Reid Flair

Richard Reid Fliehr[5] (February 26, 1988 – March 29, 2013),[1] better known by his ring name Reid Flair, was an American professional wrestler. He was the youngest son of retired professional wrestler Ric Flair, younger half-brother of wrestler David Flair.

Reid Flair
Reid Flair in 2009
Birth nameRichard Reid Fliehr
Born(1988-02-26)February 26, 1988[1]
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.[1]
DiedMarch 29, 2013(2013-03-29) (aged 25)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.[2]
Cause of deathdrug overdose of heroin, clonazepam tranquilizers and alprazolam
Parent(s)Ric Flair (father)
RelativesCharlotte Flair (sister)
David Flair (half-brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Reid Flair[3]
Billed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Billed weight215 lb (98 kg)[3]
Billed fromCharlotte, North Carolina
Trained byRic Flair[1]
Harley Race[3]
George South[4]
Terry Taylor[1]
Debut1998[1]

Amateur wrestling career

Fliehr attended Providence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina and Blair Academy in New Jersey, and was an accomplished amateur wrestler achieving numerous awards.[6] During a tournament, Fliehr attacked another competitor after he taunted Fliehr by mocking his father.[7] In April 1998, Fliehr won the AAU National Wrestling Tournament.[8]

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1998, 2000)

Fliehr wrestled two matches in the now defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In the first, on October 4, 1998, he was ten years old when he defeated Eric Bischoff and on June 12, 2000, he teamed with his father Ric in a loss to David Flair and Vince Russo in a tag team match.[1][9][10]

Independent circuit and All Japan Pro Wrestling (2008–2013)
Flair (left) in a tag team match with Greg Valentine

Fliehr made an appearance on March 29, 2008 during the WWE Hall of Fame. The next night, he made his first WrestleMania appearance with his family representing Ric Flair in the Hall of Fame. He also sat at ringside during the WrestleMania XXIV event.[3] He appeared on Raw the following night with his family to honor his father's career.[11]

Throughout 2008, Flair was trained by Harley Race.[3] Flair made his debut on December 6, 2008, under the name "Reid Flair", teaming with his elder brother David to defeat The Nasty Boys in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Hulk Hogan as the special guest referee.[3][12] He wrestled for many independent promotions such as Big Time Wrestling and Northeast Wrestling.

On April 11, 2009, Flair, his brother David, and Brad Anderson beat Jeff Lewis, C.W. Anderson and Masked Superstar at an NWA Charlotte show. The match ended controversially with a double pin, when Flair pinned Lewis while CW Anderson pinned Brad Anderson. At the end of the match, Flair was awarded the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heritage Championship belt.[13] At NWA Charlotte's next show on May 25, however, Lewis was announced as the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heritage Champion, with no explanation given.[14] On May 2, he and David took on Buff Bagwell and Rikki Nelson and would lose. In June 2010, Reid teamed up with George South Jr. to take part in The Anderson Brothers Classic 4 Tournament where they defeated Caleb Konley and Cedric Alexander in the semi finals and Charlie Dreamer and Jake Manning in the final. In August he made his debut for Lucha Libre USA. In the same month next year he participated in NWA Future Legends Tournament and lost to John Skyler in the semi-final. In late 2012, it was reported that Flair had started training with All Japan Pro Wrestling.[15] Flair made his in-ring debut for All Japan on January 26, 2013, when he replaced his sick father in a tag team match, where he and Keiji Mutoh were defeated by Seiya Sanada and Tatsumi Fujinami, with Sanada submitting him for the win.[16] During February, Flair worked All Japan's Excite Series tour, wrestling undercard tag team matches.[17][18][19] On March 15, Flair wrestled his first singles match in All Japan, submitting Yasufumi Nakanoue with the figure-four leglock.[20] Flair returned to the United States following All Japan's March 17 event,[2] which was 12 days before his death.

Personal life

Fliehr was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to professional wrestler Ric Flair and Elizabeth Fliehr. He was the youngest of two siblings; he has a half-sister, Megan, a half-brother, David, and sister, Ashley. Fliehr attended and graduated from Providence High School in 2006. His favorite band was Guns N' Roses.[21]

Fliehr was arrested on June 23, 2007, for assault and battery, and was released after posting bail.[5] On March 4, 2009, Fliehr was arrested for driving while impaired in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and was released after posting $1000 in bail.[22] Fliehr was arrested again on April 26, 2009. After crashing his car, police found black tar heroin inside it, and he faced felony charges.[23] He was also charged with driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and was released after posting $15,000 in bail.[24][25] He later overdosed twice in 2011.[6]

During the Ric Flair 30 for 30 special, Triple H revealed that Fliehr wanted to sign a developmental contract with WWE but failed two drug tests, the second one being announced and actually worse than the first test. Ric, in denial of his son's problems, told Triple H that he thought that Fliehr had gotten a "supplement from GNC" instead of being honest with himself of Fliehr's real problems. Ric later admitted during the 30 for 30 special that he felt that he may have been a best friend to Reid at times when Reid would have been better served with Ric acting as his father.[26]

Death

On March 29, 2013, Flair was found dead in bed at a Residence Inn in the SouthPark neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina.[2][27][28] He was 25 years old. On June 14, 2013, Fliehr's autopsy revealed that it was drug overdose of heroin and traces of two prescription tranquilizers, clonazepam, and alprazolam, which contributed to his death.[29][6][30][31]

Posthumous Raw controversy

On November 16, 2015, six days before Survivor Series, Reid's sister WWE Divas Champion Charlotte signed a contract to face Paige at the event. Charlotte proclaimed she was doing this for Reid as a tribute to him. Paige then mocked her by saying that "Your little baby brother, he didn't have much fight in him, did he?"[32] It was later revealed that WWE did not ask permission from the Flair family to reference Reid's death, and had given no prior warning to his parents.[33] This angle was voted by Wrestling Observer Newsletter readers as the Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic of 2015.[34][35]

Championships and accomplishments
  • Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling
    • NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with David Flair
  • National Wrestling Alliance
    • The Anderson Brothers Classic 4 Tournament – with George South Jr.
  • NWA Charlotte
    • NWA Mid-Atlantic Heritage Championship (1 time)[1]
  • Xtreme World Wrestling
    • XWW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[36]

Other media

Filmography

Footnotes

1 At the conclusion of a match on April 11, 2009, Flair was handed the championship.[13] At the following show, the former champion Jeff Lewis was announced as the current champion, with no explanation given.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Reid Flair". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  2. Caldwell, James (March 29, 2013). "Flair News: Updated – Reid Flair reportedly dies at age 24". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  3. Andrews, Kenai (December 5, 2008). "Reid Flair about to strut into the spotlight; Charlotte supershow has big names, young and old". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  4. "PRESS ROOM – WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER". GeorgeSouth.com (originally Wrestling Observer Newsletter). August 25, 2008. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  5. "Arrest and Charges Summary". Office of the Sheriff – Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  6. Perlmutt, David (June 14, 2013). "Autopsy: Ric Flair's son Reid died from toxic mix of heroin, prescription drugs". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  7. "To Be the Man, You Have to Beat the Man's . . . Son". BadJocks.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2006. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  8. "Ric Flair Profile". Accelerator. Retrieved May 3, 2008. in April '98, Flair's son, Reid, qualified for the AAU National Wrestling Tournament (he went on to win).
  9. "1998 Nitro Results". Online World of Wrestling. October 4, 1998. Retrieved February 5, 2008. Reid Flair b Eric Bischoff
  10. "2000 Nitro Results". Online World of Wrestling. June 12, 2000. Retrieved February 5, 2008. David Flair and Vince Russo b Ric Flair and Reid Flair.
  11. Kapur, Bob (April 1, 2008). "Orlando fans as emotional as Flair". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  12. "Full Reid Flair debut show results with Nature Boy and Hulkster doing spots in the match". WrestlingObserver/Figure Four Online. December 8, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  13. "Final Destination". Georgia Wrestling History. April 11, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  14. Goodman, Larry (May 23, 2009). "May 23, 2009". Georgia Wrestling History. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  15. Caldwell, James (January 2, 2013). "Flair News: It's official – Ric Flair wrestling again". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  16. 2013　新春シャイニング・シリーズ. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 22, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  17. "2013 エキサイト・シリーズ". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  18. "2013 エキサイト・シリーズ". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  19. "2013 エキサイト・シリーズ". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  20. "Hold Out Tour 2013". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  21. WWE (August 19, 2016), How Charlotte honored her late brother with a tattoo: Superstar Ink, retrieved April 5, 2017
  22. "Arrest and Charges Summary Page – Fliehr, Richard Reid". Office of the Sheriff, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. March 4, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  23. "Investigators Warn Of New Type Of Heroin In Charlotte". WSOCTV.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  24. "Wrestler Ric Flair's Son Arrested By CMPD". WSOCTV.com. April 27, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  25. "Arrest and Charges Summary Page – Fliehr, Richard Reid". Office of the Sheriff, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  26. "30 for 30: Nature Boy". ESPN.
  27. Dyches, Chris. "Police report: Reid Flair incapacitated due to drugs". Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  28. "Ric Flair son Reid dead". TMZ. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  29. internhl; internhl (June 15, 2013). "Reid Flair: Ric Flair's Son's Cause Of Death Revealed In Autopsy Report". Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  30. "Ric Flair's Son Died From Heroin Overdose... Autopsy Shows". TMZ. June 14, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  31. Caldwell, James (June 14, 2013). "Flair News: Reid Flair's cause of death - heroin overdose". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  32. Gray, Richard (November 17, 2015). "Mother Of Reid Flair & Charlotte Calls Out WWE For "Lazy" & "Disrespectful" Writing". Wrestling News World.
  33. "WWE to release statement regarding Charlotte/Paige Raw angle (UPDATED)". November 19, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  34. "Ric Flair Says The Controversial Raw Ending Made Him Cry, That He Wasn't Approached About It, More - WrestlingInc.com". WrestlingInc.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  35. http://talksport.com/wwe/ric-flairs-tears-unexpected-use-late-sons-overdose-tragedy-charlotte-storyline-151118174761
  36. Jonathan Jones, David Perlmutt and Gary L. Wright. "Wrestling with a Legacy: Life, death of Reid Flair". Hack-Man.com. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
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