Second Nature
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I think I got better because I wanted to get out of there so badly. There was also another reason: Wendy.
This was another time Wendy could’ve left. Instead, she was there for me every step of the way. She visited me every single weekend. Wendy’s unconditional love and boundless positivity made me look forward to the weekend. She never made me feel like I was trapped somewhere or that I should feel ashamed for being where I was. Wendy was always upbeat and kept me in good spirits. This was another difficult time she helped me get through, and didn’t expect anything in return. She did it because she loved me. Wendy needs to know I made it through one of the most difficult times of my life because of her.”
7 Ric’s Legacy Talent agent, Melinda: “I’ve seen Ric emotional plenty of times but nothing like that day. He was crying so hard I couldn’t understand what he was saying. It’s hard to witness someone you are so close to break. Of course by the end of his stay he had made fans of every single person in there with him. Ric bought everyone cable TV for their rooms. I had to ship his WWE DVDs to all the guys in there with him. We still get fan mail from his rehab buddies to this day. Only Ric!”
17. YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION
1 Natalya: “That night, I wanted to make sure I gave Ashley the special moment she deserved. I think our match at TakeOver was when she broke through and found herself as a performer.”
2 Ric: “Ashley reminded me of me. When I started out, I was so eager to succeed and just wanted to know how I was doing. I remember hounding Harley Race and Terry Funk. ‘Do you think I’ll be the world champion one day? Do you think I have what it takes to make it? When do you think that would be?’ I annoyed the hell out of them. Now I was getting a dose of my own medicine. Ashley wanted to make it to the main roster more than anything.”
3 Paul Levesque: “Ashley’s part of a select group of women who are catalysts responsible for the dynamic way female competitors are presented to our audience. She needed to reinvent herself. She needed to create her own path and not be the second coming of Ric but be the first Charlotte.”
4 Ric: “During my career, there were certain guys who the fans loved giving their full support to during their climb to the world title. But once they got the championship and had to be the lead person to carry a story line and a championship, to have a thirty- or sixty-minute match, or have the quality of interviews where the fans are buying tickets, or watching a weekly TV program, or buying a pay-per-view based on what they said, the same enthusiasm wasn’t there. It fell short. That’s taken for granted, because when it’s done properly, you don’t notice it. People think anyone with a good physical appearance, or great athletic ability, or great interview skills can do all those things. To be the absolute best in this profession, you need to have all those things working together every night. That’s why I talk about the ‘total performer.’ Ashley learned that the best way possible: on the job.”
5 Ric: “After Reid died, I went into a tailspin. I couldn’t accept that my son was gone. I didn’t know how to deal with the pain of missing him. I did something I shouldn’t have done. For one year, I’d go to a restaurant or bar and begin drinking at eleven o’clock in the morning. I’d stay until it was closing time. I used alcohol to cope with the pain and feeling of guilt that took over. Over the years, so many people paid me the honor of saying I embodied everything they wanted to be. During that time, I became the example of what not to do. I was on the periphery of the business I felt so connected to in my mind and my heart. I was not myself. I was not ready to return to work with WWE on a consistent basis. I told myself enough was enough. I had children and grandchildren who needed me. I needed to return to being a meaningful part of their lives. The opportunity to work with my daughter every week was not something I ever expected.”
6 Ric: “She screamed at me right in the middle of the match. What was I supposed to do? I thought she was legitimately hurt. You know what she said to me the next day? She said that she was going to write down what I needed to do on the bottom of her boots. I couldn’t believe it.”
7 Ric: “I couldn’t describe the feeling of appearing on camera with Ashley. I was so proud of her hard work and how she developed into a top-flight performer in such a brief period of time. The only person I remember picking up our business so quickly was Kurt Angle. I never thought I’d work with her in this way. It was absolutely phenomenal.”
8 Stephanie McMahon: “It was a company decision to change the way women were presented to our audience and to no longer refer to them as Divas but to call them Superstars just like the men. WrestleMania was the best place for WWE to showcase the strength of our female competitors and launch the Women’s Evolution. The women deserved it.”
18. DEFINING A GENERATION
1 Ric: “I’ve always said, if you can leave this business and count on two hands the number of real friends you have, you’re fortunate. Make no mistake about it: Becky Lynch is a special person.”
2 Ric: “I was happy that Ashley had such great people to work with in Becky and Sasha. Something that I used to have to do when I’d go to different territories was work with people I never worked with before in marquee matches. I knew the three of them were going to have the best match on the card.”
3 Becky Lynch: “Our goal was not to start a revolution or trend on social media. The women wanted to be viewed as equal to the men. We wanted to be known as great performers who were known for having great matches. The real revolution won’t be a hashtag.”
4 Ric: “I got emotional right there on the spot. I couldn’t help it. I never thought it would be my daughter doing this. And she’s done so well. I’m so proud of her. She’s backstage at WrestleMania wearing a robe for her match that has parts of my robe from my match with Shawn Michaels? It was unbelievable. She just told me I couldn’t cry during our entrance. I knew that part. There’s a saying in this business about ‘passing the torch.’ I didn’t pass anything to Ashley. She took the torch from me and ran as fast and far as she could with it. I’m not saying that because she’s my daughter. I’m saying that because it’s true and I know. With the exception of a few guys, over the last forty years, I’ve been in the ring with everyone in this business. I don’t care who you are or what your name is. When you’re the one in the ring, you have to deliver. Every night.”
5 Lita: “It was incredible to see Ashley emerge as Charlotte, because they’re two different people. She was excellent at learning. She built on everything she learned and made it her own. Ashley’s the most rewarding person I ever worked with. Those three women put on a match that was pure poetry. It had a main-event feel. I hope at some point they can look back and watch that match so they can reflect on it and absorb what a big moment in history it was.”
6 Paul Levesque: “This is the daughter of the greatest professional wrestler of all time. Ashley never had an interest in this. Reid’s dream became her dream. Reid’s passing brought Ashley’s purpose to the forefront. To see where she landed is awesome. Everything she is, she earned.”
7 Sara Amato: “Ashley’s the hardest-working, most deserving talent. She continues to evolve as a professional and dedicate herself to this business. Ashley’s not only an amazing performer but an inspiring woman.”
8 Paul Heyman: “Ashley was the perfect choice to establish the women’s division and the new WWE Women’s Championship. She has the intangible ‘it’ factor—a combination of look, talent, charisma, and the indescribable magic that occurs between a select few performers and the audience. It’s the difference between a long-term, top-level, number-one Superstar and being someone who goes in and out of the main event. Ashley has the magic—the magic that can’t be fully described even by people who’ve witnessed it their entire lives.”
9 Ric: “Through this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with Ashley, I realized that doing other things in the business was not taking a backseat. It wasn’t my career being minimized. Let’s not get crazy; of course I can still go forty-five minutes i
n a match. The difference is now I don’t feel lost if I’m not doing that. I’m secure with my legacy as a performer. I’m secure with myself as a person. I had to change the way I looked at myself in the context of the business. I moved on to another chapter in my career. I was grateful that I could still be involved in the industry I’ve loved my whole life. To be able to work with my daughter was a gift. For our relationship to return to a place it hadn’t been in years was a blessing. After all we’ve been through, we’re stronger than ever. I’m excited about what lies ahead.”
ALSO BY RIC FLAIR
Ric Flair: To Be the Man (with Mark Madden)
ALSO BY BRIAN SHIELDS
30 Years of WrestleMania
WWE Encyclopedia Updated & Expanded (with Kevin Sullivan)
DK Reader: WWE John Cena
DK Reader: WWE Triple H
WWE Encyclopedia—The Definitive Guide to World Wrestling Entertainment (with Kevin Sullivan)
Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
RICHARD MORGAN FLIEHR aka “Nature Boy” Ric Flair is a sixteen-time World Champion in sports entertainment. He began his professional career with the AWA in 1972. He was the cornerstone of the NWA/WCW for over two decades and leader of the illustrious Four Horsemen faction. He is also a former WWE Champion and the only man to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice. You can sign up for email updates here.
ASHLEY ELIZABETH FLIEHR aka Charlotte is the daughter of Ric Flair. She first made a name for herself in WWE’s NXT brand before ascending to claim the WWE Women’s Championship four times. A cornerstone of WWE’s Women’s Revolution, Charlotte competed in WWE’s first pay-per-view main event featuring female superstars and is the first woman to headline both Raw and SmackDown Live. You can sign up for email updates here.
BRIAN SHIELDS is a New York Times bestselling author and adjunct professor. He has partnered with Mattel & 2K Games, and writes at the Friars Club in New York. Follow him on Twitter: @itsbrianshields. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Ric’s Acknowledgments
Charlotte’s Acknowledgments
Foreword by Paul “Triple H” Levesque
PART I: LIFE AS THE NATURE BOY
Introduction: Hello, Dallas, My Dear Friend
1. History, Fate, and Destiny
2. Entering Immortality
3. To Be the Man, You Gotta Beat the Man
4. I Was in Paradise—It Was All a Mirage
5. What a Year
6. An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse
7. On My Way Home
PART II: GROWING UP FLIEHR: AND SO IT BEGINS …
8. A Beautiful Life
9. A Blessing and a Curse
10. Adversity Comes in Many Forms
11. Where Do I Go Now?
12. Lost
13. I Thought It Was Just Dinner
14. A Whole New World
PART III: LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME
15. Sweet Child of Mine
PART IV: REUNITED
16. Building the Future: We Are NXT
17. You Say You Want a Revolution
18. Defining a Generation
PART V: DEDICATIONS
Photographs
Notes
Also by Ric Flair
About the Authors
Copyright
The statements and opinions expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of WWE. WWE hereby disclaims any responsibility for such statements and opinions, and they should not be construed as representing WWE’s position on any subject.
SECOND NATURE. Copyright © 2017 by WWE. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Photos courtesy of the WWE, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and the authors.
Cover design by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Cover photograph courtesy of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-12057-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-15178-0 (signed edition)
ISBN 978-1-250-12058-8 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250120588
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First Edition: September 2017
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