The legacy of Ric Flair is second to none when diehard fans discuss the best in-ring workers. Flair was more than just a great wrestler, as his promos and character inspired many.

The older age of Flair sees him becoming friends with celebrities, getting endorsement deals, and even having rap songs made about him. Flair has become even more famous in retirement.

WCW was the place where he made his biggest name. Flair was the face of WCW that tried to make the company as successful as WWE. Other names would eventually come in and pass him in the pecking order, but he is still the name most linked with WCW’s history.

We will look at his relationships with the talents behind the scenes, and find out which names got along with him and which did not. These are five WCW wrestlers that Ric Flair loved along with five he had backstage heat with.

10
LOVED: STING
The bond between Ric Flair and Sting started due to Flair making Sting a bigger star. WCW placed them in a program together when Sting was rising up the card. Flair helped lead Sting to a few incredible matches that made him a superstar.

Both wrestlers were instrumental in WCW developing an identity as the second biggest wrestling promotion in the world. Flair and Sting’s mutual respect saw them always getting along with each other. They still have fun when making appearances together.

9 HAD HEAT WITH: HULK HOGAN
Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are close friends in 2020, but they had heat for many years. WCW saw Hogan passing Flair as the face of the company and using more backstage power to hold down the top spot. Flair was vocal about not liking the changes in WCW and was happy when the company ended.

One personal moment to cause more friction between Hogan and Flair came when Ric’s son David had a storyline with the New World Order. Hogan whipped David with a belt and many felt he was too stiff with the shots. Ric would not be pleased about his son getting such treatment from a wrestler. They did make peace in later years with Hogan likely regretting it.

8
LOVED: DUSTY RHODES
The early years of WCW saw Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes as two of the top stars. Dusty eventually wanted out of the ring and started moving into other roles. The backstage presence in creative along with on-screen broadcasting kept Rhodes in WCW

Flair always had a close connection with Dusty since they worked together so often. Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes still get treated with the utmost respect by Flair. These family ties will always see the Flairs and Rhodes showing mutual respect.

7
HAD HEAT WITH: PAUL ROMA
The Four Horsemen was a beloved act in WCW with many different incarnations. Paul Roma stood out as one of the few members that Ric Flair showed zero desire to work with. Flair and Arn Anderson ripped Roma in interviews about their time together.

Roma has gone out of his way to claim that Flair and Anderson sabotaged him out of jealousy for being a younger talent with a better look. The career of Roma never took off and the Four Horsemen failure essentially ruined his career.

6
LOVED: CURT HENNIG
The rivalry between Ric Flair and Curt Hennig in WCW saw them doing dastardly things to each other, but there was a disconnect with the booking. Flair wanted to work with Hennig due to his upbringing as a superb worker that grew up in the business.

The original vision of WCW would see a wrestler like Hennig placed into the main event picture to have great matches. Flair had the utmost respect for Hennig and went out of his way to sell for the attacks, including having a cage door slammed into his head.

5
HAD HEAT WITH: ERIC BISCHOFF
Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff had huge backstage issues in WCW during the Monday Night Wars. Bischoff was livid at Flair for no-showing an episode of Nitro to attend his son Reid’s amateur wrestling tournament.

The threats of Bischoff saw lawsuits thrown out and locker room speeches promising to make Flair poor. WCW eventually brought Flair back and used the real-life issues as a storyline between the two. They didn’t make peace until years later when working in WWE.

4
LOVED: DEAN MALENKO
Ric Flair vouching for a wrestler to join the Four Horsemen always showed a lot of respect and belief in their talent. Dean Malenko had a reputation for being one of the best in-ring workers, but he lacked on the promo side of the job.

The last version of the group saw Malenko join Flair, Chris Benoit, and Steve McMichael. Flair had a lot of love for Malenko, vouching for him as having the Horsemen spirit. Unfortunately, the group didn’t get much of a run and Malenko never got out of the lower mid-card.

3
HAD HEAT WITH: SCOTT STEINER
The backstage issues between Ric Flair and Scott Steiner saw them having problems from the 90s to today. It all started when Scott received the biggest singles match of his career against Flair. The hope was that he would become a star like Sting and Lex Luger after working with him.

Steiner felt that Flair sabotaged him and tried to sabotage his career. Lance Storm and other unbiased parties had the same opinion of Steiner when watching the match back. Scott has ripped Flair in many promos throughout the years.

2
LOVED: RODDY PIPER
The friendship between Ric Flair and Roddy Piper saw them working together in various promotions before making their names. Both guys had strong work ethics that helped them get the opportunities necessary to succeed in a bigger promotion.

Piper joining WCW in the Monday Night Wars allowed him to work with Flair again. The two had some fun promo segments that saw them going off the cuff. WWE even paired them together in their older ages for a tag title reign defeating the Spirit Squad.

1
HAD HEAT WITH: KEVIN NASH
Kevin Nash earned quite a few enemies in WCW with one controversial segment. The New World Order impersonated the Four Horsemen with Nash mocking the legitimate retirement speech of Arn Anderson. Ric Flair was vocal about his disdain for WCW allowing such a segment.

Nash thought it was all in good fun, but Flair thought it crossed the line. A few WWE talk shows and documentaries about WCW saw Flair ripping Nash for having such little respect for a legend. The two have made peace since then, but the heat was there for years.