7 Deadly Wrestling Sins (And Who Committed Them)

5. Greed: Ric Flair

Lust Vince
WWE.com

We've heard the promos.

We've heard those wildly charismatic, piss-funny promos so often that we probably overlooked the stories that haunted Ric Flair, separating the art from the artist as the rawness of time calcified. Ric Flair lived the life and he wanted you all to know, very loudly, that he lived the life.

He'd scream and holler about his material possessions, the more needlessly extravagant the better. Rolexes, alligator shoes, cashmere: Flair was the picture of avarice and superiority. On a cosmetic, kayfabe level, he best fits the the theme, but his sense of greed extended beyond the ring. He lived the gimmick, for one, and knackered himself financially as a result. He never stopped living the life, even when the life told him in no uncertain terms that it had deserted him.

Flair's greed for the spotlight was legendary. In order to maintain his lifestyle and buy his however-many-dollar suits, he gigged his own forehead at the merest hint of an angle, elbow-dropped his jacket when the booker knew they could no longer put a real opponent in there with him, and cut rambling, nonsensical promos removed from his seminal vintage just to feed his desire.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!