Whenever discussion turns to the greatest wrestler of all time, Ric Flair doesn't just find himself in the conversation - he's almost always at the top. The respect so many industry figures have for Flair's ability is off the charts, a fact Steve Austin chooses to open his podcast with. He cites Triple H's induction speech, in which he took issue with the description of Ric as "arguably the greatest of all time", and stated that he was yet to hear any sort of counter-argument. However, Flair's career isn't merely an intriguing one for his supernatural in-ring talent. Although one of the greatest storytellers in wrestling history, some of his most entertaining tales come from outside of the ring. Flair was known for living his gimmick, and enjoyed a raucous playboy lifestyle throughout the 1980s. Often, guests on Austin's WWE Network podcast have entertained with tales of their wrestling exploits, but fallen flat in terms of anecdotes about their life outside of the ring (such as the reclusive Brock Lesnar). There was never any danger of the Nature Boy doing so, as he regales us with a number of interesting, amusing, and emotional tales from his rise to the very top of the wrestling world.
12. He Wanted To Be Known As "Ramblin' Ricky Rhodes"
It's always funny to look back at legendary wrestlers' old ring names (who could forget Triple H as Terra Ryzing?) but Flair has been lucky enough to wrestle under his real name - albeit a slightly different spelling - for the vast majority of his career. However, it wasn't always that way... Ric tells Austin that, in the fledgling stages of his career, he pitched the name of "Ramblin' Ricky Rhodes" to AWA boss Verne Gagne. He was supposedly going to operate as Dusty Rhodes' brother, but Gagne thankfully nixed the idea.
