10 Tiny Details About Wrestling Characters You Never Noticed

3. Why Ric Flair Goes To The Top Rope

Ric Flair Hulk Hogan
WWE.com

It's easy to watch literally any Ric Flair match and laugh as the foolish heel repeatedly goes to the top rope, gets caught by his opponent and absorbs a bump he's taken thousands of times on the same hip. Why-oh-why is the 'Nature Boy', a 16-time World Champion no less, such an idiot who falls into the same trap constantly?

Maybe because he had success going high to win his very first World Title.

Back on 17 September 1981, Flair beat Dusty Rhodes to become the new NWA Champion in Kansas City. Footage of the match shows that Ric, annoyed that Rhodes had escaped his Figure Four by reaching the ropes, scaled the corner turnbuckle and found himself stranded. Then, in a nice spot, he reversed a suplex attempt into a pin for the victory.

After finding success by going up to the top, Flair kept trying it again throughout his career in hopes it'd pay dividends again. This wasn't just Ric's way of giving his bouts a flashy spot that'd lead to babyface shine, it was a cool peek back into his original triumph.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.