I hope people realize how incredible these interviews are with The Nature Boy. I'm blessed to be old enough to have watched Flairs career unfold from a mid-card player to the world championship. I still remember when the Horsemen were formed and how dominant they were. To me it was the best Professional Wrestling had to offer for the fans. Believable story lines and characters who really knew how to sell their craft. It's something that is sadly missing in today's world of Pro Wrestling...
Today you can binge watch flairs interviews and match’s. In the old days we wouldn’t miss the chance to see an interview with woooo the Nature Boy. Hell he was everything our generation wanted to be. God love him and weather you like it or don’t like it learn to love it
Agree on that last thought, 100%. And I also followed Flair from his early days in the 70s through today. Didn't know too much about his real-life behind the scenes carryings on until 360 piece came out. I wasn't terriby surprised by any if it, to be honest. I just thought all that crap he spouted off about in promos was mostly for show, playing his character. He actually tried to live that way for many, many years. Among the very best promo wrestlers ever! In his prime, I doubt there was anyone better.
When I was young Ron Garvin was my favorite wrestler for a while, and I could not believe when he won the title. But, ultimately he was not the bigger than life personality that is typically expected for that role. But Garvin was a great wrestler, and it was easy to believe what he was doing.
I met Ric Flair here in Fargo. He was promoting an event and I got him to look at me and wink because when there had been a pause in all the "Whoos!" everyone was doing, I yelled out in his tone of voice, "The Nature Boy is in the house, and he damn sure aint Buddy Landell!" He said that once back in the day on TBS and I never forgot it. He got a kick out of it.
listening to Ric is like sunday mass. he has so much knowledge and experience to share. i cannot get enough of his stories. i remember watching NWA, and this was a terrific time, Ronnie Garvin was no joke. look back at this time period and than look at what we have today..so very sad. the NWA was it for me back than.
Those matches on Georgia Championship wrestling were CLASSIC! When Ric shouted GD YOU at Garvin I was like omg they hate each other. Oops I believe it was championship wrestling?
We are honored and blessed to be getting these from a living legend of our times! Thank you Ric Flair, for being the best that ever has been and ever will be! The man who does this all from the heart and goes in 110% every single time. The Nature boy, my all time favorite! F you auto correct! Stop trying to speak for me. I don't have time to proof read. That is what you were suppose to be for. I get more spelling errors with auto correct than without it.
Ric Flair's best line ever was when he was promo of Ronnie Garvin's chance of winning the heavyweight championship- "Whatta you gonna do Garvin, ride around in your pick-up truck with that golden retriever you call a WOMAN?".....No one can top that line.😂.
The Nature Boy and the 4 Horseman were the absolute Pinnacle of wrestling. Nothing better. Nothing will ever surpass them. Diamonds are forever, and so are the Horseman!! Wooooo!!!
Magnum T.A. being injured forced Garvin into those matches with Flair, it was gonna be Magnum vs Flair for a good year probably with Magnum winning the title a few times.
@@larrybober6335 But Nikita was never going to be the top babyface like Magnum T.A. If Magnum T.A. hadn't got injured the 1990s would have been all about Magnum and Sting in WCW.
@@larrybober6335 in the bigger picture though Magnum would have been champ in 87 rather than Garvin. Nikita was not really an option to carry the world title I don't think, although as over as he got in 87, maybe they should have given him a run....him being Russian (character wise) probably kept him from the world title as well. That was a different era of course where World Titles were strategically placed on guys.
@@soulofanerd9364 What i was saying. Is that when Magnum got hurt. They had nobody else to replace him So they turned Kikiita babyface. Magnum would have been in the Main Event against Flair. Would he have won. Who knows?
@@larrybober6335 You are correct. Nikita was an emergency replacement for Magnum at Starrcade 86. 10/14/86 the accident. 11/27/86 the event. A mere 6 weeks separated the two dates. In retro, it's amazing the main event for Starrcade 86 had not yet been announced. No question Magnum was going to be handed the title then. That has been stated by the Crocketts and Flair numerous times. And they planned to swap the title for the foreseeable future. The rivalry and matches would have been epic. It had been planned for over a year. Post-Starrcade 86, the Flair/Garvin feud was born. Other than Dusty, they had no other face internally to feud with Flair and drop the belt to. In retro, it would have been ideal to steal Steamboat back. No clue if they attempted going after him then or not.
Any wrestler in the business should want to sit down and listen to this man speak. They would learn a lot about the business and what it would take to make them great. Ric could put any promotion on his shoulders and make their people stars.
As far as Garvin being champ, I don't know but like Mark good God those matches blew me away! TBS, house shows, you name it Flair and Garvin went at it on a level seldom seen. Only the Terry Funk "I Quit" match was as intense in that day.
Man, Ron Garvin could thump that chest like none other. He's the only guy that I've ever seen that lacerated a man's chest (Flair's at that time) less than 10 times into blood running down. Not Steamboat, not Flair, not Wahoo ever did that to another man's chest.
I've seen Wahoo chop an opponents chest till it bled more than once, way back when. Wahoo was lethal in more ways than one in his prime (late 60s & all through the 70s). He started falling off a bit by the 80s. But Garvin was too, not taking anything away from him at all.
Something I've noticed about Naitch during interviews now compared to when he was working. He now reminds me of Keith Richards. Both of those cats would do interviews in the 1970s/80s with scowls on their faces: Ric in character as Mr. Cool. Keith because opioids make everything droop 'cuz you're so relaxed. But unless Ric gets pissed because of some stupid thing Dutch or Bischov said for the most part he's always laughing and if you see interviews of our boy Keith he is always laughing during interviews just like Naitch.
I just saw some old matches on the Plex app, where they run 'Ultimate Classic Wrestling channel', it's a live stream. I think it was on ICW when the Poffos ran it and Garvin had dark hair, a trucker's baseball hat and a big thick mustache. I didn't recognize him and he was already speaking so I didn't hear him introduced but he's doing his promo + I start hearing this voice I recognize - I think, but the trucker's cap and mustache just threw me. He has that sort of accent. Is it Canadian? I just looked it up - Montreal. I finally notice when he stands full face to the camera his shirt said RONNIE. Question answered.
When Flair went to the WWF, Vince McMahon knew that Flair's schtick worked. He didn't try to change anything about Flair. He just told him to go out there and be Ric Flair.
What killed Ron Garvin as world champion and I remember this episode vividly as a fan, is Jim Crockett Jr announced Garvin would not have to defend the world title until Starrcade. When has this ever been announced or said of ANY title holder going into a major show. It soured (wimped) Garvin's status as a world champion.
i watched them at cumberland county auditorium in NC. It was a great match !! Flair even wrestled lugar, Fantastic stuff, not like todays wrestling at all. just sayin
Flair said it best, Garvin didn't have that certain something that won over everyone. It's not a bad thing, some do and some don't. I never jumped on Garvin's bandwagon just like I didn't with Ron Simmons when he beat Vader
Just curious if Ric ever wrestled Buzz Sawyer? Buzz seemed a little too "unhinged" or irratic, well to be honest, insane is a better word. I wish Flair would do a segment on Sawyer, didn't Sawyer actually train The Undertaker?
Ronnie Garvin was one of my favorites, the finishing hands of stone then sitting on his opponent's chest. WOOF!! If I met him in person I'd gladly offer my chest as his seat
Dropping the bullshit stories would be interesting...The real story of Ronnie Garvin NWA champ is the backstage political rivalry between Ric and Dusty. Dusty wanted a babyface champ to rival Hogan, lost it in Magnum, and was trying to find it in the younger guys. Ric wanted no part of this, wanted to keep the top spot and wanted to use JCP's 1st PPV to be recrowned. Now who knows the conversations, machinations, except it seems very certain Ronnie was merely a pawn. Pushing Ric to tell these stories, including his role as one of Meltzer's biggest sources (rivaled only by Bret Hart, Corny, and JR in that era) would be fascinating as the statute of limitations have passed and the real truth, not the worked truth, would be worth a listen...not the above bullshit.
@@soulofanerd9364 I thought he was the one who was a world tag team champion with the Giant (later known as Big Show) and Eric Bischoff reversed the decision and gave the titles back to Hall and Nash. It would have been like early 1997.
@@montecarlo4294 naw that was Lex Luger I believe...Garvin was long gone by then. The only guys that had tag titles with The Giant were Luger, Sting and maybe Rick Steiner at one point. Definitely not Ron Garvin though.
I like Ric,but every time he tells a story and can't finish it and starts giggling at the end. Its beyond annoying. Answer the questions and finish the fuckin story so we understand!
Cheapened??? Garvin was literally a guy who was beating up The Barbarian, Big Bubba, all of the Horsemen (Blanchard and both Andersons) etc etc. Dude was no slouch AT ALL. The timing felt odd and maybe little behind the times as the industry was changing but I don't think he cheapened it at all.
I hope people realize how incredible these interviews are with The Nature Boy. I'm blessed to be old enough to have watched Flairs career unfold from a mid-card player to the world championship. I still remember when the Horsemen were formed and how dominant they were. To me it was the best Professional Wrestling had to offer for the fans. Believable story lines and characters who really knew how to sell their craft. It's something that is sadly missing in today's world of Pro Wrestling...
Today you can binge watch flairs interviews and match’s. In the old days we wouldn’t miss the chance to see an interview with woooo the Nature Boy. Hell he was everything our generation wanted to be. God love him and weather you like it or don’t like it learn to love it
Agree on that last thought, 100%. And I also followed Flair from his early days in the 70s through today. Didn't know too much about his real-life behind the scenes carryings on until 360 piece came out. I wasn't terriby surprised by any if it, to be honest. I just thought all that crap he spouted off about in promos was mostly for show, playing his character. He actually tried to live that way for many, many years. Among the very best promo wrestlers ever! In his prime, I doubt there was anyone better.
Enjoy every minute we get to hear this man while we can.
Garvin was great , but Flair was the best ever . Ronnie was a great every man tough guy . The Charles Bronson of wrestling .
Wrestling back in Day on WTBS with Gordon Solie on Saturday.. Take me back to that era. 😃
Arguably the greatest 1hr of wrestling I've ever seen....Garvin vs. Flair for the Gold
When I was young Ron Garvin was my favorite wrestler for a while, and I could not believe when he won the title. But, ultimately he was not the bigger than life personality that is typically expected for that role. But Garvin was a great wrestler, and it was easy to believe what he was doing.
I met Ric Flair here in Fargo. He was promoting an event and I got him to look at me and wink because when there had been a pause in all the "Whoos!" everyone was doing, I yelled out in his tone of voice, "The Nature Boy is in the house, and he damn sure aint Buddy Landell!" He said that once back in the day on TBS and I never forgot it. He got a kick out of it.
listening to Ric is like sunday mass. he has so much knowledge and experience to share. i cannot get enough of his stories.
i remember watching NWA, and this was a terrific time, Ronnie Garvin was no joke.
look back at this time period and than look at what we have today..so very sad.
the NWA was it for me back than.
Those matches on Georgia Championship wrestling were CLASSIC! When Ric shouted GD YOU at Garvin I was like omg they hate each other.
Oops I believe it was championship wrestling?
That old school Garvin stomp really got over, brotha.
Ole Hands of Stone ,Ronnie Garvin and his Garvin Stomp. I really miss those golden years of wrestling.
We are honored and blessed to be getting these from a living legend of our times!
Thank you Ric Flair, for being the best that ever has been and ever will be!
The man who does this all from the heart and goes in 110% every single time.
The Nature boy, my all time favorite!
F you auto correct! Stop trying to speak for me. I don't have time to proof read. That is what you were suppose to be for.
I get more spelling errors with auto correct than without it.
If you're gonna praise the guy and think he is a living legend, have the courtesy to spell the man's name correctly........woooooooo!
*Ric
@@brianezell5790 Auto correct disagrees.
I wish this damn thing would just let me spell what I am trying to say instead of speaking for me.
Those Garvin chops that were layed in on flair were viscous!
I really enjoyed the Garvin vs flair matches.
So much physicality
The one man gang..Ronnie garvin..one of the best period....
One of the best matches ever.
Randy does his stomp. Always loved the Garvin stomp.
I use to love watching those matches he had with Ronnie Garvin. Classic stuff.
I live in Michigan and consider Ronnie "Hands Of Stone" Garvin as the best of all-time. Geography my butt.
I loved Ronnie Garvin versus Ric Flair.
Ronnie Garvin was always very entertaining to watch!
Ric Flair's best line ever was when he was promo of Ronnie Garvin's chance of winning the heavyweight championship- "Whatta you gonna do Garvin, ride around in your pick-up truck with that golden retriever you call a WOMAN?".....No one can top that line.😂.
Ronnie somehow randomly became good friends with my papaw.. I’m gonna see him this weekend actually.. random as hell.. even at 79 he still looks solid
Ronnie Garvin is a legend
Ron Garvin was a monster
The Nature Boy and the 4 Horseman were the absolute Pinnacle of wrestling. Nothing better. Nothing will ever surpass them. Diamonds are forever, and so are the Horseman!! Wooooo!!!
I absolutely love these stories. Rugged Ronnie Garvin foot stomp...best finisher ever BAHAHAHA
It’s so cool to see him doing podcast these days
The best rivalry in wrestling very convincingly
Hands on Stone was the man!
Magnum T.A. being injured forced Garvin into those matches with Flair, it was gonna be Magnum vs Flair for a good year probably with Magnum winning the title a few times.
Nakita replaced Magnum at Starcade 86.
@@larrybober6335 But Nikita was never going to be the top babyface like Magnum T.A. If Magnum T.A. hadn't got injured the 1990s would have been all about Magnum and Sting in WCW.
@@larrybober6335 in the bigger picture though Magnum would have been champ in 87 rather than Garvin. Nikita was not really an option to carry the world title I don't think, although as over as he got in 87, maybe they should have given him a run....him being Russian (character wise) probably kept him from the world title as well. That was a different era of course where World Titles were strategically placed on guys.
@@soulofanerd9364 What i was saying. Is that when Magnum got hurt. They had nobody else to replace him So they turned Kikiita babyface. Magnum would have been in the Main Event against Flair. Would he have won. Who knows?
@@larrybober6335 You are correct. Nikita was an emergency replacement for Magnum at Starrcade 86. 10/14/86 the accident. 11/27/86 the event. A mere 6 weeks separated the two dates. In retro, it's amazing the main event for Starrcade 86 had not yet been announced. No question Magnum was going to be handed the title then. That has been stated by the Crocketts and Flair numerous times. And they planned to swap the title for the foreseeable future. The rivalry and matches would have been epic. It had been planned for over a year. Post-Starrcade 86, the Flair/Garvin feud was born. Other than Dusty, they had no other face internally to feud with Flair and drop the belt to. In retro, it would have been ideal to steal Steamboat back. No clue if they attempted going after him then or not.
The head scissors move Garvin would do was impressive you could tell he was a legit bad ass
I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life and I watched the wwf and the nwa on tbs. That’s will always be my favorite time in wrestling with the nwa.
Miss WWF
I've had SOO much respect for RG. That dude could REALLY work a match.
That’s why Ric to me as one of the greatest to ever do it it . He was the last of the traveling World Champions.
Any wrestler in the business should want to sit down and listen to this man speak. They would learn a lot about the business and what it would take to make them great. Ric could put any promotion on his shoulders and make their people stars.
RG WAS A BEAST
I think of it as some wrestlers are better at chasing the belt than holding it.
As far as Garvin being champ, I don't know but like Mark good God those matches blew me away! TBS, house shows, you name it Flair and Garvin went at it on a level seldom seen. Only the Terry Funk "I Quit" match was as intense in that day.
"Be in that top 2 or 3 everyday."......Christ Ric!!!
The Greatest Motivational Orator of All Time!!!!....
Madden trying to jump in every time Naitch pauses for breath. Jeez man, just let the champ get his flow.
I noticed that also he wouldn't shut up
i saw them wrestle 3 or 4 times in Cleveland... no other matches could ever compare
Me too I’ve seen them at the convention center in the 80’s
Thanks for signing my room service slip Ric wooooo
Hands of stone ronnie garvin.
We loved Ronnie Garvin in NC. The Flair feud was huge here.
Mark Madden needs to talk less and let Ric Flair talk more.
Yes
Yes....let the star do the talking.
Why is Mark Madden yelling so loud? Just relax man and enjoy the interview, it's ok.
He is *marking* out.
Ron Garvin is my G.O.A.T.
I like listening to nature boy.. really hard to listen to the dude interviewing him bowing him constantly
Man, Ron Garvin could thump that chest like none other. He's the only guy that I've ever seen that lacerated a man's chest (Flair's at that time) less than 10 times into blood running down. Not Steamboat, not Flair, not Wahoo ever did that to another man's chest.
I've seen Wahoo chop an opponents chest till it bled more than once, way back when. Wahoo was lethal in more ways than one in his prime (late 60s & all through the 70s). He started falling off a bit by the 80s. But Garvin was too, not taking anything away from him at all.
Wahoo and Garvin used to feud with each other in Georgia! Yikes!😂🤦♂️B.W.
Something I've noticed about Naitch during interviews now compared to when he was working. He now reminds me of Keith Richards. Both of those cats would do interviews in the 1970s/80s with scowls on their faces: Ric in character as Mr. Cool. Keith because opioids make everything droop 'cuz you're so relaxed. But unless Ric gets pissed because of some stupid thing Dutch or Bischov said for the most part he's always laughing and if you see interviews of our boy Keith he is always laughing during interviews just like Naitch.
I'm watching this battle right now, and it is epic 😎
Legendary
I just saw some old matches on the Plex app, where they run 'Ultimate Classic Wrestling channel', it's a live stream. I think it was on ICW when the Poffos ran it and Garvin had dark hair, a trucker's baseball hat and a big thick mustache. I didn't recognize him and he was already speaking so I didn't hear him introduced but he's doing his promo + I start hearing this voice I recognize - I think, but the trucker's cap and mustache just threw me. He has that sort of accent. Is it Canadian? I just looked it up - Montreal. I finally notice when he stands full face to the camera his shirt said RONNIE. Question answered.
Thanks!
When Flair went to the WWF, Vince McMahon knew that Flair's schtick worked. He didn't try to change anything about Flair. He just told him to go out there and be Ric Flair.
It was a classic match every time
Just friends then now we are best buds
Love these stories. But guys, get up on your mics closer please.
Why does the interviewer scream? If the mic is prominent in the frame, you aren't a good talker.
He has always screamed. He was the one coined Booker T's move as the Spinnaroonie...
What killed Ron Garvin as world champion and I remember this episode vividly as a fan, is Jim Crockett Jr announced Garvin would not have to defend the world title until Starrcade. When has this ever been announced or said of ANY title holder going into a major show. It soured (wimped) Garvin's status as a world champion.
Ron Garvin aka Barney Rubble
Got totally burned in the World Wrestling Federation. "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin deserved better.
i watched them at cumberland county auditorium in NC. It was a great match !! Flair even wrestled lugar, Fantastic stuff, not like todays wrestling at all. just sayin
I figured Ric would be doing a podcast with Conrad.
Ric what are going to do 😂😂😂😂😂
Excellent match vs garvin in steel cage I think 🤔 it was in Chicago garvin was champion lost flair Start to finish
Space mountain he's the 60 minute man he is on all night long . To be the man you got to beat the Man I remember .
I don't know about his run at world champion being a flop. Watch the video on UA-cam. The pop he got in what they say was Joe Louis Arena was huge.
Ronnie Garvin Montreal boy
Ronnie even said he didn't care about being champions because he said that he and Ric had better matches than the ones he had in Detroit.
He beat the shit out me ric 😂😂
Flair, Garvin, and Wahoo McDaniel would remove the skin from your chest with their chops.
Yep, Wahoo accidentally knocked out Gene Anderson’s front teeth.
I'd love to hear Ric's top 5 WORST opponents--and why!!!
Flair said it best, Garvin didn't have that certain something that won over everyone. It's not a bad thing, some do and some don't. I never jumped on Garvin's bandwagon just like I didn't with Ron Simmons when he beat Vader
I wish Madden would speak up…
💪💪🙌
Just curious if Ric ever wrestled Buzz Sawyer? Buzz seemed a little too "unhinged" or irratic, well to be honest, insane is a better word. I wish Flair would do a segment on Sawyer, didn't Sawyer actually train The Undertaker?
Ronnie Garvin was like a chainsaw on steroids
Ronnie Garvin was one of my favorites, the finishing hands of stone then sitting on his opponent's chest. WOOF!!
If I met him in person I'd gladly offer my chest as his seat
Dropping the bullshit stories would be interesting...The real story of Ronnie Garvin NWA champ is the backstage political rivalry between Ric and Dusty. Dusty wanted a babyface champ to rival Hogan, lost it in Magnum, and was trying to find it in the younger guys. Ric wanted no part of this, wanted to keep the top spot and wanted to use JCP's 1st PPV to be recrowned.
Now who knows the conversations, machinations, except it seems very certain Ronnie was merely a pawn. Pushing Ric to tell these stories, including his role as one of Meltzer's biggest sources (rivaled only by Bret Hart, Corny, and JR in that era) would be fascinating as the statute of limitations have passed and the real truth, not the worked truth, would be worth a listen...not the above bullshit.
Madden, please stop yelling
Ronnie said in an interview that he chopped the hell out of Flair every night and Flair never complained once.
Just friends than?
Ron Garvin who???
Ron Garvin had a feud with Kevin Nash
When???
@@soulofanerd9364 during the nWo days
@@montecarlo4294 RON GARVIN??? I don't recall him being around for any of that
@@soulofanerd9364 I thought he was the one who was a world tag team champion with the Giant (later known as Big Show) and Eric Bischoff reversed the decision and gave the titles back to Hall and Nash. It would have been like early 1997.
@@montecarlo4294 naw that was Lex Luger I believe...Garvin was long gone by then. The only guys that had tag titles with The Giant were Luger, Sting and maybe Rick Steiner at one point. Definitely not Ron Garvin though.
Garvin wasn't believable as a champ he was better always as a challenger or for the tv title national etc
Some wrestlers dont need the belt to be stars. In reference to Sting.
Why is he YELLING?
He only has one mode and he usually doesn't respond to Naitch's answer. He would leave dead air a lot. Ric doesn't do these with him anymore.
yeah the hands of stone was awesome and underrated badly,he shined in the nwa,but was made a joke in wwf jobbing
That was damn right sad!🤬
Garvin was DRY and BORING 😴
Maybe, but he was as tough as they come. He didn't back down from anybody.
Talking or wrestling?
First
I thought Ronnie Garvin would have made a great third road warrior.
I thought they had a great story line back then
Damn I hate Mark Madden! Ever since the WCW.
I like Ric,but every time he tells a story and can't finish it and starts giggling at the end. Its beyond annoying. Answer the questions and finish the fuckin story so we understand!
Hated Garvin as NWA champion. Cheapened the belt. Sorry.
@Greg Bailey Tommy was a very good wrestler.
Garvin was Over at the time but taking Starrcade out of Greensboro was a mistake
Cheapened??? Garvin was literally a guy who was beating up The Barbarian, Big Bubba, all of the Horsemen (Blanchard and both Andersons) etc etc. Dude was no slouch AT ALL. The timing felt odd and maybe little behind the times as the industry was changing but I don't think he cheapened it at all.
Garvin could have sold as champion. Dusty Rhodes refused to book him.
Ronny Garvin was the most disrespectful wrestler ever . Always putting his balls in everyone's face
It was on y'all not to give Ron, anymore title runs Ric, come on now. Get out of here.
First