Ric Flair’s retirement: the end of an era

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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In about a week, we’ll likely witness the end of an era with the retirement of the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Here’s a tidbit from the Charleston newspaper. As you’ll recall, I’ll blogged about Flair’s retirement here.

There aren’t many wrestlers still around who remember Ric Flair before he became the “Nature Boy.”

But Blackjack Mulligan, one of the top stars in the business during the ‘70s, was one of Flair’s mentors who helped the young Minnesotan make the transition to one of the most colorful characters and greatest performers in the history of the business.

Mulligan, 67, points out that Flair, who will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 29, is the last of a breed of touring, old-school world champions.

“Randy (Orton) was trained by the Ortons. He has a smidgen of it. But Ric was NWA all the way,” said Mulligan, a 2006 Hall of Fame inductee. “Wow … it’s going to be really sad. I knew it was going to happen, but here it is, just a short time away.”

Mulligan hopes that Flair, whose last match is expected to be March 30 at Wrestlemania 24, can make the next — and often difficult — transition to a life outside the spotlight of the wrestling world.

“I really, really worry about Ric. My mother was a single parent, and I was a survivor from a young child, throwing papers on the street. So when I left the business it didn’t matter. I was a survivor. I could leave and do things. I tripped up a little and got confused a little bit like other guys do. I made some mistakes. But it’s a horrible, terrible feeling when you leave the business.”

Mulligan, whose real name is Bob Windham, says he learned from his mistakes. He spent two years in a federal prison after running afoul of the law and being convicted of federal counterfeiting.

“I made some bad decisions hanging around lawyers, with people in the real estate business, and it cost me a couple years of my life. They never wind up in jail — the fall guy does. I learned that lesson. I thought I was going to be a tycoon, but I wound up being in a typhoon. And I got very wealthy. That’s the reason I didn’t make the move from Florida. But then all of a sudden one of my bankers, my lead guy, moved to Charlotte and built a shopping center. I was so strung out on money that when the dominoes started … you make bad decisions. You make strange, weird decisions that you normally wouldn’t make. And you’re 50 years old.”

Mulligan and youngest son Kendall Windham were arrested by the U.S. Secret Service in a joint investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for counterfeiting in 1990. Both father and son spent 24 months in a federal prison as a result of a plea agreement and were released in 1992.

Health issues also have plagued Mulligan, legitimately one of the biggest wrestlers of his era at 6-7 and well over 300 pounds, although the wrestler continues to persevere.

“You’ve seen it all when you’ve lived as long as I have. The average age for NFL guys is 53, and here I am at 67 still kicking. I don’t believe it. I probably should have been dead a long time ago. I sometimes wonder what I’m still doing walking around. God knows when he’s going to stop this heart.”