Slick Rick. The Nature Boy. Naitch. No Hair, No Flair. Ric Flair is a legend of the ring in WCW, NWA, WWE, TNA/IMPACT, and all around the world in a career spanning almost 50 years. During that time, he shaped his own in-ring style that suited his body’s condition after the 1975 plane crash and brought him championship gold on multiple occasions.
It was also a very “less is more” style, so this edition of “Moves of Doom Mondays” might be a bit of a trek as we look at Flair’s moves of doom.
Knife Edged Chop
We might as well get the most iconic Ric Flair move done and dusted. The Knife Edged Chop gets the most known chant for one move–”Wooooooo!!!” It’s not even his most devastating hold or the stiffest chop you’ll see. However, everyone loves to see and hear it.
The chop is just something he does, it’s his nod to the fans because his headlock and punches to the face are more effective but we would see that several times in a show.
That’s probably why the chop gets love as well. There was a time in wrestling when if a wrestler had something they did in a match, that was their thing. Whether it was a signature strike, a pinning variation, or their finisher—you typically didn’t see it that often.
If Ricky Steamboat wasn’t in the company, you were only seeing the chop from Flair or Wahoo.
DOOM Scale: 1.75 out of 5
Chop Block
I loved Flair’s chop block. It’s such a simple but dirty move and it often sets up for our last entry on the list. Now, it wasn’t going to end any matches but the chop block was sometimes the signal that the end was neigh—more on that “sometimes” in a bit, folks.
Even though it didn’t end matches, chop blocks are nasty work and you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of them.
Low Blow
Look, the low blow will always be a strong 5 out of 5 on the DOOM Scale. Oh, they don’t look devastating at all, it’s a forearm right to the coin purse. However, the effects are devastating! Also, it’s technically Flair’s most effective move.
Pair this with a school boy and you’re not only winning a belt, but you’ll also hold on to it as well.
DOOM Scale: 5 out of 5
Shin Breaker
The Shin Breaker was the natural setup for the Figure Four Leglock. You saw either on an easy day for Ric Flair or in hard fight when he had just enough juice left for the Figure Four. That’s given that he’s not in there with an eagle-eyed referee, then he could use the old low blow-roll up combo. It’s pretty destructive but won’t end the match.
It gets a 3 out of 5 mainly because it leads to our final entry.
DOOM Scale: 3 out of 5
Ric Flair and his Figure Four Leglock
The Figure Four is a move that confused me as a kid. It looked difficult to slap on like Ric Flair with the fluid spin to wrap the leg up before locking it in place. I mean, I learned the Scorpion Deathlock and the Texas Clover Leaf before I figured out the Figure Four.
This hold is kind of mixed because Flair occasionally got a submission with it later on and the pain exhaustion leading to a potential pin was always intriguing—but then Flair would win with the low blow-roll up combo or some other shenanigans.
It got to the point that there was something of a meme among old-school wrestling fans asking “Has Flair ever beaten anyone with the Figure Four?” There are fans from way back when who remember when Flair was getting wins with it. However, those of us who became fans in the 90s and beyond didn’t see it that often.
We knew it was possible because some opponents who were about to get locked in it were quick to push him away as if to say “You ain’t beating me with that move because that sh** hurts.”
Honestly, it depends on how much Ric Flair worked on the knees during the match before we saw its effectiveness. Unless he was spanking a jobber, then he just ruined their night with the Figure Four.
DOOM Scale: 3 out of 5
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