The Flair Family: A Legacy of Tragedy and Controversy
The Flair family is one of the most successful professional wrestling families in history. Ric Flair, a 16-time world champion, paved the way for his children, David, Reid, and Ashley, now known as “The Queen” Charlotte Flair, to follow in his footsteps. Charlotte has found immense success in WWE, rivaling her father’s title reigns and becoming one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time.
Charlotte’s journey to the top was not without its challenges. She began her career in WWE NXT and climbed the ranks, winning the NXT Women’s Championship, Divas Championship, WWE Women’s title, and various tag team titles. Her most recent singles title reign came with the SmackDown Women’s Championship from late 2022 to 2023. In total, WWE recognizes 14 of Charlotte’s world title reigns, making her a force to be reckoned with in the wrestling world.
Ric Flair’s own career was marked by tragedy and controversy. He was kidnapped at birth and later adopted by Richard and Kathleen Fliehr. Ric has spoken publicly about his kidnapping, stating that he was taken by human traffickers in Memphis and his name at birth was Fred Phillips. He was later adopted by the Fliehr family and grew up in Minnesota before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, to pursue a career in professional wrestling.
Ric Flair’s Rough Start in Life
Ric Flair’s life was not without its challenges. He was kidnapped at birth and later adopted by the Fliehr family. Ric has spoken publicly about his kidnapping, stating that he was taken by human traffickers in Memphis and his name at birth was Fred Phillips. He was later adopted by the Fliehr family and grew up in Minnesota before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, to pursue a career in professional wrestling.
Ric’s adoptive parents told him he was adopted when he was around five years old, and he never wanted to reach out to find his birth mother or family. However, he was contacted by a man claiming to be his biological brother in previous years. Despite the challenges he faced, Ric went on to become one of the most successful professional wrestlers of all time.
WWE
1975 Plane Crash
In 1975, Ric Flair was involved in a serious plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina. The crash occurred just over a year after he made his debut in the National Wrestling Alliance and a few months after he won his first singles title, the Mid-Atlantic Television Championship. The small plane was over its weight limit, and the pilot had trouble getting it off the ground. The plane took a nosedive into a crash landing, and Ric broke his back in three places. He was told by doctors he would never wrestle again, but he defied the odds and returned to the ring just three months later.
The crash had a significant impact on Ric’s career, forcing him to change his wrestling style and focus more on grappling. Despite the setback, Ric went on to become one of the most successful professional wrestlers of all time, winning numerous championships and earning a place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
WWE
Plane Ride from Hell
In 2002, Ric Flair was involved in a series of incidents on a WWE-chartered flight, known as the “Plane Ride from Hell.” The incident was brought back to light in 2021 when Vice’s documentary series “Dark Side of the Ring” dedicated an episode to it. Ric was accused of wearing one of his signature robes without anything else underneath and sexually harassing female flight attendants. The women sued WWE, but the case was settled out of court.
Ric confirmed he had plans to address the fallout from the episode, which included him briefly being removed from WWE’s opening sequence ahead of its shows and his merchandise being removed temporarily from WWE Shop. He denied he sexually assaulted a flight attendant and said that the impact of his drinking had been told “time and time again.”
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Death of Reid Flair
One of the most tragic events in the lives of the Flair family was the death of Reid Flair, Ric’s son and Charlotte’s younger brother, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 25. Reid struggled with addiction and was found dead at a North Carolina hotel. An autopsy revealed he died of a drug overdose.
Reid had followed in his father’s footsteps and began training for a professional wrestling career in 2008. He made his professional debut that year, teaming alongside his half-brother David to defeat The Nasty Boys in a match where Hulk Hogan served as the special guest referee. Despite his struggles with addiction, Reid was able to secure a spot in WWE’s developmental system, but he was let go before he could accomplish much in the company.
Previous Legal Troubles
The Flair family has also had their fair share of legal trouble. Charlotte was once arrested during an altercation involving her ex-husband, Riki Johnson, where Ric was also present and bloodied during the fight. The incident occurred in 2008 and ended with Charlotte being hit with a Taser and charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Ric and Charlotte wrote about the incident in their memoir, titled “Second Nature.” Charlotte wrote that her marriage to Johnson was full of physical and verbal abuse, and she was attempting to play peacekeeper between her then-husband and father during the incident. Johnson filed a lawsuit against the Flairs and WWE in 2018, alleging that Charlotte was “an out of control aggressor” during the incident and that she and Ric wrote multiple falsehoods about him in their book.
Joachim Sielski/Getty Images
Drama with Becky Lynch
Charlotte and Becky Lynch, two of the Four Horsewomen of WWE, had a falling out after competing on the same Survivor Series team in 2023. The women had a heated backstage altercation following a segment on SmackDown, where they were meant to swap belts after being drafted to different brands. The tension between them came to a head when Lynch threw her belt at Charlotte, and the two women had a heated exchange.
Ric also had heat with Lynch over the “The Man” trademark, which he believed played too closely off his “To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man” catchphrase. Despite the drama, Charlotte and Lynch have since rekindled their friendship and have appeared together at various WWE events
