'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ric Flair is arguably the greatest professional wrestler of all time. The Nature Boy is recognized as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion and has faced off against some of the most iconic and famous names in professional wrestling history. Opponents from Ric Flair's iconic career include "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Harley Race, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan, to name but a few.
There's no counting the thousands of matches that The Nature Boy has competed in during his illustrious career. However, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer does not boast a perfect record in the win-loss column of professional wrestling.
In fact, there are certainly some surprising names who have defeated Ric Flair during his illustrious career. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at five surprising names that hold a victory over Ric Flair.
#5 Vince Russo def. Ric Flair - Steel Cage match (WCW Monday Nitro June 5, 2000)
When historians name the greatest opponents of Ric Flair's career, Vince Russo will not be at the top of the list.
The former WWE head writer left Vince McMahon's company in 1999 and joined WCW, citing travel and monetary issues as his main reasons for departing WWE. By the end of the year, Vince Russo had become an on-screen authority figure on WCW television, clashing with various major WCW stars.
One of the major storylines that Russo was involved with on WCW television was The New Blood vs The Millionaire's Club and a notable feud with The Flair family.
During his feud with Ric Flair, The Nature Boy would face off against Vince Russo inside of a steel cage on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro in 1999. The match largely saw Flair dominate Russo, utilizing his trademark chops as well as the cage as a weapon to his advantage.
In the latter stages of the match, Vince Russo escaped to the top of the cage via a trap door. This then led to Ric Flair and Vince Russo brawling on the top of the cage structure. Eventually both men climbed back into the ring, leading to Ric Flair locking the Figure Four Leg Lock onto Russo, seemingly with victory in his sights.
After several minutes of Russo not submitting, red liquid suddenly poured from the ceiling, knocking out both Ric Flair and the referee. Vince Russo then covered an unconscious Nature Boy to win the shocking pinfall victory.
#4 The Great Khali def. Ric Flair (WWE SmackDown - August 10, 2007)
In 2007, Ric Flair was drafted from Monday Night RAW to Friday Night SmackDown as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. During the summer of 2007, The Great Khali was dominating the Blue brand as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Khali had recently won the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in a 20-man battle royal after the previous champion, Edge, was forced to vacate the championship after suffering a torn pectoral muscle.
Ahead of his SummerSlam World Heavyweight title defense against Batista, The Great Khali squared off against The Animal's mentor, Ric Flair, on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
The match was essentially a glorfied squash. The Punjabi giant overpowered Ric Flair for the majority of the match, utilizing the nerve hold to incapacitate The Nature Boy. Ric Flair was able to get some offense in, hitting several low blows and attempting some chop blocks on the World Heavyweight Champion.
However, this just infuriated The Great Khali, who then quickly dispatched Ric Flair by locking in the Khali Vice Grip submission, allowing Ric Flair to be pinned after just four minutes and 39 seconds. After the match was over, The Great Khali refused to break the hold and continued to smoother Ric Flair's face using The Khali Vice Grip until Batista would eventually make the save.
#3 MVP def. Ric Flair - WWE United States Championship (Vengeance: Night of Champions - June 24, 2007)
Ric Flair was certainly in the twilight of his career as an in-ring performer in WWE in 2007. Flair was mainly being used to put over younger talent on the WWE roster in an effort to help elevate them to the next level. One such example of this is MVP at WWE Vegeance: Night of Champions.
The gimmick for the pay-per-view was that every WWE Championship would be defended. This included the WWE United States Championship. As a former six-time United States Champion, it was a clash of generations.
The match featured sound technical wrestling, with Ric Flair utilizing all of his trademark offense. The Nature Boy hit MVP with a flurry of chops to the chest and worked over MVP's leg for the majority of the match, hoping to use his trademark Figure Four submission hold to get the victory.
After attempting the submission several times, Ric Flair eventually locked in the Figure Four, but the MVP was able to claw his way to the bottom rope and break the hold. While the referee was preoccupied with getting The Nature Boy to break the hold, MVP poked Ric Flair in the eye and hit his Playmaker finisher to get a major pinfall victory over the professional wrestling legend. It certainly felt as if the dirtiest player in the game had been outsmarted by a trick from his own playbook in this defeat to MVP.
#2 Kenny Dykstra def. Ric Flair - (WWE New Year's Revolution 2007)
It is shocking how bad of a record that Ric Flair has against Kenny Dykstra in WWE. Kenny owns multiple victories over The Nature Boy on Monday Night RAW and at pay-per-view events. One such victory is at New Year's Revolution in 2007.
Ric Flair and Kenny Dykstra had been feuding with one another on WWE television for several weeks at this point. The Nature Boy had been attempting to teach the former Spirit Squad member a lesson in respect as a veteran of the industry.
Dyskra mocked Flair before the match had even begun by wearing a cheap Ric Flair imitation robe to the ring during his entrance. Ric Flair controlled the majority of the match, utilizing his trademark offense of chops and backdrops against the young upstart. Other trademark Ric Flair spots in the match included Flair getting suplexed on the outside of the ring and climbing to the top rope, only to get caught and slammed to the canvas.
Flair eventually managed to gain control after using a thumb to the eye and locking in the Figure Four Leglock. Unfortunately for Flair, Dykstra was able to squirm to the bottom rope to break the hold. Ric Flair continued his offense once more but was met with a low blow and an inside cradle for Dykstra to pick up yet another shock victory over The Nature Boy.
#1 Rico def. Ric Flair (WWE Monday Night RAW September 16, 2002)
Ric Flair was lost in the WWE wilderness heading into the fall of 2002. After losing sole ownership of WWE to Vince McMahon, The Nature Boy's role on WWE television was in question before he eventually joined forces with Triple H and founded Evolution. However, in order to pair up with The Game in the future, Ric Flair had to continue to fall on WWE television first.
In recent weeks on WWE television, RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff had appeared on SmackDown, interrupting the wedding between Billy and Chuck, facilitating an attack on SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon by Three Minute Warning in the process.
In a subsequent episode of RAW, Eric Bischoff revealed that Billy and Chuck's former manager Rico had assisted the RAW General Manager in arranging the attack on SmackDown. Rico's reward for his crimes would be a match against Ric Flair later on during the broadcast.
Once the match began, it appeared as if Ric Flair was going to make quick work of his opponent. Rico had brought a steel chair into the ring, to which The Nature Boy removed the weapon and briefly thought about using it. However, during his hesitation Ric Flair was met with a spinning kick by Rico. The newest member of the RAW roster was able to get a shock upset pinfall victory despite Flair's hand being on the bottom rope.
During an interview after the match, Ric Flair was confronted by Triple H. The new World Heavyweight Champion questioned how Flair had won the World Championship 16 times and called The Nature Boy "pathetic." This would all set up Flair joining forces with The Game several weeks later, and the rest is history.
