That was a great documentary on Ric Flair that they aired last night, including all phases of his career and as well as his childhood. If you've ever seen the History Channel's documentary on Evel Knievel, I noticed some big similarities in the two icons. Both were the best at what they did and were groundbreaking in their sports. Both were married but were lousy husbands and weren't around for their kids much because they were too busy partying and working. Still, plenty of kids would give anything to have a good mother and a father who was able to rise them in a luxurious standard of living. So many children grow up in poverty, without either a good father or mother, that David and Megan's statements seemed kind of melodramatic.
Both Ric Flair and Evel Knievel made a ton of money yet ended up in precarious financial positions because they spent their money faster than they earned it and didn't save money for after their careers were over. Both were sex addicts who constantly cheated on their wives. Flair estimates he's had sex with 10,000 women and Knievel's number was probably in the thousands as well. Both had sons who had drug problems.
In the case of Reid Flair, he wasn't able to survive his drug problems and died very young. Both he and Robby Knievel's dreams were to do what their fathers did. Robby was quite successful in being a professional daredevil though and even broke some of his father's records. I wonder if part of Reid Flair's reason for his drug abuse was that his father's legacy was just too big to match up to. No matter how hard he tried, it's doubtful he would ever have risen to the heights his father did and I think he knew that. Even looking at him, I could tell he didn't have the genetics to build the muscular type of physique that Rc had although he did have a great amateur wrestling background. Unfortunately being great at amateur wrestling is no guarantee of success at pro wrestling because it's so different. Also, and even more important, Reid didn't seem to have his father's gift of being able to cut electrifying promos. Charisma and talking ability is so important in pro wrestling and there's no evidence that would show Reid had these attributes, at least not comparable to those of his father. Maybe knowing he would never measure up to his father was more than Reid could live with. I'm not suggesting he intentionally overdosed; I'm saying Reid apparently needed something to dull the pain of knowing he'd never achieve his dream of being like his father.
Both Ric Flair and Evel Knievel made a ton of money yet ended up in precarious financial positions because they spent their money faster than they earned it and didn't save money for after their careers were over. Both were sex addicts who constantly cheated on their wives. Flair estimates he's had sex with 10,000 women and Knievel's number was probably in the thousands as well. Both had sons who had drug problems.
In the case of Reid Flair, he wasn't able to survive his drug problems and died very young. Both he and Robby Knievel's dreams were to do what their fathers did. Robby was quite successful in being a professional daredevil though and even broke some of his father's records. I wonder if part of Reid Flair's reason for his drug abuse was that his father's legacy was just too big to match up to. No matter how hard he tried, it's doubtful he would ever have risen to the heights his father did and I think he knew that. Even looking at him, I could tell he didn't have the genetics to build the muscular type of physique that Rc had although he did have a great amateur wrestling background. Unfortunately being great at amateur wrestling is no guarantee of success at pro wrestling because it's so different. Also, and even more important, Reid didn't seem to have his father's gift of being able to cut electrifying promos. Charisma and talking ability is so important in pro wrestling and there's no evidence that would show Reid had these attributes, at least not comparable to those of his father. Maybe knowing he would never measure up to his father was more than Reid could live with. I'm not suggesting he intentionally overdosed; I'm saying Reid apparently needed something to dull the pain of knowing he'd never achieve his dream of being like his father.
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