Review of 30 for 30: Nature Boy
It’s been almost ten years ago that Ric Flair had his last match in WWE which is a weekend that wrestling fans will never forget. Shortly after that WWE released a documentary on Ric Flair called the “Definitive Collection.” Before I sat down to watch Rory Karpf’s film I asked myself how was this going to be different from the WWE documentary? How much more would we learn about the Nature Boy Ric Flair? Those questions were answered and they answered in such a deep way that was moving and heart-wrenching. Ric Flair was the embodiment of what people wanted to be in professional wrestling. He lived a glamorous life full of nice cars, nice clothes and a lot of women. Even though this was a lifestyle that didn’t come without it’s struggles and sacrifices. Rory did a great job asking Flair some really tough questions and getting to the heart of some many issues that transpired over his life. Ric was very open and honest about his personal and professional problems, which made this documentary much more intense than the WWE version.
There were a lot of highlights for me in this film like hearing from The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Hulk Hogan. For me personally being a long time Hogan fan and hearing him say that Ric Flair “was ten times better than he ever was.” I think any pure wrestling knew that Flair is the greatest wrestler ever and Hogan was a great entertainer who connected with the fans in a totally different way. I also thought it was very cool of The Undertaker to break character to talk about Ric and his career. This is only the second time I can remember Taker being on camera for someone’s personal documentary. The other time was for Triple which shows the amount of respect he has for both men. The most heart wrenching moment in this film is when Ric talked about the death of his son Reid and the things that followed. He was in a dark place filled with depression and resorting to alcohol to battle with that depression. It was through friends like Triple H and his the dream that Ashley carried on that helped him recover. He has been very instrumental in helping Ashley become one of the best performer WWE has today.
When I think of Ric Flair I think of a perfect wrestling character living an imperfect life. That imperfect life as a person resulted in him missing out on his children, having multiple marriage issues and hitting rock bottom. As most people know Ric almost died this past summer due to some major health issues that was due to years of not taking himself. This story isn’t just about his mistakes it’s a living testimony that he’s now a miracle to have gone through all of that and he survived. I am thankful that he is using his story to teach others the things you shouldn’t do when you’re in the spotlight. Over the last few years Ric has cleaned up his life tremendously and his become a better person, an inspiration and someone people continue to love and admire. This film brought out the best and worst in the Nature Boy Ric Flair and if his story didn’t bring out emotion, get you choked up or shed a tear you have thicker skin then I do.
When I think about this documentary this might go down as the greatest pro wrestling documentary of all time. The WWE has put out a lot of great documentaries in their time but there is something about the non-WWE films that have much more of an impact. I look at the Nature Boy the same way I do as The Resurrection of Jake the Snake Roberts and The Price of Fame. The WWE tends to have filters when filming their own documentaries which is great for their brand but it doesn’t give the performer or person a real chance to share the real story. Rory Karpf gave us the opportunity to find out the real intimate details of Ric Flair’s life and Flair was courageous enough to share them. I believe this documentary will stand the test of time and will be used as a tool for years to come on how to be a great wrestler. I also believe it will be an example of how to be a better person when you’re not performing in-front of a large audience. I believe fame, fortune, popularity and power are not all bad things if you know how to manage them properly. Ric Flair use to say “Diamonds are Forever and so is Ric Flair.” His legacy, life, work ethic, his highs, his lows and everything in between will be remembered forever. To be the man you have to beat the man but after watching this to be a man you should learn from the man whose known as the Nature Boy. Thank you to “The Stylin’, profilin’, limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ n’ dealin’ son of a gun!” WOOOO!
