10 Wrestlers Who Suffered A Crippling Crisis Of Confidence

1. Ric Flair

Nobody was more confident than Ric Flair in the 1980s. His expensive suits, opulent lifestyle and bragging set the blueprint for braggart heels to come, and it was 100% authentic. The 'Nature Boy' lived as he preached, and he was very much the alpha male sort amongst his peers.

By 2000, some of that swagger was replaced by crippling fear.

Watch most of Flair's work from latter-day WCW between 2000-01 and you'll see him wrestle in street clothes. This wasn't some repackage job or new gimmick. Ric deliberately avoided working without a shirt because he was self-conscious about how he looked. He was less 'Woo' than 'Woo-rry'.

Bruce Prichard said on a recent flashback episode of his pod that Flair was even hesitant to wrestle Sting topless on the final episode of Nitro. It wasn't until Ric re-joined the WWF and worked Vince McMahon at Royal Rumble 2002 that he returned to his more classic look.

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What other wrestlers suffered severe confidence wobbles? For more WWE, check out 10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE No Way Out 2000 and 10 Things We Learned From Bret Hart On Stone Cold’s Broken Skull Sessions Podcast!