WWE legend Ric Flair is considered by many to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and throughout his legacy, one exclamation has become his signature. “The Nature Boy” recently revealed the origin of his iconic ‘Woooo’ catchphrase that has continued to echo throughout the world of wrestling.
It didn’t take wrestling fans long to realize that Ric Flair embodied everything a champion should with his wit and ability to entertain. He became known for taunting his opponents with his exclamatory ‘Wooo’ and bravado statement, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!”
This ‘Wooo!’ yell has been a longtime staple in Ric Flair’s career and now crowds shout it as a tribute to the wrestler, particularly when Flair’s signature move, a knife-edge chop, is performed. The exclamation has become iconic in the world of wrestling and Ric Flair has revealed his inspiration behind it.
On his radio show, The Ric Flair Show, the wrestler explained that he got the idea for his signature exclamation from a popular singer.
During one of the latest editions of The Ric Flair Show, Ric Flair explained that the origin of the use of his iconic ‘Woo!’ dates back to 1974, when he heard it for the first time in the famous song “Great Balls of Fire” sang by Jerry Lee Lewis. Flair remembers that it was actually the lyric “Goodness gracious, great balls of fire, woo!” that served as an inspiration to him to begin using the catchphrase in the squared circle.
Flair confessed that he actually changed the delivery of the famous line to give it his own character, but the song is undoubtedly the inspiration behind the exclamation. “Not exactly the way I do it,” Flair commented on the song, “but it was enough to get me motivated to start saying it.”
Flair’s ‘Woo’ catchphrase has gained so much popularity even beyond the world of wrestling, as it went on to be used in pop culture, particularly in hip-hop music, and the famous wrestler has been paid tribute numerous times.
