CvC 2.0: What If Ric Flair Had Died in the 1975 Plane Crash?

Red Division (Cross The Line Division)

Daniel Massey vs. Rize vs. Ben Gartland

What if Ric Flair had died in the 1975 plane crash?

Hello folks! Well, I can’t believe it but I’m in the Red Division Final!

I’m going up against Rize and Ben Gartland in a subject that I had no idea about prior to this competition. I feel honoured to be going up against two of the best writers on this site.

On Oct. 4 1975, the plane that Ric Flair was traveling on, ran out of gas and made a crash landing, ending the careers of two wrestlers—Bobby Bruggers and Johnny Valentine.

Ric Flair broke his back, and was told he would never wrestle again. Regardless, The Nature Boy went on to be 16-time World Champion and became the No. 1 man in the wrestling business for many years.

This veteran of the game has given so much to the world of wrestling, to many different promotions and has influenced the move-sets of those who have followed in his footsteps.

One has to wonder what would have happened to the professional wrestling business had that plane crash claimed the life of one of the most influential characters ever.

I have created this slideshow to analyse the biggest aspects of Flair's career, and what would have happened without them.

I ask you to sit back, relax and enjoy the read.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion

When Ric Flair became the NWA World Heavyweight Champion towards the end of 1981 due to beating Dusty Rhodes, whether fans knew it or not, a new era of wrestling was being ushered in.

This new, flamboyant kid on the block, had won one of the top prizes in wrestling at that time, and was never content with being modest. Flashy costumes, camaraderie with the wrestling fans, arrogance and an extremely expensive lifestyle not only helped Ric Flair’s career, but also helped to expose wrestling to the mass audience.

He established himself as the main man in wrestling—someone the fans could love or love to hate, and it was through this that many more people became aware of the wrestling promotions.

But if Ric Flair had not been there to usher in this era, to break the mold of the stereotypical NWA Champion, what would have happened?  

I have to believe that the NWA Championship would have been passed around the older veterans such as Harley Race and Dusty Rhodes.

I would even go as far as to say that a younger champion would have never had the chance to hold the belt throughout the '80s.

Ric Flair obviously would not have had a monopoly of reigns with the belt throughout the eighties, and the reigns of people such as Harley Race and Dusty Rhodes may have been a lot longer.

Ricky Steamboat, though he held the belt, may have held it for a long period of time, given his in-ring skill and overall wrestling ability.

16-Time World Champion

Flair is officially recognised as being a 16-time World Champion, though as shown in this promo, he considers that he is actually a 21-time World Champion.

Whether it’s 16 times or 21 times the fact still remains that it is not even close to being rivaled by any superstar of today or yesteryear.

If Ric Flair had not have had a chance to win all these prestigious titles, it would be Triple H who could take the credit for being the superstar with the most World Championship reigns in history.

This would catapult Triple H into an even bigger star than he is now. In my mind, he would be as highly regarded as Ric Flair is.

Despite being as well known and as respected, there is no doubt that Ric Flair will always be considered a bigger influence than Triple H, and his title reigns are one of the reasons why.

Without them, I would be saying the same about The Game, who has managed a total of 13 reigns.  

If Ric Flair had not grown into the excellent champion he became, it would be goodbye to all the great feuds caused by his reigns, goodbye to the flamboyancy he injected into the business and goodbye to the dirty tactics he employed, which became commonplace—granted they would have existed, but wrestling would be behind its time as Ric Flair was the perfect man to add all of these things to the business.

It was due to his first title reign that he was able to adopt these gimmicky traits and change the world of professional wrestling forever.

The Four Horsemen, Evolution, Fortune and Immortal

Stables are a big part of wrestling—Nexus, The Corre, D-Generation X.

However, Ric Flair was part of some of the greatest stables ever.

I am of the opinion that they would not have been as successful had Flair not been involved in some way, shape or form.

The Four Horsemen are possibly one of the most recognisable groups within professional wrestling.

Consisting of Ric Flair, Arn and Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard, they popularised the heel stable. None of the previous mentioned stables probably would have existed as they did had it not been for the Four Horsemen, which couldn’t have existed without Flair.

The fact they were more than willing to put over their opponents for the good of the business was also a testament to the first proper heel stable.

I have to believe that most of the decisions regarding the group’s win/loss ratio were down to Flair, as he was the leader and already a veteran by the time of the stable.

Though Ric Flair was not the leader of Evolution, I don’t think the group could have existed without him. His star power made the group seem extremely important and his past experiences in heel stables helped him make this one a huge success.

I don’t watch TNA programming, but I heard he has been a part of both big stables on there (Fortune and Immortal).

At 62, that’s pretty good I’d say and also proves he has the ability to run stables effectively, even if he isn't the leader.

WCW

WCW would not have been nearly as successful without Ric Flair.

There is no doubt in my mind that Ric Flair was one of the biggest draws in the company in its infancy, and without his star power, probably would have struggled more than they had to, to get the exposure they needed to beat the then WWF.

Winning the top title in the company over and over again just proved that Ric Flair was one of the main characters keeping WCW at the top.

He had many notable feuds and even created a new version of the Four Horsemen.

Had he not been alive to enjoy his second run in WCW, I have to believe that the company may have failed even quicker than it actually did.

Having Flair in the company full stop was a smart idea and contributed to the early success they received in the early '90s.

It could be argued, however, that Ric Flair’s absence would have allowed younger guys to hold the WCW belt, before the NWO gained control over everything and the booking went to pot.

In essence, Ric Flair not being there could have meant an entirely different WCW.

As for me, I just think Hogan would have received the belt quicker.

Sting, Batista and Randy Orton

These are just three examples of men who Ric Flair helped to become huge stars in the industry. Ric Flair undoubtedly allowed Sting to rise to the heights he did, by working so professionally with him during his stints in WCW.

The feuds the two men had have already gone down in history. Sting and Flair started Monday Nitro together and ended it together. Without the tutelage of Flair, who knows where Sting would be now?

It was Flair who taught Sting how to hone his skills in the ring, by requesting work with the young upstart and teaching him by showing him.

These two men have wrestled some excellent matches, and without Flair, I do not believe Sting would be as big as he is today.

There would also be a huge gap in Sting’s history, as some of his best matches were with the Nature Boy.

Batista and Randy Orton were members of the stable Evolution and both went on to be WWE and World Heavyweight Champions.

The exposure they got with Flair and the opportunities to work with him helped them achieve their goal of becoming top stars in the WWE.

As mentioned in a slide previous, if Ric Flair had not been alive, I do not believe Evolution would have existed, and I would even go as far to say that Randy and Batista would not have become the big stars that they did become.

It could be argued that Flair was not hat instrumental in these wrestlers’ rise to the top, but I believe he was.

He helped to get them noticed, which is everything in the wrestling industry.

Match of the Year – WrestleMania XXIV

Of course, we would not have had the very memorable Match of the Year at WrestleMania XXIV where he faced Shawn Michaels in a career threatening match.

Though he lost, the crowd did not care and gave the wrestling icon the reception he deserved. The main event of WrestleMania XXIV would have been extremely different.

We may have even seen Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels a year early!

WOOOO!!

A catchphrase that is still heard today throughout arenas as a knife edge chop is used.

This catchphrase is arguably one of the most recognisable in the wrestling business.

Had Flair not have been around and not gained the worldwide exposure he did, knife-edge chops may be met with a deathly silence...

WWE Hall of Fame

There would be a gap in the Hall of Fame without “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Inducted in 2008, he was actually the first active wrestler to be inducted into the Hall.

There are many who would have filled his spot had he not been there, but I cannot fathom the thought of him not being in the Hall of Fame or even existing.

Legend

I have been focusing on segments of Ric Flair’s life that would have been very different had he not survived the almost fatal plane crash.

But looking at the bigger picture, it is clear to see that the landscape of wrestling would be completely different.

I have to take into account the fact that this would work as a butterfly effect, and the first point I made would make the rest null and void, but one can’t look at it like that.

It is only feasible to address each point in Flair’s life and speculate on what would have happened if he had died on that day.

The legend would not exist.

Just think about that for a moment.

Professional wrestling without Ric Flair.

Hard isn’t it?  

The point is, we would have missed out on a huge chunk of wrestling that has been beneficial to all involved—the wrestlers, the audience, even the different promotions he worked for.

Nothing would have been the same. I believe another star would have come along with the same sort of style as Flair projected, but I can’t imagine him being as good in the ring or out—a lack of pizzazz comes to mind.

We would be losing a great in-ring technician, a fantastic catchphrase still heard today a flamboyant dresser—a legend.

Without all these things we would be looking at a very different product and it is hard to deduce what would have happened with no Ric Flair.

Thanks for Reading!

I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it.

It really has been a pleasure to write in this tournament, and I can't believe I have made it this far!

Please leave your comments in the section below, detailing your thoughts and ideas surrounding the subject. As you well know by now, I always reply to all comments

Thanks for reading!

Rize’s article

Ben Gartland’s article