Before They Were Stars: Ric Flair in “The Wrestler” (1974)

The wrestling world lost one of its greatest legends when Verne Gagne passed away this week at the age of 89. In addition to being a hugely successful wrestler, Gagne was the owner and promoter of the American Wrestling Association and trained several successful stars, including the one and only “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. In 1974, Gagne starred and co-produced in a film called The Wrestler, though to say it didn’t quite measure up to the quality Darren Aronofsky’s film or that Gagne’s performance didn’t measure up to Mickey Rourke’s would be an understatement. Anyway, in this particular scene, it’s a quite a shock to see a young Ric Flair sitting at the table. He’s only a year or two into his career and instead of his trademark blonde locks, his hair is completely brown! In other words, he looks more like an accountant than the Nature Boy.