Ric Flair, who has dominated the sport of professional wrestling for decades, retired this past year. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and was pretty much given the biggest send off in the history of the sport. Given this, it got me to thinking about the greatest rivalries in his long and storied wrestling career.

In the sport of professional wrestling, you are only as good as your opponents. If your opponent does not look good, you do not look good. This was what made Flair so special. He could take the average jobbers and make them look like they were a million bucks. Though he spent the majority of his career as a “bad guy” or “heel”, he still ended up as a “baby face” or “good guy” in the end. Here are four feuds that literally made Flair the legend he is today among wrestling fans:

Ric Flair Versus Ricky Steamboat -

This feud is legendary and no other feud in wrestling history is better. In the beginning of Steamboat’s career, he was toiling in the old NWA and trying to make a name for himself. Flair was already considered the greatest, and Steamboat decided to challenge the champ. Not only did this feud take Flair to new heights, it literally defined the career of Steamboat. Ricky Steamboat became a mega star because of this feud. Back then, every week was a must see television to watch what happened between these two. The feud continued all the way up into the nineties and both men credit each other as their greatest opponent.

Ric Flair Versus Dusty Rhodes

Dusty Rhodes was the common man. Flair was the styling and profiling celebrity womanizer. The two would simply blow the roof off of an arena when they went head to head. Nobody could get enough of these two in the eighties, and they put on some of the most entertaining wrestling matches of all time. With the natural humor they would inject into their matches, you always knew that you would get a great match.

Ric Flair Versus Sting

Sting is the ultimate opponent for Flair. When their feud began he was the new, younger, stronger version of wrestler. Sound familiar? Much like Steamboat, the feud with Flair defined his career, and to this day remains one of the greatest feuds of all time. Sting and Flair was simply magical in every way. They generated huge pops from the crowd all the way up until the demise of WCW, where they wrestled for one last time.

Ric Flair Versus Shawn Michaels

The feud that led up to the retirement of Ric Flair with Shawn Michaels has to be considered among the greatest ever. Michaels handled the storyline brilliantly, and for Flair to be knocked into retirement by a man that adored him seemed fitting. Flair fought till the bitter end, and finally hung them up at the grandest stage in wrestling… Wrestlemania.

Though Flair’s in ring career is over, he will always be remembered as “The Man” by wrestling fans the world over. These great feuds are only four reasons why.