5 Times Ric Flair Took WWE To The Extreme

Exactly one year later, Flair would once again find himself waging war inside a steel cage at Taboo Tuesday against another former member of Evolution; as Flair would square off against close-friend and protégé, Triple H.

Amidst a hugely entertaining run as Intercontinental Champion, Flair had been contributing massively to the WWE’s mid-card at the time and Triple H’s return to WWE following a brief hiatus had initially seemed to set up a potential tag team scenario for the former stablemates.

However, it was not to be, as the returning “King of Kings” would immediately turn his back on his mentor; inexplicably nailing the “Nature Boy” with his trademark sledgehammer the very night he returned. The beatdown that followed was shocking, violent and evocative – three key ingredients for any classic feud.

Perhaps even more extreme than the match itself was the stellar promo that preceded it on the October 17th edition of Raw. Fresh off the removal of his stitches just hours earlier – the very same stitches caused by the treacherous sledgehammer assault two weeks prior – Flair cut an in-ring promo the likes of which was rarely seen in WWE; noticeably getting worked up as he recalled several real life tragedies in his own lifetime, including the plane crash that nearly killed him.

The segment would soon boil over with progressive intensity, as an enraged “Nature Boy” reopened his own wound mid-rant; leaving the gaping laceration in his forehead to pour blood down his face like a hole in the Hoover Dam. The promo quickly became as graphic and bloody as any WWE promo in recent memory and proved to any doubters, once and for all, that diamonds are forever and so is Ric Flair.

The bloody promo set the stage for the cage, made all the more interesting with Flair’s coveted IC Title on the line. However, despite the championship implications, personal pride and redemption were also at stake and, during this feud at least, vengeance was clearly far more coveted than any physical title.

To make matters even more extreme, former ECW announcer, Joey Styles, was on hand to call the action; giving the bout a hardcore aura from the very get go. True to form, Flair’s face saw red within no time, leading to Triple H painting the cage with Flair’s blood as he raked his foe’s face over the mesh. Flair would soon gain a measure of revenge by sending Triple H into the cage, busting “The Game” open in a bloody receipt of his own.

A string of obscenities and four letter words was the shocking soundtrack of the entire match and gave the bout a degree of intensity that is often lost in modern WWE. If the bloody violence wasn’t enough, the audible F-bombs and recurring blasphemy that escaped the Flair’s mouth throughout the contest solidified the authenticity of the fight; a seldom used tactic that few performers could get away with then let alone in today’s PG era.

Mirroring the previous year’s encounter with Orton, Flair would attempt to exit through the cage door only to be pulled back in by his opponents; allowing Flair to introduce a steel chair into the equation. The addition of the furniture proved to be the difference maker, as Flair began teeing off on Trips with a trio of brutal chair shots to the skull.

With his brains scrambled and his body a beaten mess, the flurry of headshots signalled game over for Triple H as evolution passed him by in the form of the “Nature Boy”, right out the door to victory.