American television personality Stephen A. Smith recently appeared on the latest episode of What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, where he discussed various topics, including what he has communicated to WWE executives about the current roster.
Smith said, “Passion. So much starts with that. Don’t tell me that you’ve ever encountered anybody with more passion for their job than Ric Flair. I mean, this brother — he was something special. Listen, he’s still alive, still kicking. But Ric Flair, he’s the reason. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I’m seeing from WWE, I’m a fan. You’ve got some Superstars in the sport and stuff like that. But I’ve often said to the Nick Khans of the world, the Triple Hs of the world — ‘My man, you know how much I love that brother, that’s my guy. That’s my guy, and he’s such an incredible and talented evaluator, and all of that.’ The one thing that to me they haven’t found, excuse my language, is a s**t-talker of the quality of Ric Flair. That’s the one thing. There has been no equal, there has been no successor to that. No one, and I mean no one. This man is just next level.”
On where Ric Flair ranks against his contemporaries:
“Hulk Hogan had his thing; Ultimate Warrior had his thing. Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage, he had his thing. A whole bunch of people. And I go back to the days of the NWA, when it was ‘The American Dream,’ Dusty Rhodes. It was Magnum T.A., it was the Road Warriors, the Four Horsemen with Arn Anderson and the crew. I loved all of them. But Ric Flair stood in front of the crowd. Because when he got in front of a microphone, when you saw him, you could see the other wrestlers, you could see the other fighters there — and you didn’t want to hear from anybody else once you saw Ric Flair. Because you’re like, ‘Would y’all move out the way? Let me hear what he has to say.’ He was just phenomenal.”
On what made Flair different:
“So it was the passion, [the] obvious belief in himself. Because obviously as a wrestler, he was undersized compared to most of the wrestlers he went against. So there was this unwavering belief in himself, a passion that rivaled it. And was there a greater master at the mind games? Was there anybody that could get you to just despise them so much and get off your game?”
On Charlotte Flair carrying the name:
“Ric Flair was something special. Listen, you can’t stand Ric Flair’s children because of Ric Flair, you know what I’m saying? She has an uphill climb, because the Nature Boy — that’s a lot to live up to. Listen, that passion, the eye for entertainment, the mind games, all of that — that separated Ric Flair. He and I communicate from time to time. I love him to death, and he just calls me the ultimate entertainer. And I’m like, ‘Please stop lying, I’m talking to the ultimate entertainer.’ Nobody, nobody was better than the Nature Boy.”
You can check out the complete podcast below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
