Prime Years: 1980s to early-to-mid 90s Why He Should Be Studied: In the opinion of many, Ric Flair is the greatest professional wrestler of all-time. Don't let the man who was struggling in WCW in the late 90s and in the WWE in the 2000s fool you: in his 1980s prime, Flair could justifiably be called the best wrestler on the planet, for a number of reasons. Flair was the consummate pro, bringing his 'A game' every single night, regardless of whether or not he'd had any sleep the night before. Indeed, many times The Nature Boy wrestled hour-long matches completely hungover. These weren't phoned-in matches, either, as Flair knew nothing other than full speed ahead. Watching the way Flair controls a crowd during a long match is a sight to behold, especially when he's playing heel: his ability to play aggressive ass-kicker one second, then cowardly begging off his opponent the next is seamless. Then there are the promos and the character work... Really, Flair is like a walking wrestling textbook.
