Ric Flair, The....26? Time World Champion

[carly1988]

Various promotions have tried to rewrite history at their convenience -- hence the erroneous "16 Times World Champion" tag associated with Ric Flair to this day.

All of the following matches (and events) actually happened in front of actual fans. History can not be rewritten.

Ric Flair is a 26 Time World Champion.

1. Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World title in Kansas City MO on SEP 17 1981. Lost to Midnight Rider (Dusty Rhodes) in Miami FL on FEB 9 1982.

2. Ric Flair awarded NWA World title in Miami FL on FEB 9 1982. The Midnight Rider would not unmask, so according to NWA Rules at the time The Midnight Rider could not continue as champion and the title was awarded to the previous champion and current #1 contender, Ric Flair. Flair lost the title to Jack Veneno in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in SEP 1982.

3. Ric Flair defeated Jack Veneno for the NWA World title by forfeit on SEP 7 1982 when Vereno refused to defend the title outside of his native country. Flair lost the title to Carlos Colon in San Juan, Puerto Rico on JAN 6 1983.

4. Ric Flair defeated Carlos Colon for the NWA World title on JAN 21 1983. Lost to Victor Jovica in Couva, Trinidad on FEB 8 1983.

5. Ric Flair defeated Victor Jovica for the NWA World title in Manatí, Puerto Rico on FEB 11 1983. Lost to Harley Race in St. Louis MO on JUN 10 1983.

6. Ric Flair defeated Harley Race for the NWA World title in Greensboro NC on NOV 24 1983. Lost to Harley Race in Wellington, New Zealand on MAR 21 1984.

7. Ric Flair defeated Harley Race for the NWA World title in Kallang, Singapore on MAR 23 1984. Lost to Kerry Von Erich in Irving TX on MAY 6 1984.

8. Ric Flair defeated Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World title in Yokosuka City, Japan on MAY 24 1984. Lost to Dusty Rhodes in Greensboro NC on JUL 26 1986.

9. Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World title in St. Louis MO on AUG 9 1986. Lost to Ronnie Garvin in Detroit MI on SEP 25 1987.

10. Ric Flair defeated Ronnie Garvin for the NWA World title in Chicago IL on NOV 27 1987. Lost to Ricky Steamboat in Chicago IL on FEB 20 1989.

11. Ric Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World title in Nashville TN on MAY 7 1989. Lost to Sting in Baltimore MD on JUL 7 1990.

12. Ric Flair defeated Sting for the NWA World title in East Rutherford NJ on JAN 11 1991. Lost to Tatsumi Fujinami in Tokyo, Japan on MAR 21 1991. Note: Although Flair lost the NWA World title in this match, he retained the WCW World title (see 13).

13. Ric Flair awarded WCW World title in Altanta GA in FEB 1991. NWA World title belt at this time represented both the NWA and WCW World titles. Flair stripped of the WCW World title on JUL 1 1991 when contract negotiations fail.

14. Ric Flair defeated Tatsumi Fujinami for the NWA World title in St. Petersburg FL on May 19 1991. Stripped of the NWA World title on SEP 8 1991 when Flair signed with the non-NWA member promotion WWF.

15. Ric Flair won WWF World title with his Royal Rumble victory when he eliminated Sid Justice in Albany NY on JAN 19 1992. Lost to Randy Savage in Indianapolis IN on APR 5 1992.

16. Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WWF World title in Hershey PA on SEP 1 1992. Lost to Bret Hart in Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada on OCT 12 1992.

17. Ric Flair defeated Barry Windham for the NWA World title in Biloxi MS on JUL 18 1993. Stripped of the NWA World title on SEP 01 1993 when WCW withdrew their NWA membership.

18. Ric Flair awarded the first ever WCW International World title in Atlanta GA on SEP 01 1993. This championship was created as a result of WCW's withdrawal from the NWA. The belt which previously represented the NWA World title now represented the WCW International World title. Lost to Rick Rude in Houston TX on SEP 19 1993.

19. Ric Flair defeated Vader for the WCW World title in Charlotte NC on DEC 27 1993. Flair vacated the title (as a reaction to Nick Bockwinkle suggesting the title be held-up) after a no-contest with Ricky Steamboat in Rosemont IL on APR 17 1994.

20. Ric Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match to determine the WCW World champion on APR 24 1994 in Atlanta GA. Lost to Terrence Bollea in Orlando FL on JUL 17 1994.

21. Ric Flair defeated Sting for the WCW International World title on JUN 24 1994 in Orlando FL. The WCW International World title was unified with the WCW World title with this match and therefore considered retired.

22. Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WCW World title in Nashville TN on DEC 27 1995. Lost to Randy Savage in Las Vegas NV on JAN 22 1996.

23. Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WCW World title in St. Petersburg FL on FEB 11 1996. Lost to The Giant in Albany GA on APR 22 1996.

24. Ric Flair defeated Terrence Bollea for the WCW World title in Louisville KY on MAR 14 1999. Lost to Dallas Page in Tacoma WA on APR 11 1999.

25. Ric Flair defeated Jeff Jarrett in Biloxi MS on MAY 15 2000. Stripped of the title by Vince Russo on MAY 22 2000.

26. Ric Flair won the WCW World title when Kevin Nash surrendered to him in Salt Lake City UT on May 29 2000. Lost to Jeff Jarrett in Salt Lake City UT on May 29 2000.

I knew he won 25 times but apparently there has been 1 more found

[Emerald Enthusiast]

A friend of mine (a huge Flair fan) produced a list like this a few years back, though I think yours is more complete. Before the advent of the Internet, promoters engaged in a lot of revisionist history to suit their storylines. Much like Andre The Giant's pre-1987 losses, Flair's title changes often went unrecognized because no one got the word out.

[tnafan17: The Total Package]

Some of those are definitely before my time, but good god. I thought 16 was a lot, but 26? Flair truely is THE man like he claimed he was.

[sevb30]

But why would they hype the 16 or 17 and not all of these?

[indywrestling]

Jan 8, 2010 20:16:30 GMT -5 sevb30 said:

But why would they hype the 16 or 17 and not all of these?

im sayin, unless he just kinda quotes the one that meant something, i dont know, but its new to me, good stuff

[Deleted]

It's a pity that 'revisionist' history needs to be at the forefront, but regardless, 26 times the man is incredible, moreso when you factor in there how many he won in amazing matches.

[wwfepenguin]

Lets see HHH get 27.

*waits for you know what*

[carly1988]

Jan 8, 2010 20:16:30 GMT -5 sevb30 said:

But why would they hype the 16 or 17 and not all of these?

The main reason that some of these arnt credited is because it would make the NWA title look weaker. Losing the belt on Wednesday and winning it back Saturday makes the previous champion look weak. NWA liked having lengthy title reigns. It happens but outside of the handful of people that witness it, its not recorded. Flair has come out and said he was a 21 time world champ though.

NWA-10
WCW-7
WWF-2
WCW International-2

[Deleted]

2 things I want to mention.
1. Ric Flair did not beat Jovica in a rematch, but their original match's decision was reversed when Jovica's feet were on the ropes during the pin. It still counts as a title victory but just wanted to make that clear.
2. Also, Flair is technically a 27+ time champion because Kevin Von Erich beat Flair for the NWA title in '83, but the decision was reversed when Flair was thrown over the top rope during the matchup - 

[Nivro™]

Jun 1, 2016 13:51:43 GMT -5 @jowenxc said:

2 things I want to mention.
1. Ric Flair did not beat Jovica in a rematch, but their original match's decision was reversed when Jovica's feet were on the ropes during the pin. It still counts as a title victory but just wanted to make that clear.
2. Also, Flair is technically a 27+ time champion because Kevin Von Erich beat Flair for the NWA title in '83, but the decision was reversed when Flair was thrown over the top rope during the matchup - 

No it was a rematch that he won the title in. It was a common thing that happened back then. Drop the title, let fans celebrate, get title back and come home and nobody make mention of it.

Feb 8, 1983: Ato Boldon: Couva-Trinidad: Victor Jovica def Ric Flair for the NWA World Title.

Feb 11, 1983: Manati-PR: Ric Flair def Victor Jovica for the NWA World Title.

Also Kevin's win didnt count at all for the NWA Title so Flair is still a 26 time champion. What happened during the Kevin-Flair match was the notorious "Dusty Finish" where they believe the home town guy won the title only for him to be DQ'ed. Dusty booked finishes like this all the time (hence the name Dusty Finish)...If you counted every finish like this as a title change, Dusty himself would have A LOT more title reigns to his name.

[k5]

this is mind blowing. flair is the man, undoubtedly.

[JC Motors]

Nobody will ever top it

[hbkbigdaddycool]

Wow! This thread is so old.

[bad guy™]

Jun 1, 2016 13:51:43 GMT -5 @jowenxc said:

2 things I want to mention.
1. Ric Flair did not beat Jovica in a rematch, but their original match's decision was reversed when Jovica's feet were on the ropes during the pin. It still counts as a title victory but just wanted to make that clear.
2. Also, Flair is technically a 27+ time champion because Kevin Von Erich beat Flair for the NWA title in '83, but the decision was reversed when Flair was thrown over the top rope during the matchup - 

Please don't bump 6 year old threads. Know you're new here, but bumping old threads is a no no here man.