This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2017
In a sport defined by outsized personalities and death-defying feats of strength and contortion, Ric Flair rose above the crowd to become one of the most enduring figures in professional wrestling. Heralded to the ring by the thudding tones of Also sprach Zarathustra, Flair’s entrance only meant one thing: Showtime! Flair’s extravagant in-ring style, and signature figure four leglock, certainly contributed to his “Nature Boy” persona, but his strutting, grand entrances, made while wearing a robe more outlandish than the feathers on a bird-of-paradise, cemented his place in fan’s hearts.
The flamboyant get-up was key not only to Flair’s in-ring personality, but his appearance out of it. In his own words from his autobiograpy titled Second Nature: The Legacy of Ric Flair and the Rise of Charlotte, Flair was “filling [his] closets with diamond-studded robes that cost $10,000 a pop” that “today would cost around $30,000 each”. The 16-time World Champion marked his entrance to the ring with a plethora of different robes, from the birth of his “Nature Boy” persona through the magnificent blue, feathered number he wore before WrestleMania 24 in 2008, giving pro wrestling’s most iconoclastic career its signature look.
Flair wore this robe on and off for three years, starting in 2000, with WCW and in WWE, but most notably during a May 26th, 2003 episode of Raw. Flair teamed up with Shawn Michaels to take on Triple H in a 2-on-1 matchup, strutting to the ring in this magnificent robe. In the match, HBK dominated Triple H, escaping a ferocious Pedigree to tag in his partner, Flair. But in a heel turn all too familiar to wrestling faithful, Flair turned on Michaels, cracking him in the chin with a hard right. As Triple H finished Michaels with a successful Pedigree, and Flair wailed on his former teammate, Kevin Nash and a masked contestant entered the ring, and an all-out brawl ensued. Flair wrapped Michaels in a figure four leglock, and the masked man was revealed to be Randy Orton. The match ended with Michaels and Nash defeated, another successful battle in the career of the “Nature Boy”.
This robe is a scarlet and silver masterpiece, studded with hundreds of rhinestones and accented countless silver and red sequins. “Nature Boy” is sewn on the back of this magnificent garment, with 164 rhinestones filling in the scrawling cursive text. An ornate collar piece, marked by the largest single rhinestone on the robe, flares up behind the wrestler’s skull. Two red sashes are affixed to the back of the robe. The chest is accented with curling silver sequined patterns, and the sleeves are silver and scarlet. The lining of the robe is scarlet, and features an “Olivia Original” tag sewn in the back inside collar. The referenced “Olivia” is Olivia Walker, the preferred seamstress of numerous wrestling legends. Flair has signed the inside of the robe in black marker, inscribing “To be the man you’ve got to beat the man!” above his signature. This robe, a true relic from one of the most beloved entertainment careers in American history, comes with a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for the signature (A83992). Woooooooooooo!