Richard Morgan "Ric" Fliehr, better known by his ring name Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the WWE under a legends appearance contract. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair has cultivated a legacy as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, with a career that spans over 40 years. He is noted for his lengthy and highly decorated tenures with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Flair is officially recognized by WWE, TNA, and Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) as a 16-time world champion (eight-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWF Champion). The actual number of his world championship reigns varies by source, ranging from 16 to 25 titles. A major pay-per-view attraction throughout his career, he has main-evented WWE's premier annual event, WrestleMania, and participated in the closing singles match of the NWA/WCW equivalent, Starrcade, on nine occasions. PWI awarded Flair their Wrestler of the Year Award a record six times, while Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Flair as the Wrestler of the Year on nine occasions. A two-time inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame, first inducted in 2008 for his individual career and for a second time in 2012 as a member of the Four Horsemen, he is also an NWA Hall of Famer. In WCW, he also had two stints as a booker – from 1989–1990 and again in 1994.
Flair was the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion, having been awarded the title following WCW's secession from the NWA in 1991. With that, he also became the first WCW Triple Crown Champion upon being awarded the title, having already held the United States and World Tag Team titles. In 2005, he completed WWE's version of the Triple Crown when he won the Intercontinental Championship, after already holding the WWF Championship, as well as the World Tag Team Championship. Using the officially recognized totals (by WWE, TNA and PWI) of 16 world championships and six U.S. Championship reigns, Flair has won a total of 31 different major championships between the NWA, WCW, and WWF/E, with numerous regional titles also to his credit.
