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View Full Version : Ric Flair Reveals Hit Pop Song That Inspired the "Woo!" Catchphrase



Kemo
04-25-2023, 12:41 AM
:wooo:

Ric Flair may be one of the most decorated champions of all time, but for many, his career can be defined with one word: Woo!

Flair's monosyllabic catchphrase has followed the Nature Boy from company to company, including his stints in WWE, WCW, and TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.

Even to this day, the use of a chop (another Flair staple) elicits woos from the crowd in respect to the two-time WWE Hall of Famer.

With Flair being such a synonymous name in the wrestling landscape, it's hard to imagine the business without the dirtiest player in the game.

Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Flair spoke about growing up a wrestling fan and how he broke into the business.

"I loved pro wrestling as a kid. I watched it all the time and then my dad would take me to a match on my birthday or something like that. I was going to play football [at the] University of Minnesota and was academically eligible. After a semester, I stayed in a fraternity house for two years told my parents I was still in school [laughs.] Then Ken Patera came to town and I got a chance to break in with Vern [Gagne.]

"I just kind of grew up on Joe Namath, you know? Going back to where I got that [character from] I saw Joe Namath in Miami in the mink coat with the chicken and the lounge chair I said that's me. And then he had said that he had slept with 300 women at Alabama I said that's me. That's my game and I've just got to figure out how to get there."

After spending a few years building up his career, Flair would add his iconic catchphrase to his repertoire, thanks to a song by Jerry Lee Lewis.

On the show, Flair explained that 'Great Balls of Fire,' would serve as the inspiration for one of wrestling's greatest catchphrases.

"I'm telling you, we used to drive you know, 3000 to 3500 miles a week sometimes four [thousand.] I mean at night you're just listening to music and drinking beer and throwing cans at the signs. You know in the old days and driving 100 miles an hour.

"I heard Jerry Lewis go 'Goodness gracious! Great balls of fire! Woo.' But the emphasis wasn't on the 'woo as much as you know the [rest of the lyirc.] And I went the next day on TV I said [mimics speech, ending with woo] and that's how it all started. 1974. Goodness, gracious! Great Balls of Fire."