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Irish Daily Star
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
Ric Flair's iconic 'WOOOOO!' catchphrase keeps him in the spotlight decades after WWE fame
Three years after putting on his wrestling boots for what he's called his last-ever match, Ric Flair has said he's more popular than ever . Throughout an illustrious career in the squared circle which lasted nearly five decades, Flair tallied considerable accomplishments, including reigns as an 8-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWF Champion. Despite the 76-year-old's prediction that Cody Rhodes would stop John Cena from doing so at WrestleMania 41 , which featured a controversial appearance from Travis Scott , Cena recently surpassed Flair's hallmark of 16 WWE world championships. In July 2022, Flair hung up his wrestling cape for good in a grudge match featuring Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, with Andrade El Idolo by his side, during the 'Ric Flair's Last Match' event. Read More Related Articles Tom Brady's pre-Draft comments on Shedeur Sanders come to light after dramatic slide Read More Related Articles Shedeur Sanders breaks silence as five quarterbacks taken before him in NFL Draft Flair became an international sensation not only through his shiny mane, flashy attire, and boundless charisma but also thanks to his famous catchphrase that has endured over the decades. Almost 50 years after he first toyed with his trademark "WOOOOO!", the chant has embedded itself into contemporary culture. While racking up around 3,000 miles every week driving to wrestling events in the 1970s, Flair often had Jerry Lee Lewis tunes accompanying him. It was Lewis' sharp "woo!" from his 1961 hit 'Great Balls of Fire' that caught Flair's attention and led him to incorporate it into his television promos. The "WOOOOO!" shout began as Flair's signature call and quickly captured the hearts of audiences nationwide, who would yell it out in unity when he stepped into the wrestling ring. Today, the "WOOOOO!" can be heard well outside the confines of wrestling arenas. "I just look at it now, it's flattering," Flair shared exclusively with Mirror U.S. Sports . "It keeps me relevant and probably more recognized now than I've ever been." Flair believes he might be more recognized now that he's ever been (Image: Getty Images) Notably, prominent rappers and musicians like Metro Boomin, Offset, Snoop Dogg, and Bad Bunny have woven the distinctive cheer into their music whilst shining the spotlight on Flair in their videos. "They made that song 'Ric Flair Drip' ... and that took off," Flair remarked. "Snoop said I was bling before bling was bling, and pretty soon I made that thing for Bad Bunny. I've become really, really close friends with Post Malone. It's just amazing." Numerous sports teams from leagues all over North America are celebrating big moments like an NFL first down or an MLB homerun with the famed "WOOOOO!" "14 National Hockey League teams use it after they score a goal," cited Flair. Even the drinks industry hasn't escaped the "WOOOOO!" with Flair launching WOOOOO! Energy in 2023, his "better-for-you" energy drink infused with functional mushrooms. Keen to broaden its market reach, he's exploring overseas distribution options, including partners in Shanghai. Flair quipped, "If we get in China and Japan, I'll be hard to locate. I'll be doing one of these [interviews] from my own 747." Flair's iconic 'WOOOOO!' has been featured in several popular songs (Image: Getty Images) However, despite the popularity of the "WOOOOO!", Flair acknowledged that few people respect its trademarked status. "it's impossible to enforce it. We've tried," he admitted. "I'd have to sue everybody." That hasn't stopped Flair from going after several businesses that have used the "WOOOOO!" without permission, though with limited success. "I've tried it with a car dealership here that uses it in Vegas. They just tear up the letters and throw them away," he said. One notable exception is McDonald's, which complied with Flair's request. "The only person we shut down was McDonald's, because they did it in a commercial," he said. "And rather than pay me - that commercial had to have cost them millions to produce or hundreds of thousands anyway - they just elected not to pay me and took it down." For now, though, Flair is content to see his iconic "WOOOOO!" thriving in popular culture and sports.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Val Kilmer Shined Brightest When He Wasn't the Leading Man
VAL KILMER IS ONE OF THOSE ACTORS I sometimes think of as a great supporting lead. Which is to say that he had leading man energy and wasn't quite a 'character actor'—he had immense range and a chameleonic quality, but no one on this planet ever said 'Oh yeah, that guy, what's his name' about Val Kilmer—and yet his best, most memorable work rarely came in the films where he was first on the call sheet. He excelled at stealing the spotlight in bit parts, making other men's movies his own. You see it all the way back in Top Gun, where his Iceman is the coolheaded pro foil to Tom Cruise's hotheaded Maverick. The most memorable moment in that whole film isn't Cruise belting out 'Great Balls of Fire' or wooing Kelly McGillis; it's Kilmer chomping his teeth, warning that Maverick is dangerous. This is why the most moving sequence of Top Gun: Maverick comes when Iceman, now an admiral, tells Maverick that he needs to forgive himself for Goose's death, that he needs to let it go and do what must be done to keep his compatriots and his country safe. The middle of the 1990s provides the most proof for this thesis. Who else could play Batman—Batman!—and have it serve as his third-most-memorable film in a three-year period? Yet that's precisely the case of Batman Forever (1995), a movie few look at fondly compared to Tombstone (1993) and Heat (1995). It is within these films that his greatness as a supporting lead is most pronounced, in no small part because of the caliber of star that Kilmer was arrayed against. Share Tombstone has one of the greatest movie casts ever assembled—Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Powers Boothe, Michael Rooker, Billy Bob Thornton, and I could keep going—and Kilmer blows them all off the screen with his work as Doc Holliday, the gaunt, ghostly tubercular gunslinger. Russell's Wyatt Earp is the hero; he gets his revenge and the girl and rides off into the sunset to become an early Hollywood consultant shaping his own legend. But Holliday is the bleeding heart of the film, a tragic figure in his own way, a man so sure of his talents that he can't help but get people killed. Tombstone is a stone-cold basic-cable classic and an ur-Guy Movie, and I bet if you ask guys which guy in the movie they'd most like to be seen as, nine out of ten pick Kilmer's lunger. His taciturn 'I don't' in this scene says more about male friendship than a whole page of monologue could. The cast of Heat is no less impressive, though more succinctly summed up: Pacino vs. De Niro. And yes, both De Niro and Pacino deliver master class–caliber performances. But again, in this movie about alpha men and their relationship both to excellence at crime and incompetence at home, Kilmer is the bleeding heart of the film. He's the one criminal who is able actually to fulfill Neil McCauley's (De Niro) axiom: 'Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.' Few moments in film are as heartbreaking as when Kilmer's Chris clocks his wife giving him the 'run' signal and his face shifts from loving relief to the cold realization he'll never see them again. As much as everyone loves the physicality Kilmer demonstrates in the Hollywood shootout scene—and as great as that is—it's this moment of face-work that demonstrated why he was one of the best. I could go on in this vein—Gay Perry is the funniest part of Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Robert Downey Jr.'s comeback vehicle that helped him land Iron Man; I don't remember a single thing about The Snowman except for Kilmer's odd, very clearly hacked-apart-in-the-editing-bay performance as the incredibly named Gert Rafto—though hopefully you take my point. Join now I don't want to undersell Kilmer's talents as a leading man; perhaps one day the boutique Blu-ray firms will get around to crafting a proper 4K release for David Mamet's Spartan (2004), the physical and lyrical rhythms of which almost perfectly suited Kilmer's ability to abruptly shift between 'still' and 'high-order violence.' I'd like to end with a reminder that the documentary Val—which features a great deal of footage that Kilmer shot himself during his career, paired with an almost-haunting look at life following treatments for cancer that robbed him of his voice and killed his acting career—is a must-watch. Not just because of the archival footage, though that stuff is always fun. But because it shows Kilmer's poignant side, the way the video he has shot over the years helps him tell the story of his own life, not just in the world of acting but with his kids, with himself. Kilmer was a thoughtful guy and a true artist (read his memoir I'm Your Huckleberry for evidence of that), which is probably one reason he slid better into supporting roles where, unburdened by the demands of leading-man status, he could do work that was a little off-kilter and thus more interesting. Rest in peace. Share
