On December 10, 1972, he made his debut at Rice Lake, Wisconsin, drawing a 10-minute draw with George "Scrap Iron" Gadaski under the ring name Ric Flair. Flair wrestled Dusty Rhodes, Chris Taylor, Andre the Giant, Larry Hennig, and Wahoo McDaniel in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). The next day he appeared on television for the first time as he went one-on-one with the world heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa in a match that aired on NBC's Saturday Night Live. Balboa was played by Sylvester Stallone who also starred as the protagonist of the movie series. The role made Stallone an icon in America. Balboa lost to Flair but the fight is what people remember most from this episode. Around this time, Flair also had a wrestling tag team with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson called The Flairs. They were very successful in their time. In April 1983, he joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where he remained until January 1994 when he retired from in-ring competition due to neck problems. During his time in WWF, he was managed by Arn Anderson who later on became one of his best friends. Anderson helped him find work outside of wrestling while also acting as his trainer. In February 1994, he returned to the ring for one night only during WrestleMania XIV where he participated in a 20-man battle royal which was won by Shawn Michaels.