The first 30 for 30 that focused on professional wrestler did not disappoint. For the hardcore fans, Ric’s biography is well known but the joy comes from hearing so many of his Hall of Fame contemporaries (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, Hogan) speak of his obvious strengths and weaknesses.
If you’re coming in with a fairly clean slate, then ‘Nature Boy’ is a great primer into the wrestling business through one of its most iconic stars, while also pulling back the curtain to show us how damaged/flawed someone so beloved and influential as Ric Flair is. The father/son dynamic is a major theme of the story here, and for a lot of wrestling fans a key component for how we were introduced to wrestling in the first place. (Saying too much more would take some of the steam out of the story.) There was a very close call not that long ago, but Naitch is still with us to appreciate the respect so many of us have for him, and this film certainly did nothing to diminish the humanity of Richard Fliehr, or his much more famous alter ego.
Highly recommend.
