5 Biggest Contenders To Ric Flair's World Title Record
A handful of wrestlers who have their own flare for the gold.
When talking about decorated World Champions in the sport of professional wrestling, where else can you start than with the legendary “Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair. Officially a 16 time World Champion, WWE has long paraded the figure for all to see as the mythical benchmark for all legendary World Champions to follow and, for many, such a feat seemed like the impossible task.
Icons of the game like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and even Hulk Hogan himself have all fallen short before retiring for good; leaving Naitch high and dry as king of the wrestling world with record intact. But nothing lasts forever as Axl Rose once said and the question remains; just how long will Flair’s record stand firm?
As the old saying goes, records are made to be broken and the 16 World Titles that WWE habitually reminds us of each time “The Man” walks that aisle have never been in more jeopardy than they are today in 2016, with several wrestlers creeping ever closer to Naitch’s crown.
What’s more, with the advent of the returning brand extension, a re-introduction of another World Title for the Smackdown brand has been strongly rumoured for some time. Add to that the recent change in terminology of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to simply the “WWE Championship” and this rumour seems to gain all the more traction; all of which spells yet more danger for Flair’s title record.
While many grapplers will likely enter the race as time goes on, as things stand today, five men teeter on the brink of record-breaking immortality and currently stand perilously close to the mythical 16 reigns.
Let’s cut to the chase and find out which wrestlers have their very own flare for the gold in 2016.