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

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

Reid Flair, was an American professional wrestler. He was the youngest son of professional wrestler

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

, the younger half-brother of wrestler David Flair and the younger brother of wrestler Charlotte Flair. He was best known for his appearances alongside his father in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (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 National W ...

and for his appearances with

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

Amateur wrestling career

In April 1998, Flair won the AAU National Wrestling Tournament. Flair attended Providence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina and Blair Academy in

Blairstown, New Jersey Blairstown is a Township (New Jersey), township in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 5,704, a decrease of 263 (−4.4%) from the 2010 Uni ...

, and was an accomplished amateur wrestler achieving numerous awards. During a tournament in Missouri, Flair attacked another competitor after he taunted Flair by mocking his father. During another tournament in Oklahoma, Fliehr was disqualified from competing after punching an opponent. His father, Ric Flair, had earlier thrown the same opponent off the mat during the match and was escorted off the tournament property by police.

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1998, 2000)

Fliehr wrestled two matches in

(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 David Flair and Vince Russo in a tag team match.

United States (2008–2012)

Fliehr made an appearance on March 29, 2008, during the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, 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 An ...

. The next night, he made his first WrestleMania appearance with his family representing Ric Flair in the Hall of Fame. He also sat at ringside during the

WrestleMania XXIV WrestleMania XXIV was a 2008 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 24th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 30, 2008, at the Camping Wo ...

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

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, with

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

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 indepen ...

. On April 11, 2009, Flair, his brother David, and Brad Anderson beat Jeff Lewis, C. W. Anderson and Masked Superstar 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 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 in the semi-finals and Charlie Dreamer and Jake Manning in the final. In August he made his debut for Lucha Libre USA. 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 were defeated by Seiya Sanada and Tatsumi Fujinami, with Sanada submitting him for the win. During February, Flair worked All Japan's ''Excite Series'' tour, wrestling undercard tag team matches. On March 15, Flair wrestled his first singles match in All Japan, submitting Yasufumi Nakanoue 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 four siblings including his half-sister, Megan; a half-brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

; and full sister, Ashley. His favorite band was

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

. Fliehr was arrested on June 23, 2007, for

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and battery, and was released after posting bail. On March 4, 2009, Fliehr was arrested for driving while impaired in

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it th ...

, 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 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 r ...

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'' special,

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

revealed that Fliehr wanted to sign a developmental contract with WWE but failed two drug tests.

Death

On March 29, 2013, Flair was found dead in bed at a Residence Inn in the SouthPark neighborhood of

. He was 25 years old. On June 14, 2013, Flair's autopsy revealed that it was a drug overdose of heroin and traces of two prescription benzodiazepines: clonazepam, and alprazolam, which contributed to his death.

Championships and accomplishments

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

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

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

References

External links

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