Ric Flair (sigh)

[sek69]

 

Watched it again. David looks like hell.

 

He looks like a normal human being?

 

 

That was my takeaway, he came off as a regular guy understandibly still bitter at his dad spending his whole life drinking and whoring instead of being a dad. A lot of the children of addicts have the same look on their faces that David had, the "he's an asshole but he's my dad, whattya going to do" expression.

 

What really struck me is how Reid was a copy of Ric in every way both good and bad. Their relationship was a very Cat's in the Cradle cautionary tale, and I think that's part of what eats Ric up about it. Like if Reid had died in a car accident or something random, it wouldn't have been any less sad but at least there would be an aspect where it was just a freak occurance. Dying the way he did just jams it home how Ric was more of a party pal than a father.

[sek69]

Also (and it sucks to think of it this way) it hit me how much of a bullet WWE dodged with Reid. Clearly Hunter was trying to bend over backwards to get him signed to developmental, can you imagine if the son of Ric Flair died on their watch?

[flyonthewall2983]

 

 

Watched it again. David looks like hell.

 

He looks like a normal human being?

 

 

That was my takeaway, he came off as a regular guy understandibly still bitter at his dad spending his whole life drinking and whoring instead of being a dad. A lot of the children of addicts have the same look on their faces that David had, the "he's an asshole but he's my dad, whattya going to do" expression.

 

I just meant that he looked exasperated. I could see that in his first wife, and even Ashley to a degree too.

[El-P]

I could see that in his first wife, and even Ashley to a degree too.

 

What struck me with Ashley is the sad smile turning into something even sadder when she says how she's living Reid's dream, because it wasn't hers. Makes you really feel for her.

 

Hogan fake humility was almost comical though. Still a genius carny.

[Robert S]

 

 

 

Watched it again. David looks like hell.

 

He looks like a normal human being?

 

 

That was my takeaway, he came off as a regular guy understandibly still bitter at his dad spending his whole life drinking and whoring instead of being a dad. A lot of the children of addicts have the same look on their faces that David had, the "he's an asshole but he's my dad, whattya going to do" expression.

 

I just meant that he looked exasperated. I could see that in his first wife, and even Ashley to a degree too.

 

His first wife actually seemed quite distant, like she has long come to the conclusion that Flair once he got big in wrestling was not the guy that she married anymore (I could also have phrased that much worse w.r.t. Flair) and has long closed that chapter of her life.

[sek69]

Let's not forget that Ashley's had her own issues that have hopefully subsided since she's been in WWE.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

I think it's probably very exhausting to have Ric Flair in your life.

[flyonthewall2983]

That would be a perfect post to end on if you guys really want to lock this thread up.

[El-P]

That would be a perfect post to end on if you guys really want to lock this thread up.

 

Indeed. That would have been. But now you ruined it already.

[dawho5]

That was one Hell of a documentary. For the most part I liked it. David Flair comes across as this guy who against all odds grew up to be a decent human being because of his awful childhood. Props to him on that. Setting aside some issues I have with the earlier stuff, that part near the end with Ashley talking about how she's living Reid's dream and not hers. The look she gives the camera during and after that is absolutely heartbreaking.

[khawk20]

Finally had a chance to watch the doc tonight. I liked it, nothing really earth shattering for folks like us that have watched him through it all, but very nicely put together.

One thing I noted was the ringside camera angle of Flairs winning pin over steamboat to regain the title in 1989. Is that new? My brain is telling me that it was a longer shot of the winning pin in the match that aired live. Haven't watched it in some time so maybe im misremembering that.

[FMKK]

As someone who hasnt had the chance to see this yet, does the comment from Charlotte/Ashley about it being her brothers dream suggest that she doesnt actually want to be in wrestling but is bound by family duty?

[sek69]

I got the impression she initally was doing it because it was Reid's dream but along the way found her own passion for it along with how much her dad enjoys it. That's not all from the documentary by the way, just from several times she's spoken about it.

[dawho5]

Yeah, the doc she does not look like it's something she is at all happy about. Which they try to gloss over with a glitzy montage of Ric/Charlotte clips back and forth.

[flyonthewall2983]

I actually think Hogan was genuine in his praise. He was specifically asked if Flair was better in the ring, not if he was better all-around.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

I actually think Hogan was genuine in his praise. He was specifically asked if Flair was better in the ring, not if he was better all-around.

I thought it was just Hogan being Hogan. Knowing what to say to babyface himself to the audience that would be watching a Ric Flair show. Image rehabilitation.

[Loss]

My take is that if Hogan is speaking in front of a camera, he's working. I'm sure he thinks a lot more of himself and his own talent than he made it seem like he did in that interview, and he should!

[Zoo Enthusiast]

My take is that if Hogan is speaking in front of a camera, he's working. I'm sure he thinks a lot more of himself and his own talent than he made it seem like he did in that interview, and he should!

Correct.

[dawho5]

Yeah, Hogan seems like a guy who is always working if he knows there are cameras on.

[sek69]

Not discounting Hogan's working ability, because....c'mon, but he's always been pretty open about how he knows he was never the most talented wrestler ever. His famous quote of him only knowing how to do 3 things but doing them better than anyone says it all. I can see Hulk being comfortable saying Flair was a better technical wrestler than him because he knows he was far more successful doing what he did than Ric was.

[The Thread Killer]

I actually believe that within reason, Hogan and Flair have become friends (or the Pro Wrestling business equivalent of "friends") after years of highs and lows. I saw an interview with Flair where he said one of the first calls he got after Reid died was from Hogan. He didn't specify what Hogan said but he got choked up just talking about it. I don't doubt that Hogan and Flair have developed the ability to appreciate each other on a personal level after all these years, and respect what the other brought to the sport.

 

And yes you're right, it does Hogan's legacy no good for him to deny his peers credit. I prefer him working people with effusive praise, over Bret Hart still whining and taking shots at people after all these years.

[Edwin]

https://twitter.com/ricflairnatrboy/status/934457365298057216

 

Not sure if this goes here or not, but this is a thing unfortunately...

[Victator]

I don't really know what David Flair has to be bitter about in the big picture. Did Ric beat him and his mom? His dad worked a lot and drank. Which that is true for a lot of kids. They did not get the perks and benefits David did. Megan seems more mature and can see her father as a human being. But David seemed like an entitled little shit. Or maybe not, they could have cut a bunch of stuff out.

I thought at best the 30 for 30 was nothing special that WWE could not have done better and at worst exploitative trash. I turned it off at the 911 call.

I would have liked to have heard more from his first wife than the time given Michelle Beadle or Snoopy. She seemed to get him more than anyone else did.

[Bix]

I don't really know what David Flair has to be bitter about in the big picture. Did Ric beat him and his mom? His dad worked a lot and drank. Which that is true for a lot of kids. They did not get the perks and benefits David did.

If, like David Fliehr, my dad was an alcoholic who cut off contact with me, my sister, and my mom for years after they got divorced then yeah, I think that's plenty of reason to be bitter.

[DMJ]

Not that I've seen anyone forget on this particular forum, but just to say, this was a documentary made for a mainstream sports audience so it needed to hit the big points in a digestible way. That likely included steering the editing away from what is probably a much more complicated relationship he has with individuals in his family and in his professional life. I mean, we all agree that Hulk Hogan isn't really an authority on Ric Flair's impact and legacy, right?

 

Its really no different than the 30 for 30 doc they did about Tim Richmond, the NASCAR driver, though. I don't know anything about NASCAR - I mean, really, I only kind of understand how a driver in the back of the pack can accelerate fast enough to drive faster than the guy who starts in the front of the pack who is also able to accelerate when everyone's car tops out at around 200 mph. That sport is just not in my understanding at all. Watching the documentary, though, I learned about Richmond for the first time. He was a crazy character who had tremendous career highs and lows. I'm sure a diehard NASCAR fan thought it was a "good not great" retrospective while I thought it was incredible.

 

I imagine there are sport fans out there who watched the Flair doc and were amazed by what they heard even if, to us, there was nothing new added to the story.