Nick Piccone
In the world of professional wrestling, or sports entertainment as Vince McMahon calls it, there have been few superstars that have transcended the squared circle and Hollywood and that have remained in the public eye, for better or worse.
Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Ric Flair have been the biggest stars the wrestling industry has created, not just in their world, but in the mainstream media world, as well. In fact, there have been many actors and actresses, along with professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and other sports entities that have graced the world of wrestling throughout the last few decades. Hell, Donald Trump even owned Monday Night Raw for a week, if anyone cares to remember that.
And now, we’re getting more. Last week, the company who films the excellent ESPN series “30 for 30” confirmed they’d started filming a new episode for “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
That’s right. The stylin’, profilin’, limousine ridin’, jet flyin’, kiss stealin’, wheelin’, dealin’ son of a gun is going to have perhaps one of the best “30 for 30” documentaries… ever.
Here are some classic Flair moments:
This isn’t anything new for ESPN. Earlier this year, they aired a E:60 program highlighting the WWE’s developmental brand, NXT. It tracked the careers and personal lives of Austin Watson (Xavier Woods), Adam Rose (Ray Leppan) and Matt Polinsky (Corey Graves).They also covered the Von Erich family tragedy, as well.
More recently, the station has included WWE coverage of WrestleMania and SummerSlam, where they were actually in Brooklyn, NY with live segments from outside and inside the arena. Now, different WWE superstars are guests on a weekly SportsCenter segment at 9 P.M. on Tuesdays, which airs on ESPNews.