WWE/TNA: Wrestlers Who Would Not Be Stars If Not for Ric Flair

He has affected more wrestlers in his time in the ring more than anyone else in professional wrestling.

The comparisons between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan are going to exist. There is no debate, however. Ric Flair came to the NWA with the idea that wrestling should be on the marquee and that is what he has done for over 30 years.

Hogan started "wrestling" and then became part of the entertainment machine that is the WWE. The two promotions and brands cannot be compared because they are now entirely different beasts.

Flair said "To Be The Man, You Have To Beat The Man." In doing so, he helped the likes of Jim Cornette, Ricky Steamboat and Ricky Morton get over as true superstars.

Here is a look at 10 wrestlers Flair had an impact on and helped to achieve superstar status.

10. Lex Lugar

Larry Pfohl would have been a star in his own right in Florida and then may have fallen into oblivion. But flair brought him into the Horsemen and taught him the ropes.

Flair saw something in the former football player that he believed was special. The body was one thing, but the technique and the training were all Flair.

Flair even pushed for Luger to main event while other vets in the locker room were upset he was taking their spot.

Luger was great when he held singles titles like the Southern Championship or the U.S. Heavyweight Title, but when he was World Champion in WCW, he was mediocre.

9. Triple H

He was already a star many times over from Degeneration X. But when Triple H and Flair came together to form Evolution, it was magic.

Flair had gone from the top rung to the wizened veteran of the group, much like Ole Anderson in the original Horsemen.

Triple H is the champion everyone wanted to be and Flair could still deliver a great match anytime. He took Triple H under his wing and taught him about being the hated heel everyone could love.

8. Greg Valentine

He replaced his father Johnny Valentine when his father was injured in the plane crash Flair survived.

Valentine was a great worker and he and Flair were great tag team partners.

Valentine's time with Flair in the Carolinas led to Valentine becoming a singles champion and set up a heated feud with Roddy Piper that nearly destroyed both men.

Valentine then went on to great success in the WWE.

7. Nikita Koloff

The Russian Nightmare could never pry the world title from Flair, but the matches between the two of them proved Koloff could be a star.

Flair has said he felt safe in the ring with the behemoth even if Koloff (Scott Simpson) was raw and needed to learn about the business.

Koloff was friends with the Road Warriors in Minnesota before getting into the business. He was a great singles competitor and was a tag team partner of Dusty Rhodes.

6. Batista

David Batista was going to be a wild man in the ring no matter what when he came to the WWE. When he joined Evolution and was the enforcer of the group, it only led to the creation of a champion.

Batista talks about Flair being instrumental in his development and the two took on a mentor-student type relationship. And when the two won the world tag titles, Flair helped him work on his persona and his skills to develop into an even bigger superstar.

While Batista had the physical skills, the the mental gamesmanship was a trait Flair helped him with to get over as a champion.

5. Ricky Steamboat

Richard Blood was a marginal player in wrestling before he moved to the Carolinas and worked an angle with Flair.

As Steamboat he was a great singles wrestler.  He worked with Jay Youngblood as tag team champions and battled with Flair as the top heel and face in Crockett Promotions at one time.

This set up Steamboat for a future title run when he defeated Flair in WCW and he was outstanding in the WWE with his feud with Randy Savage.

Flair said working with Steamboat wasn't working at all - he was that good.

4. Ricky Morton

Ric Flair said he was instrumental in bringing the Rock and Roll Express and the Midnight Express to the NWA in the 1980s.

Along the way, he had a series of matches with Morton, much like he did with Steamboat. The same tactics of roughing his up and "breaking his nose" were used for authenticity.

Morton was the better part of the Rock & Roll Express with Robert Gibson.  But when he was in singles competition, he proved he was just as adept at making everything look like it was the best around.

3. Barry Windham

He was a tall rugged Texan who was the son of Blackjack Mulligan. Flair and Mulligan were great friends in the NWA during the 1970s. He feuded with Mulligan's son in Florida in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Windham was probably held up by Flair's success in the NWA. But Flair brought out the best in him when they fought against each other and when Windham joined the Horsemen in the late 1980s.

Windham was the standard for Randy Orton and Edge later on in the WWE with his size, style and his aggressiveness.

2. Sting

Flair was the one who basically decided Sting would be the next great champion.

Sting was green when he came to WCW. Flair knew he could draw money with Sting and felt safe in the ring with the 260-pounder from California,

Sting went on to win numerous titles and challenge Flair over the last twenty-plus years for wrestling supremacy.

Sting and Flair are back together in TNA but Flair is not wrestling and Sting is world champion.

Even at 52 years old, he can still wrestle with the best of them

1. Arn Anderson

Marty Lunde was a mid-card player before he came to the NWA, became a member of the Horsemen and played the part of Flair's sidekick and his real life best friend.

Anderson was a great in-ring performer and could talk with the best of them.  When there was a battle to be waged, no one was tougher then AA.

Anderson may have been a better mat wrestler then Flair and a better worker, but he could not have drawn money like Flair.

If there was one person who could match Flair with in-ring skill, it may have been his best friend.