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Man who trained WWE legend Ric Flair's son: Reid Fliehr showed no signs of trouble

Newsday interviews George South about Reid Flair

Man who trained WWE legend Ric Flair's son: Reid Fliehr showed no signs of trouble
March 31, 2013 by JOSH STEWART / josh.stewart@newsday.com

STORY LINK

The man who trained "Nature Boy" Ric Flair's son for a career in pro wrestling says there were no signs of trouble the last time he was in the ring with him.

George South said he had a training session with Reid Fliehr in late January, just days before he debuted for All Japan Pro Wrestling and only two months before Fleihr, 25, was found dead in a Charlotte, N.C. hotel room Friday.

Longtime wrestler South, 50, has a history of training second-generation wrestlers, including Fliehr; Richie Steamboat, son of WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat; and Dillon Eaton, son of legendary tag-team specialist “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton.

A picture of South in the ring with the three youngsters is now on top of South’s website as a tribute to his fallen student.

“I know people will write what they want to write, but he was really great kid,” South said about Fliehr in a phone interview with Newsday late Saturday night. “When you’re training them them you get close. When there’s nobody in the building but them and the ring, you get to know these kids.”

South acknowledges Fliehr’s past, which includes multiple arrests, culminating in a 2009 charge for heroin possession. But South said Fleihr trained regularly at his Charlotte facility for the last two years, and was around from time to time for years prior to that. He said Fliehr and South’s son, George Jr. -- who also entered his father’s profession -- traded text messages regularly.

“He [Fliehr] was as healthy as can be,” South said of the training session, later adding, “I know these guys inside-out. I like to think I’m like a dad to them. Reid would have said something to me [if something was wrong].”

Fliehr returned from a Japanese tour just days before his death. In a tweet dated Tuesday, he wrote, “Made it home but no time to rest. Already back to work. Always improving in one way or another.”

“It’s amazing how many people have come forward and said they wrestled Reid in his last match,” South said. And those are people who didn’t even know him. That’s why I’ve been giving interviews, to set the record straight.”

Newsday initially reached South Saturday night as his entrance music was playing for him to head to the ring during a show at the Reidsville, N.C., National Guard Armory. When he finally was able to speak after the event, he explained that going on isn’t easy.

“We’re not supermen,” South said. “We hurt, we lose loved ones, we’re just normal folks. As young as Reid was, it just broke my heart.”

Wrestlers battle for cancer patient - Friday, Jun 1 2012

http://www.shelbystar.com/articles/cancer-64525-diagnosed-shirley.html

"A Charlotte-based publication several years ago dubbed South “The Last Rassler.” There could be no better description for a man described as “the most passionate wrestler who ever lived.” .... His latest written offering is yet one more valuable addition to the Mid-Atlantic treasure trove....

Full review at http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120603/PC20/120609754/1032/-rasslin-redemption-theme-of-south-koloff-books

Thanks Emily Weaver!

http://kmherald.net/mr-no-pens-momoir-p2372-90.htm

Wrasslin' at the LEC

from the May 2012 edition of the Life Enrichment Center newsletter.

Reigning EWA Florida Champ Deon Johnson gets some press

in the Union Daily Times (Union SC.)

Article Link: ‘A kid from Chambertown’ Union Daily Times by Derik Vanderford

Promotional Postcards for the K&S Wrestlefest featuring Ricky Steamboat and others, including Mr. No. 1 George South

Reid Flair Blog on his MySpace Page, December 120, 2010

Just checking in with everybody on here & wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas....I had to bring up a certain update.........AS OF 5 DAYS AGO ON DECEMBER 15, I AM OFFICIALLY A TALENT FOR TNA WRESTLING. This is a whole new playing field for me & its finally a chance for me to continue the Flair legacy. I've made so many changes & made so many good choices in the last 9 months to get to this. Since February my only focus has been training. I've been sober & clean since March 21st. I'm staying in Orlando right now training daily. Heading up to Charlotte Wednesday & going to train til Friday with George South & my dad. I'm entirely focused & motivated. My mind is clear & I'm ready to succeed and put everything into this. The future looks bright for me & I'm as happy as I've ever been. To wrap this up I want to thank my dad, David, Riki & Ashley, George South, Harley Race, the guys at NJPW, all the promoters I've worked for locally, Vader, Brittany, & all my supporters and critics for being there for me when I needed them & giving me advice and helping this become a reality. Most importantly God is the one to truly thank. They say that all who want to be saved & brought out from under their demons find the light & I found it. With his guidance it took me away from alcohol & drugs and without that this wouldn't have been able to happen & I'd still be lost going down the wrong path. To all my fans...I haven't had my 1st match with TNA yet but just wait & see what happens because FLAIR is taking over.....

http://www.myspace.com/flairwrestling/blog

Charlotte Magazine

August 2010, pages 64-65 LINK

Charlotte Magazine

"Tackle. Two-count. Back to the lockup. Up and over."

Squatting in the corner of a wrestling ring that's surrounded by blister-packed action figures of pro wrestlers stacked floor to ceiling, George South rattles off instructions with the focus of an NFL quarterback and the speed of an auctioneer. Two fledgling wrestlers in the center of the ring do what he says, booms and splats echoing off the walls.

"Headlock. Takeover. Pick him up, please," he continues, always with a "please." "Remember, the higher the better. Cedric, butterfly suplex."

Cedric Johnson, twenty, who's been training with South for six months, holds his opponent horizontally over his head, then drops him to the mat with a heavy whoomph. "Do it again. I want more up and down than straight out."

"When I started there was nothing like this. It was so secretive," says South, forty-seven. South took wrestling seriously as a kid. "I'd go to the Park Center [now Grady Cole Center] and help the rasslers carry their bags in. I had it bad. I was about twelve years old and Ole Anderson won this belt and got on TV and said, ‘This belt don't mean nothin'. I'm going to throw it in a dumpster.' Well I got on my bicycle and rode around Charlotte for two weeks looking for that belt."

When he was eighteen, South answered a newspaper ad that read "Be a 'Rassler."

"I go to this old building. It looked like something out of a scary movie. The windows were broke out of it. I opened the door and it fell off the hinges. They had an old ring set up like a Rocky movie and there was a big Samoan, an old guy, and a midget," South recalls. "They beat the crap out of me, tore my clothes and left me over in the corner with my britches split. I was pulling myself up and I saw the midget coming ... he kicked me as hard as he could right in the stomach. For some stupid reason the next day I came back. A week later I had a match."

South wrestled for NWA during the 1980s and counts a televised twenty-minute match against Ric Flair as his personal favorite. "People on the street remember that match. It wasn't just one-sided, and that's what made it interesting. The biggest compliment I get is when people say, ‘For a moment I thought you were going to win.' "

South, a married father of five who lives in Concord, remains a fixture at matches through the region. He's spent the past five years training wannabe wrestlers, including second-generation talents Reid Flair (son of Ric) and Ricky Steamboat Jr., in the back room at the offices of HighSpots, an online store for all things pro wrestling. He and his students will set up the ring almost anywhere -- birthday parties, NASCAR races, church parking lots.

"I still love packing my bag to go on the road," he says before firing off the last round of moves for the night. "Tackle. Drop down. Hip toss." - Courtney Devores

Charlotte Magazine, August 2010, pages 64-65

Also featured:

Tully Blanchard, Ivan and Nikita Koloff, Arn Anderson, Magnum TA, and Jimmy Garvin

No love at all for Mr. Elite Jake Manning!

TNA Signs Reid Flair

from Wrestling Revealed 5/29/10 (edited)

TNA has decided to add some more flair to their roster by signing Reid Flair, the youngest son of the legendary Ric Flair. The second generation hype isn't just something that is happening in WWE. TNA is doing it as well.

According to Ric Flair himself, the company has signed his son to a contract. The 22 year worked two matches for WCW years ago.

While his appeal is in his name, Reid Flair has been trained by some of the best in the business. Aside from being trained by the Nature Boy, the North Carolina native has also spent time learning under the legendary Harley Race and George South, the man who Ricky Steamboat handpicked to train his own son.

No word yet on when he will start working with TNA.

Original Article: http://www.wrestlingrevealed.com/next/content.php?655-TNA-Signs-Reid-Flair

Thanks also to Henry Dean.

WWE toy box from the 1980s; that's George getting punched by the Ultimate Warrior!

Writer Matt Labash (senior writer for the Weekly Standard) wrote an article about George in 2000 for the Weekly Standard magazine. The magazine is one of the country's top conservative political magazines.

In 2010, Matt published a collection of some of his best articles titled "Fly Fishing with Darth Vader And Other Adventures with Evangelical Wrestlers, Political Hitmen, and Jewish Cowboys". In it is the article he wrote about George back in 2000. George is even featured in the artwork on the back cover of the book! (Also featured on the front and back cover are Vice President Dick Cheney, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Kinky Friedman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others. The title of the chapter on George is "Hitting Heathens with Chairs: George South, Evangelical Wrestler."

Check out Matt's book on Amazon.com.

Added March 2010

Banner for George's Appearance on In Your Head restling Radio Show 3/24/10

Inside Wrestling 1988

Wrestling Magazine 1994

George South to Appear on Main Event Thursday with Jimmy Valiant!

Thursday from 5-6 p.m. EST at 101.7 F.M Or listen online at http://supersports1017.com/

This week’s special guest at 5 o'clock Thursday August 20th is Angel's favorite wrestler of all time. I'm proud to be able to announce on Main Event Thursday someone who wrestled in the NWA, WCW, WWF, PWF, and is founder and president of his own wrestling company, EWA. He is one-of-a-kind and my and Angel's great friend. I'm talking about everyone's friend, #1 George South!
Please call in and ask George a question about his wrestling ministry, wrestling company, and great wrestling career.
Toll-free number: 1-888-639-4900.
Thanks. God Bless.
- Jimmy and Angel Valiant