FIVE YEARS OF LIVING EXTREME
On February 18, 1999, "Total
Elimination" Eli Flair took a hit that put him on the shelf. Now, while this is no
great happening; after all, he's taken MANY hits over the course of the past five years,
this one, for the second time in three years, led to the most feared action in the life of
an athlete. Surgery.
His legacy of earning the nickname "King of EXTREME" started with his first
IntraContinental Title reign in the CSWA, with a Barbed Wire Ladder Match against
"Gentleman" Jim Williams, who had been portraying Hornet as the AntiChrist. If
Williams could see him now...
But, I digress. Flair won the match in typical Flair fashion that we've all come to know
and love, with a lot of blood and a good deal of pain dished out to his opponent. That
was, at least for me, the most exciting thing about Eli Flair. While Hornet and GUNS and
Alexander Karelin and Steven Flair and Mike Randalls and Mark Windham, and the list could
go on forever, were fighting among themselves for the UNIFIED and EN World Titles, Eli
Flair was out there, at nearly EVERY event, giving the fans what they wanted to see.
When they wanted to see him and his team take on the Rosenthal Family in DEATH GAMES, did
it in typical Flair style, and out fought them to be the sole survivor.
When he proved all his critics wrong, and in the span of THREE DAYS at the Thanksgiving
Weekend Spectacular '95, pinned TWO former Unified Champions, in Steven Flair and Mike
Randalls, he did it in typical Flair style and simply out fought them.
When he proved, every event, nearly every night, that he was for real, and retired the IC
belt after more then eight months of NOT ONE contender man enough to take it from him, he
did it in typical Flair fashion, and beat ATTAXX in a BASEBRAWL match, the likes of which
have seldom been seen since.
There were few constants in his career; the death of his wife and chronic knee problems
spurred him to constantly change his look, and pushed him to keep reinventing himself to
stay ahead of the status quo. He was considered 'Extreme' a good two years before it was
considered "cool" to do so, and when the CSWA seemed to catch up to his style,
he changed things up once again, finding new and interesting uses for Barbed Wire that
most 'extreme' wrestlers would be afraid to go near.
Perhaps, the most talked about event in his career was at BATTLE OF THE BELTS XIV: Holy
Smokes! as he went EXTREME to the point that fewer then a dozen men in HISTORY have ever
gone, and that's against Mike Randalls in a WHEEL of DEATH match. He, along with Mr.
Self-Destruct and the eight-foot tall Goliath, took it to Randalls and his partners, Craig
Miles and JT Collins of FULL FORCE, until Alicia herself was strapped to the wheel.
Things looked to continue for Eli, until he went up against "King of the
Slackers" Troy Windham for the Presidential Title. He took a severe beating in that
match, both at the hands of Troy Windham, but The Frat, as well, which included Eli's
former tag team partner, Bandit. Just like that, Eli disappeared.
It would be over a year before Eli was heard from again. A lot of people thought that the
KING of EXTREME had finally been dethroned by the KING of the SLACKERS. I can speak for
more then just myself when I say, thank God we were wrong.
But Eli took some hard shots since his return, fueled by the man that seemed to be able to
match him, EXTREME for EXTREME... in "Good God" Kevin Powers. He kept one step
ahead of Eli for months, holding onto that United States title, until ELVIS LIVES XI.
Eli won the US belt, but his knee was further aggrivated, and then again on multiple
occasions by Hornet and his now FORMER manager, Poison Ivy. As of now we have no new
information on Eli's condition, except for that he went under the knife on March 6, and
the surgery lasted more then five hours.
Say what you will about Eli... He's a punk from the streets, he's been involved in fights
with just about everyone... He's been fined more then anyone in the CSWA, even Mike
Randalls, and he's got few friends in the business. But when he hobbled out of the arena
in Lincoln after losing his title to Nemesis, there was an eerie silence throughout the
building. For those few brief moments, before he exited the arena with Mark Vizzack, it
seemed like everyone was waiting for something to come from Eli, that never came.
Eli Flair is convalescing in a hospital now. We don't know which hospital, and we don't
know where. But Flair, who entered the CSWA in 1995 with a forged wrestling liscence, who
overcame more then one setback on his way to being the LONGEST reigning CSWA
Intracontinental Champion ever, has been uncharacteristically silent throughout this
entire ordeal. He has not contacted CS Enterprises, he has not contacted the CSWA, he has
barely threatened revenge, toward ANYBODY. Will he have something to say? And to who?
Nemesis? Hornet? Poison Ivy? We don't know. We know he wants to come back to action, and
you can bet, we'll be hearing from Eli Flair very soon.
UPDATED 4/23/99 |
