Ric Flair Opens up About His Real Name, and It’s Not Richard Fliehr

When it comes to the real name of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, legally it’s Richard Fliehr. However, that is not the name he was born with as he was adopted as a baby in Memphis, Tennessee in 1949. Flair talked about it in his new documentary and there has been debate about his birth name either being  Fred Phillips, Fred Demaree or Fred Stewart. Flair revealed that his birth name is indeed Fred Phillips. 

“Fred Phillips. I just found that out three years ago,” Flair said, per our sister site ComicBook.com. Flair also revealed that his half-brother contacted him as they have the same birth mother but declined a meeting with him. “I don’t have any curiosity,” Flair said. “I’ve got enough to be curious about, without someone I’ve never met in my life and meet him now at 73. What are we going to talk about? Ruin our life? He probably only wants to meet me because I’m what I am, whoever I am… If that makes sense.”

Woooooo! Becoming Flair is streaming now on Peacock and tells the story of how Flair became one of the most iconic figures in professional wrestling. Some of the notable stars interviewed in the documentary are  Hulk Hogan, Mike Tyson, Post Malone, Stephen A. Smith, and Charlotte Flair. 

“Many stories have been told about The Nature Boy over the past 50 years,” Flair said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to have partnered with WWE and Peacock to produce the most accurate depiction of my life to date and hope audiences enjoy the ride. Woooo!”   

Flair also talked about the film on his To Be The Man podcast. “I thought it was very fair, very good,” he said, per 411 Mania. “I thought, once again with the exception of Bischoff, I was thrilled at what some of the people had to say. I just want to start it off by saying that the only mistake that Bruce said, and Bruce and I are very close friend, is I didn’t anticipate being the biggest star up there. That’s the only thing Bruce said wrong because I was never a big star up there. I was a bigger star probably the second time I went back, at 52 years of age, than I was even then because people didn’t know who I was. I just wasn’t on their TV. So I thought Bruce was spot-on, thought he was great.”