Why David Flair's Wrestling Career Flopped

Much like almost every other business in the world, pro wrestling has more than its fair share of children following their parents into the ring. And for every Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Dominik Mysterio, and Charlotte Flair who has succeeded, there's just as many second/third generation wrestlers that failed. One of those most notable flops would be none other than Charlotte's brother, and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair's oldest son, David Flair. The oldest son of the "Nature Boy," and the first of Flair's children to attempt to break into wrestling, David's wrestling career can best be summed up with one particular phrase; "well, that certainly did happen." 

Having made on camera appearances in his younger years, David debuted in-ring for WCW in early 1999, two months shy of his 20th birthday, during his father's feud with Eric Bischoff. By the time the year was over, he would turn, reconcile, and turn on Flair a second time, became the youngest WCW United States Champion in history, and had a brief fling with Torrie Wilson, before finally forming an alliance with Daffney and Crowbar. The next year wasn't calmer for Flair, who eventually turned on Crowbar and Daffney, sided with Vince Russo and the New Blood stable, began a romance with Stacy Keibler that resulted in a pregnancy angle, and, in a carbon copy of 1999, turned and reconciled with his father multiple times. When WCW closed down, David continued to make a go of wrestling for a bit, ultimately working independents, TNA, All Japan, and WWE, where he was briefly reunited with his father. Alas, David never caught on in any place long-term, and by 2009, he had had enough and hung up his boots, wrestling his final match 2 months after his 30th birthday.

So what exactly went wrong for David Flair? Why did his career flop so bad? The immediate thought would be to look at that career recap and go "all of this." That would be a fair argument; with booking that saw him bounce from alliance to alliance, and feud, then align, then feud, then align with his father multiple times during a calendar year, it would seem David never had a chance to stick with something long enough to truly get over. But even beyond the booking, there were other factors at play. The first was potentially David's lack of interest in wrestling. In his autobiography, Ric Flair revealed that David had previously never had aspirations of wrestling, instead wishing to become a state trooper. Between that, and him getting out of wrestling by age 30, it's fair to wonder if David's heart truly was in wrestling.

Beyond that, David was equally hindered by his inexperience and what appears to be poor training. How poor? When he debuted in WCW in 1999, David wasn't just new to wrestling on TV, he was new to wrestling period. All information related to his career indicates David had, at best, limited training when he first wrestled on "WCW Nitro," and only started training regularly in the spring. And while David likely continued that training after he began wrestling regularly in May, it's safe to say most of his wrestling training likely happened in the ring, and on the fly, resulting in him never rounding out the way a fully trained wrestler would have. As such, it becomes clear just why David Flair flopped; he was trying a second career choice, he wasn't properly prepared to be a wrestler, and his booking left a lot to be desired.