Ric Flair: Overated!?

[Aussie Sucka]

Ric Flair, arguably one of the most famous, and best wrestlers in the World Wrestling Entertainment business of all time. Ric Flair, aged in the mid 50's, and a member at Evolution, yet he is still performing and entertaining us, which is remarkable at his age.

This opening paragraph leads me to my next point I would like to cover. There is no doubt Ric Flair is one of the all time greats in the business, however; do you people think he is overated at this point in time. I don't think anyone can argue against that fact that Ric Flair is one of the greatest of all time, but I feel he is possibly overated at present.

I'll post MY thoughts later, lets get some discussion going HERE! I am trying my best not to get this WWE Forum n00b infested!

[Gravedigger]

What do you mean overrated at present? You mean this day and time he is overrated compared to how he was back then?

Just because he's not a godly wrestler NOW doesn't mean he wasn't back in the day. Wrestlers are best remembered for when they were greatest not what they are like at the present (unless that's the best they've been their entire career).

I don't see how he can be seen as overrated at this time because he's not hyped as this godly wrestler. Any hype and talk about him is based on his past. He's really only used now for tag team matches and to put younger wrestlers over and nothing more.

[Sunshine]

of course hes damn overrated. Hes freakin 50 whatever. He used to be great, but you cant expect him to stay the same for the rest of his life now. Hulk Hogan cant even. Hbk is still great, but not as great as the 90's. Its the age

[The Kid]

Yeah, in my opinion Flair is a little overrated. He deserves alot of props for being able to wrestle at his advanced age and actually putting people over. He put Shelton Benjamen over without having any sort of a problem with it so it's not like he's just sticking around taking up space and pushing other people down. You can really tell that he loves to entertain the crowd and really enjoys every aspect of wresting.

There is no way that a normal person would be able to do what Ric Flair does. A man in his mid 50's who has wrestled his whole career with a screwed up back from a plane crash that could have potentially ended his life. Undoubtablely he's a legend and one of the greatest wrestlers of all time but can he still go?

I think that most people would say that Flair isn't overrated because of the facts that I have mentioned above. The problem with that is I'm saying he deserves respect for wrestling at his age. But to gauge whether he's overrated or not, then he must be compared to the other wrestlers most of whom are 20 years or more younger than him. He must be judged as being on par with the rest of them.

Quite simply, Ric Flair's problem irronically is the he has failed to evolve. Flair's methodical style is outdated and now a days, the fans want fast, hard hitting action. Flair's forte is using ring psychology to tell a story inside of the ring. In the WWE, his matches are usually 7-10 minutes in legnth. Plain and simple, that's really just not enough time to develop an effective story. His matches just look rushed and he comes out looking weak as a result of that.

Another problem that I have with Ric Flair is the way that he is booked. They mention the fact that he is a sixteen time world champion but don't seem to factor that in when booking the matches. Flair is booked to look weak against most of his opponents and is basically a glorified jobber. While he does make his opponents look good, which I must give him props for he doesn't look like a legend in the business. I look at it like this, Magic Johnson was a great basketball player but he's not in game shape and he is no longer the player that he once was. However, I'd still take Magic over a good half of the players in the NBA. I look at Flair the same way, he should be able to defeat most of the wrestlers in the WWE.

And that's my take on Flair, feel free to agree/disagree. And Aussie about the Noob infestation if that you mean posters who don't say anything then you need not worry. Pretty well all of WP's posters make intellegent posts and everyone is a valuable assett to WP regardless of how long they've been around or how " respected" they are.

[badbilly3d]

I think the problem here is the use of the word "over-rated". I don't think ANYONE claims or even believes that Flair is anywhere near the wrestler he was 15-20 years ago. Over-rated, in my opinion, means that someone is claimed to be the best RIGHT NOW who doesn't live up to the hype (Edge, for example).

I don't even see why Flair IS still wrestling at this point. Its asinine IMO. Like the guy hasn't done enough in his career, they keep putting him in every week against guys half his age and expecting him to crank out good performances.

[Chazz]

Flair is one of the all-time greats. In fact, IMO, I feel he is the best Heavyweight Champion of all time. Flair wrote the book on how to be a great heel, which guys like HHH use now. His promo's were way ahead of his time. There maybe a few guys who could do as good a job as he did, but he is still the best ever in the promo department.

So, why is a guy who has accomplished all he has still wrestling? Part of me wants to believe it is because he loves the business. Another part of me believes he just can't let go of wrestling for good. When I see him in the ring, I am amazed that he is still able to go with younger guys. But, he has shown he can. Maybe not like his 60 minute matches he was famous for in his hey-day, but he can still entertain for a 15-20 minute match. For that, I give him his respect. But, I also know that the time has come for him to walk away.

Is he overrated? I don't think you can call Ric Flair overrated, even today. The man has done much for this business. We all know he aint the guy he once was, but when he walks out on the stage and the fans still chant "whwooo" at him, to me that is the greatest compliment for him. I think it shows respect and admiration for the man. And that's what a man like him deserves.

His personal life aside, Flair is a guy who is a living legend. To wrestling, he is simply the best, the man who set the standard. I don't find him overrated at all. But, it is time for him to have one last run and ride off into the sunset.

[The Kid]

I know what everyone is saying when they say Flair isn't overrated but I think that you're judging Flair by what he was rather than what he is. I think alot of the Flair support comes out of respect for him (which I don't mind, I respect him as well) rather than his actual in ring ability. I like Flair, respect Flair but the bottom line is quite plain and simple I think that he is a little overrated.

I think that Flair has to be looked at this way, if he was 20 years old and just starting out in the business, would he have all of this adoration? I think that the answer would have to be no. If that's the case then I think he's overrated.

[Chazz]

I disagree with that Kid. Let's just say that Flair was his old self, meaning imagine Flair in his prime today. Flair in his prime could do things that many in this sport can't. Flair could make you love to hate him, and that is rare. The only other prime example of that would be Hunter. Flair would be one of the best heels in the business today if he were in his prime. He was just that good.

I think everyone can agree that it is time Flair hung up his boots, but there is a part of me that loves seeing him in the ring. I grew up watching and admiring Flair, and he was one of the reason's that I got hooked on wrestling. Still, I know his time has come, but the thing is, when he does decide to leave, we will miss him.

[The Kid]

No doubt about the fact that if Flair were in his prime he'd be a top heel. I'll even do you one better, if Flair were in his prime, he'd be THE top heel. But the simple fact of the matter is, Flair isn't in his prime. If he was then we wouldn't even be able to have this discussion. Flair is now just an average wrestler who is still being pushed over more talented wrestlers simply because of Flair's past and legacy.

I'm kind of comflicted making this post because like you, I like seeing Flair. But just because I like seeing him doesn't mean he's really talented any more. I don't really think that he should retire just yet. I just stop that he should stop wrestling. I think that besides Heyman, he's the best manager in the business. I think that he could really help Batista if he stayed with him in a managerial form.

I'm getting really nostalgic with this debate of the old Molly's Take. Ahhh..... the good ol' days.

[Gravedigger]

How is he overrated??? None of the announcers sit there and hype him up the entire match as this wrestling god. They call him the former world champion and all this stuff and call him the dirtiest player in the game, but I couldn't possibly see how you can think he's overrated.

A person's "ratedness" is measured by how they are in their prime. Flair is here to help out the company not to make his legacy greater which should be obvious every week on RAW.

[Hulk-Hogan]

I dont think Flair is OverRated,More like Underated,Flair should be put more over IMO.
HHH is overrated Benioit and Eddie but Flair nah,Bret Hart is overrated!
Flair should be overrated cause hes did it all. HHH and other Superstars havent done half of what Flair has done,Come on he broke his back and made a comeback, HHH just tore a muscle and look at the big deal they made out of that!

[Lover Nuts]

I dont think Flair is OverRated,More like Underated,Flair should be put more over IMO.
HHH is overrated Benioit and Eddie but Flair nah,Bret Hart is overrated!
Flair should be overrated cause hes did it all. HHH and other Superstars havent done half of what Flair has done,Come on he broke his back and made a comeback, HHH just tore a muscle and look at the big deal they made out of that!

What the hell? Do you even know what over-rated means?

[Peoples King]

Obviously he doesnt Shan.

Triple H tore his quadricep, something I have done too, and if you knew ANYTHING about that muscle then you know that it is linked up with every muscle in the leg. Someone tears that then chances are they will not be able to return to their sport. Triple H shouldnt have been able to come back but hard work and detirmination got him back.

Chris Beniot broke his neck and his career was very nearly ended.

Eddie Gurrero was fired because of drug abuse but he cleaned up his act and worked indies in order to prove himself worthy to the WWE again.

It is pretty obvious me that H-H doesnt know what he is talking about. He doesnt understand the meaning of the word over-rated.

[Duff]

Flair will always have my respect. For a man with his reputaion and legacy to put over up and coming talent is a rare occurence. True, he cant dictate a match in the way he could, but at thesame time he is someone who wrestles rarely. How can he be over-rated when he is never billed as being something he isnt?

[Hulk-Hogan]

Obviously he doesnt Shan.

Triple H tore his quadricep, something I have done too, and if you knew ANYTHING about that muscle then you know that it is linked up with every muscle in the leg. Someone tears that then chances are they will not be able to return to their sport. Triple H shouldnt have been able to come back but hard work and detirmination got him back.Who cares,How many main events does this guy gotta be in?As many as he wants why?We both know why

Chris Beniot broke his neck and his career was very nearly ended.Benoit sucks and should be a midcarder!

Eddie Gurrero was fired because of drug abuse but he cleaned up his act and worked indies in order to prove himself worthy to the WWE again.So what,give him a reward for being drug free!

It is pretty obvious me that H-H doesnt know what he is talking about. He doesnt understand the meaning of the word over-rated.Your OverRated
Do you know what your talking about?
I dont think you do,Flair can never be Overrated!
Why cause what ever they say about what he has done is not enough!
HHH,What did he ever do before he got married?
And the World heavy weight belt was one of the greatest belts to hold,Even Vince himself said so!
Look at the WWE titles now theres to many.
The WWF belt has been held by Vince

[Lover Nuts]

Do you know what your talking about?
I dont think you do,Flair can never be Overrated!
Why cause what ever they say about what he has done is not enough!
HHH,What did he ever do before he got married?
And the World heavy weight belt was one of the greatest belts to hold,Even Vince himself said so!
Look at the WWE titles now theres to many.
The WWF belt has been held by Vince

What in the blue hell are you talking about?

HHH was the main heel in 2000 and kept the ratings up while Austin had a injury.

Oh and great way of being an ass by editing PK's post. In the last paragraph you proved me and him right. :whatevera

[Peoples King]

You know, the old King may keep going on this little thing. But its obvious that you are stuck in wonderland. As a matter of fcat you could be stuck in warning land for editing a post through a quote. Tut tut, sometimes I wonder why I try to talk to these people.

[Duff]

Do you know what your talking about?
I dont think you do,Flair can never be Overrated!
Why cause what ever they say about what he has done is not enough!
HHH,What did he ever do before he got married?
And the World heavy weight belt was one of the greatest belts to hold,Even Vince himself said so!
Look at the WWE titles now theres to many.
The WWF belt has been held by Vince

I'm sorry, maybe this wasnt explained properly when you registered, but English is the language of choice on these forums. It would be greatly appreciated if you could make an effort to use the language in a somewhat coherent manner. Thank you

[The Great One]

Looks like he is working himself again. I hope he gets put with his other account, in banland!

But it is obvious he doesn't know what he is talking about, he likes Hulk Hogan. The man that is well overated and has to be carried by the opponent. He does very little moves when he wrestles so his matches are a little predictable, and he is only in for the money. Flair on the other hand is a better wrestler than Hogan, least Flair is entertaining, and isn't there for the money.

[Lover Nuts]

IMO Hulk Hogan (to the slow people, the actual wrestler) is very over-rated. He gone past his sell date by far.

Also I don't see why you're saying Guerrero, Benoit and HHH are over-rated. No one here goes on about them 24/7 saying **** like "HHH ROXZZ!!!!11!!!" etc.

[The Kid]

I dont think Flair is OverRated,More like Underated,Flair should be put more over IMO.
HHH is overrated Benioit and Eddie but Flair nah,Bret Hart is overrated!
Flair should be overrated cause hes did it all. HHH and other Superstars havent done half of what Flair has done,Come on he broke his back and made a comeback, HHH just tore a muscle and look at the big deal they made out of that!

I wasn't even going to lower myself to your level by responding to this stupid statement but oh well here we go. Now Triple H I can see why one might think he's overrated. I don't really like him either. But Benoit and Guerrero? My god, you have to kidding me. Benoit is a veteran of the mat game who is one of the better technical wrestlers of this era. He can pull a good match out of any one and when paired with good wrestlers, produces amazing matches. Eddie is much the same way as he can pull great matches out of anybody. He can fly, he can brawl, he can mat wrestle and he can talk on the mic. I don't see how either of these two are overrated.