There's More Than One Nature Boy In WWE History

There are many things one could say or call WWE Hall of Fame Ric Flair; 16-time World Champion, one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time, problematic man who may or may not have overstayed his welcome in wrestling. But the phrase most associated with Flair over the course of his wrestling career has been the "Nature Boy. Adopting the moniker in the mid-70s, it both differentiated Flair from his previous work as a heavier, dark haired brawler, and grew to represent the jet set lifestyle Flair would live, in and out of the ring, during his career. Today, Flair is so synonymous with the "Nature Boy" name that, for most people, he's the only "Nature Boy." So it may come as a culture shock to many fans that Flair is one of three "Nature Boys" to step in a wrestling ring.

While Flair crossed paths with the other two "Nature Boy's," only one of them was an actual peer; "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel. Debuting at the age of 18 in the Midwest, Landel moved from territory to territory throughout the 1980s, crossing paths with Flair upon his second run with Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985. Flair and Landel feuded Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a program that proved to be so popular that a match between them in Raleigh, North Carolina saw fans turned away. Rumor persists that a plan was in place for Landel to eventually beat Flair for the championship, but it ultimately never came to pass, with management souring on him due to numerous issues. He would instead continue to drift through promotions in the U.S. and Japan throughout the rest of his career, becoming a "what might have been" story until his death in 2015.

Of course, neither Flair nor Landel can make the claim of being the original "Nature Boy," with that honor instead going to the legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. As one of the early stars of pro wrestling, Rogers was Ric Flair long before Flair had even laced up boots, something Flair himself would admit. As Flair did after him, Rogers sported bleached blonde hair, was among the most charismatic wrestlers of his time, and finished off his opponents with, you'll never guess, the Figure Four Leg Lock, a move Roberts invented. He also had a taste for gold similar to Flair, capturing fourteen world championships during his Hall of Fame career, including becoming the original WWE Champion (then WWWF Champion) on April 25, 1963.

Rogers largely retired from the ring shortly after his title win due to health issues, which at first glance would make it seem like he and Flair never had the chance to cross paths. That was not the case, however, as Roberts would come out of retirement in 1979 to work with Mid-Atlantic. Though not quite the star he would become, Flair was already an established name, holding the NWA United States Championship at the time. Capitalizing on having two "Nature Boys," Mid-Atlantic built to a match between the two at the Greensboro Coliseum on July 8, in an event dubbed "The Battle of the Nature Boys." The show would see the torch passed, with Flair defeating his idol, and officially starting him on the path that would cement Flair as the dominant "Nature Boy" in the wrestling business.