The curse of the second generation wrestler has never been so apparent than with David Flair. The son of the legendary Ric Flair was thrust into the business with the highest of expectations and very little training and was expected to become the next big star in WCW.
However, his career became a sad tale and David Flair never reached the heights of father – or any heights, for that matter. He is another failed son of a wrestler, and the career of David Flair is not one to be envious of.
Born on March 6, 1979 and with Ric Flair being his father, he seemed certain to succeed. He was almost immediately placed in some huge angles, with top stars like Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and of course Ric Flair to help get him over as one of the future stars of pro wrestling.
He also appeared with his real-life girlfriend, Stacy Keibler, on WCW Nitro, even marrying her in a “wrestling wedding”.
However, as you do not remember him as “the greatest second generation star of all time”, it clearly did not work out as planned for WCW.He used his little experience in wrestling trying to learn the business, but with the revolving door of talent in WCW and the constant upheaval of management, he was unable to forge his own path in the business.
Despite him being handed an almost unlosable hand, he never honed his craft and made a name for himself in the business.
Unlike his sister Charlotte Flair, the business never came naturally the David Flair and he faded from existence after the buyout in 2001, enjoying only a short spell in WWE after the ill-fated invasion. But what happened to David Flair? What is David Flair doing now?
What happened to David Flair?
David Flair was released by WWE in late 2002 after a brief run that failed to impress WWE management.
His heart didn’t seem in wrestling and he was coasting on the Flair name, not putting in the work to improve like the other future WWE Superstars in the developmental territory.
His time in WWE was brief, but with a few notable moments. He had a short-lived tag team with Mark Jindrak, who would briefly be considered as a member of Triple H’s “Evolution” stable, before being replaced by Batista.
David Flair also feuded with Val Venis, but never met anyone on the level that he did during his time in WCW.
His time in the business was short, with his WCW debut in 1999 and his last WWE match in 2002. He did appear for other American companies after that but was never a full-time wrestler, and soon left the business to make a name for himself in a difference enterprise entirely.
He was a champion in WCW despite his inexperience
His run in WCW started as a one off match tagging alongside his father, but David Flair’s run ended up lasting three years with the company.
Ric and David Flair faced off against Curt Hennig and Barry Windham at NWO Souled Out, a debut which excited the fans and seemed to set him up for a big future in the company.
It was clear that Eric Bischoff was behind David Flair in a big way, wanting to sign the next Ric Flair as soon as possible.
The fans were beginning to get behind the young star trying to impress his father. However, he soon got on their nerves by acting like The Nature Boy, wearing his signature robe and hitting all of his moves in the ring.
He was not original and wrestling fans did not like that. He was not his own professional wrestler, but merely someone pretending to be.
WCW messed David Flair up even more when he turned on his father just a few months later, joining the NWO.
Over the next two years he won championship in WCW, as fans saw (very unimpressed) him hold both the WCW United States Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championships (alongside Crowbar, when they defeated Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner in a massive upset).
David Flair won the match, forcing Ric Flair to retire and even shaved his head for good measure, in a classic overbooked WCW stipulation. However, when David Flair turned on his father you would have expected it to be a huge deal, when it fact it meant very, very little at all.
He would then do very little until the sale of WCW to the WWE, where he would sign a developmental deal with Ohio Valley Wrestling.
David Flair Appeared With The Undertaker Before WrestleMania
Whilst he was relegated to Ohio Valley Wrestling, he made two brief but unimpressive appearances on WWE TV. He was beaten up, and then wrestled, The Undertaker on Smackdown in the lead up to the Deadman’s Wrestlemania X8.
He was defeated swiftly by the Deadman as a way to keep the heat on his father’s feud with the Undertaker in what would be David Flair’s last appearance for WWE.
The match was meant to lead to a future program with The Undertaker but a few years down the line. Once he had finished training in WWE’s developmental system he was to be called up and eventually put in a real feud with the Deadman, as a call-back to his antics prior to Wrestlemania in 2002.
He was released by WWE in late 2002 after failing to improve during his time with the company.
His heart was not in it, with Ric Flair later revealing that David’s dream was to become a State Trooper, and WCW convinced him to give wrestling a go instead. He was let go and promptly signed to a new upstart company named Total Nonstop Action.
He wrestled a number of former WWE stars in TNA and was managed by former WCW head of creative Vince Russo. Together they were part of Russo’s “Sport’s Entertainment Xtreme” stable, or “SEX” (subtle).
The angle was a bust and he soon left to form a team with Brian Lawler and Eric Watts. They feuded with legendary former NWA Champion Dusty Rhodes, although David Flair would leave TNA just months after he signed.
He No Longer Wrestles and Manages His Own Company
David Flair wrestled occasionally after leaving TNA, including a 2009 comeback to wrestle with his late-brother Reid Flair. David and Reid Flair defeated the Nasty Boys in Reid’s debut match, in a match that was littered with stars.
The match was refereed by the legendary Hulk Hogan, with the pair’s father Ric Flair also at ringside.
He made sporadic indie wrestling appearances in the mid 2000s, but soon fell out of love with the business.
He went to work for his mothers company before founding his own which produces copper and steel wires. He looks unrecognisable in recent pictures, pictured next to father Ric Flair and sister Charlotte Flair.
David Flair is retired from wrestling and is unlikely to make any WWE appearances in the future.