ISBN 0-609-60690-5. ↑ So, on September 25, 1987 in Detroit, Ron Garvin defeated Ric Flair to become the NWA Heavyweight champion. As some had predicted, this did not go down well with NWA fans, as Ric Flair states in his book, they were happy to see Garvin chase for the gold and give Ric a beating, but they didn't see him as someone who would actually be able to beat him. I guess a similar comparison at this point is if Charlie Haas had beaten JBL for the WWE World Title. ↑ Highspots (March 9, 2013).