Richard Reid Fliehr (February 26, 1988 March 29, 2013), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

Reid Flair, was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

. He was the younger son of retired professional wrestler

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

, the younger half-brother of wrestler

David Flair David Richard Fliehr (born March 6, 1979), better known by the ring name David Flair, is an American retired rofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he held the WCW United States ...

and the younger brother of wrestler

Charlotte Flair Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. She is currently inactive. She is a second-genera ...

. He was best known for his appearances alongside his father in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

and for his appearances with

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

Amateur wrestling career

Fliehr attended Providence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina and

Blair Academy Blair Academy is a coeducational, boarding and day school for students in high school. The school serves students from ninth through twelfth grades as well as a small post-graduate class. The school's campus is located on a campus in Blairs ...

in New Jersey, and was an accomplished amateur wrestler achieving numerous awards. During a tournament, Fliehr attacked another competitor after he taunted Fliehr by mocking his father. In April 1998, Fliehr won the AAU National Wrestling Tournament.

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1998, 2000)

Fliehr wrestled two matches in the now defunct

(WCW). In the first, on October 4, 1998, he was ten years old when he defeated Eric Bischoff and on June 12, 2000, he teamed with his father Ric in a loss to

and

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total No ...

in a tag team match.

Independent circuit (2008–2012)

Fliehr made an appearance on March 29, 2008 during the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...

. The next night, he made his first

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

appearance with his family representing Ric Flair in the Hall of Fame. He also sat at ringside during the WrestleMania XXIV event. He appeared on '' Raw'' the following night with his family to honor his father's career. Throughout 2008, Flair was trained by

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...

. Flair made his debut on December 6, 2008, under the name "Reid Flair", teaming with his elder brother David to defeat

The Nasty Boys The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and br ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

, with

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

as the special guest referee. He wrestled for many independent promotions such as Big Time Wrestling and

Northeast Wrestling Northeast Wrestling (NEW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States and has promoted events since 1996. It is currently owned and operated by promoter Mike Lombardi and is one of the top independ ...

. On April 11, 2009, Flair, his brother David, and Brad Anderson beat Jeff Lewis,

C. W. Anderson Christopher Wright (born January 7, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, C. W. Anderson. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1999 to 2001. Early life Wright grew up ...

and

Masked Superstar William Reid "Bill" Eadie (born December 27, 1947) is an American retired professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar. He was a high school teacher and coach at Cambridge High Scho ...

at an NWA Charlotte show. The match ended controversially with a double pin, when Flair pinned Lewis while CW Anderson pinned Brad Anderson. At the end of the match, Flair was awarded the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heritage Championship belt. At NWA Charlotte's next show on May 25, however, Lewis was announced as the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heritage Champion, with no explanation given. On May 2, he and David took on

Buff Bagwell Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fiv ...

and Rikki Nelson and would lose. In June 2010, Reid teamed up with George South Jr. to take part in The Anderson Brothers Classic 4 Tournament where they defeated Caleb Konley and

Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Alexander worked for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 until 2016. He started as part of C&C Factory, ...

in the semi finals and Charlie Dreamer and Jake Manning in the final. In August he made his debut for

Lucha Libre USA ''Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors'' is an American Lucha Libre promotion and television program on the MTV2 broadcast channel, chronicling the rise of Mexican-style wrestling, or lucha libre, in the United States. The first episode was aired on ...

. In the same month next year he participated in NWA Future Legends Tournament and lost to John Skyler in the semi-final.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2013)

In late 2012, it was reported that Flair had started training with

. Flair made his in-ring debut for All Japan on January 26, 2013, when he replaced his sick father in a tag team match, where he and

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...

were defeated by

Seiya Sanada , better known by his ring name Sanada (stylized as SANADA), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a member of the stable ''Los Ingobernables de Japón''. As part of NJPW, Sanada is mostly ...

and

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...

, with Sanada submitting him for the win. During February, Flair worked All Japan's ''Excite Series'' tour, wrestling

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

tag team matches. On March 15, Flair wrestled his first singles match in All Japan, submitting

Yasufumi Nakanoue is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name , currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, where he is the current BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion. He started his career in All Japan P ...

with the figure-four leglock. Flair returned to the United States following All Japan's March 17 event, which was 12 days before his death.

Personal life

Fliehr was born in

, to professional wrestler

and Elizabeth Fliehr. He was the youngest of two siblings; he has a half-sister, Megan, a half-brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and sister,

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

. Fliehr attended and graduated from Providence High School in 2006. His favorite band was

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

. Fliehr was arrested on June 23, 2007, for

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...

and

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, and was released after posting bail. On March 4, 2009, Fliehr was arrested for

driving while impaired Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County is a county located in the southwestern region of the state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it the second-most populous county in North Carolina (after Wa ...

, and was released after posting $1000 in bail. Fliehr was arrested again on April 26, 2009. After crashing his car, police found

black tar heroin Black tar heroin is a form of heroin that is sticky like tar or hard like coal. Its dark color is the result of crude processing methods that leave behind impurities. Despite its name, black tar heroin can also be dark orange or dark brown in ap ...

inside it, and he faced

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

charges. He was also charged with driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and was released after posting $15,000 in bail. He later overdosed twice in 2011. During the Ric Flair ''

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...

'' special,

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

revealed that Fliehr wanted to sign a developmental contract with WWE but failed two drug tests, the second one being announced and actually worse than the first test. Ric, in denial of his son's problems, told Triple H that he thought that Fliehr had gotten a "supplement from GNC" instead of being honest with himself of Fliehr's real problems. Ric later admitted during the ''30 for 30'' special that he felt that he may have been a best friend to Reid at times when Reid would have been better served with Ric acting as his father.

Death

On March 29, 2013, Flair was found dead in bed at a

Residence Inn Residence Inn by Marriott is a brand of extended stay hotels. , there were 874 Residence Inn hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico with 107,680 rooms, plus an additional 243 hotels with 30,417 rooms in the development pipeline. The brand ...

in the SouthPark neighborhood of

. He was 25 years old. On June 14, 2013, Flair's autopsy revealed that it was drug overdose of heroin and traces of two prescription

tranquilizers A tranquilizer is a drug that is designed for the treatment of anxiety, fear, tension, agitation, and disturbances of the mind, specifically to reduce states of anxiety and tension. Etymology Tranquilizer, as a term, was first used by F.F. Yon ...

clonazepam Clonazepam, sold under the brand names Klonopin and Rivotril, is a medication used to prevent and treat seizures, panic disorder, anxiety disorders, and the movement disorder known as akathisia. It is a tranquilizer of the benzodiazepine class ...

, and

alprazolam Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly u ...

, which contributed to his death. On November 16, 2015, six days before

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...

, Reid's sister

WWE Divas Champion The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in WWE. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Gue ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

signed a contract to face Paige at the event. Charlotte proclaimed she was doing this for Reid as a tribute to him. Paige then mocked her by saying that "Your little baby brother, he didn't have much fight in him, did he?" It was later rumoured that WWE had not asked for permission from the Flair family to reference Reid's death, and had given no prior warning to his parents, although this has been disputed by several people within WWE. The angle was voted by ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' readers as the Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic of 2015.

Championships and accomplishments

*Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling **NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

**The Anderson Brothers Classic 4 Tournament – with George South Jr. *

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

Charlotte **NWA Mid-Atlantic Heritage Championship (1 time) *Xtreme World Wrestling **XWW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times) At the conclusion of a match on April 11, 2009, Flair was handed the championship. At the following show, the former champion Jeff Lewis was announced as the current champion, with no explanation given.

Filmography

* ''

The Dooley and Pals Show ''The Dooley and Pals Show'', sometimes shortened to just ''Dooley and Pals'', is an American children's television series. The main character is Dooley, a friendly alien who has landed in a backyard on Earth. He explores the planet with the chi ...

References

External links

All Japan Pro Wrestling profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flair, Reid 1988 births 2013 deaths American male professional wrestlers Anderson family Professional wrestlers from North Carolina Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers