in his prime, arguably the greatest professional wrestler who ever lived. That wasn€™t just bell-to-bell €“ the €˜Nature Boy€™ lived his gimmick and was dynamite on the stick. Unlike many of his peers, he had more than one gear as a talker: he could be calm, measured, verbose and articulate when he wanted to be. But who wants to see that when you can get the wild and crazy Naitch, stripping off in the ring and elbow-dropping his own clothes, screaming incoherently, thrashing around and backdropping for no reason at all? No one, but no one could deliver frothing mania like Flair: even Piper seemed like a garden-variety pub psycho next to some of his over-the-top pantomime loony performances on the mic. On December 27th 1998 at Starrcade, WCW€™s version of Wrestlemania, Flair would lose to non-wrestler Eric Bischoff, the heel authority figure of the company. There was serious real life bad blood between the two men, and had been for years. Bischoff had actually sued Flair in spring of that year for no-showing a Thunder television taping, and Flair had been forced to settle, losing money in the six figures. Losing to him at the biggest show of the year had to rankle, but Flair was a professional. The next night on Nitro, however, Flair was booked to win€ but first, Ric Flair the character had to make sure he got his rematch, and got it the way he wanted it. This is how Ric Flair the wrestler went about it. It€™s both a masterclass in pro wrestling mic work, completely authentic, intense and committed, and utterly spanners. Could the best bit be when Flair begins to strip and hardcore Naitch fans in the crowd, by now used to his inability to keep his clothes on, immediately guess where it€™s going? Could it be his namechecking the designers on all his clothes before elbow dropping them, then ripping hundred dollar bills to shreds? How about when he handcuffs himself to the ropes, clad only in his underwear, and promises Bischoff that he€™ll be completely starkers by the time they return from the commercial break? Unhinged but brilliant. That€™s the €˜Nature Boy€™ we all know and love.