Ric Flair: To Be the Man…Whoooooo!

In the Spring of 1991, Ric Flair would begin having contract disputes with WCW and their president Jim Herd. Herd wanted Flair to take a pay cut and to take a step back in the promotion. Herd had even gone as far as to suggest a horrible gimmick change that would have seen Flair go from the iconic “Nature Boy” to a character named “Spartacus.” It would’ve been one of the dumbest moves in wrestling history had they actually gone through with it. Flair was still a top draw, and could still have 5 star matches when called upon. Regardless, Herd would fire him just two weeks before The Great American Bash 1991, and vacate the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. However that old NWA/WCW “World Champion” issue would rear it’s head one last time, and Flair would take full advantage of it. Despite being stripped of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, Flair was still recognized as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and was in possession of the one belt which represented both World Championships. Once again, if it sounds stupid and confusing for two allegedly separate wrestling promotions to share the same World Championship belt, it’s because it is. In a move never before seen in pro wrestling, Flair would take the World Heavyweight Championship belt, which at this time had taken its iconic form as “the big gold belt,” with him to the WWF, and would be introduced by Bobby “The Brain” Heenan as “The real World Champion.” It was a huge win for the WWF. Horrible business sense by the NWA/WCW as they had made it possible for the WWF to not only steal their top star, but for him to bring their World Championship with him, and flaunt it on WWF programming too. The NWA would finally strip Flair of the World Heavyweight Championship on September 8^th 1991, but the damage had already been done. He would remain in possession of the belt, but would no longer allowed to show it on WWF programming. Flair had arrived in the WWF and immediately made a splash, and it would be only 113 days before he reached the top of the mountain there too.