WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair discussed the current wrestling events on the latest “To Be The Man” podcast.
On Charlotte possibly breaking his record of 16 World Championships, Ric said, “I’m glad Ashley is with WWE. She couldn’t be more successful. I mean, 14 times guys. To me, it’s very realistic that she wins or actually surpasses the 16 goal. I think that would be on her plate and I think it’s something that is very possible.
Conrad stated that The Jericho Appreciation Society attended PWG. He then asked Ric if WWE would ever appear at independent events.
Ric said, “No. Why would they? Why would they endorse something else? I’m the first to say that I don’t know everything, but I’ve never heard of the company you’re talking about. They may have never heard of me, but I don’t think that’s the case. Right now, I’m focusing on the fact that two hours of Flair is worth more than two hours of live TV.”
Conrad said, “What Flair is talking about is a graphic from WWE.’ It said:
1) “WWE content on Peacock was taken over by Ric Flair during the holidays, over 70% of all content viewed included Ric.”
2) “Wooooo! Becoming Ric Flair is quickly becoming the most watched WWE original hour on Peacock”.
3) “Woooooo! Becoming Ric Flair is on track to beat WWE Evil as the #1 Documentary on WWE Peacock.”
4) “88% Audience score on Rotten tomatoes.”
Ric added, “That’s over a million views on the first day. It could be like a very minuscule RAW rating, and for sure an AEW rating. The first day it had a million views. That’s what I’ve been told.”
Ric believes AEW should put the tag team titles on Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, saying, “I think they looked great together. I said Jeff is a working fool and I’ve always been a huge fan of Jay Lethal. To me, it wouldn’t be a bad move to put the titles on them.”
When Conrad said people hate Jeff Jarrett, Ric replied, “Because he knows how to old school talk. He knows how to be a heel. He doesn’t give a sh*t. He’s gonna piss people off. I’m sure they have given Jeff free hand to interview and say what he thinks, and that’s where the heat comes. Once again, if you don’t feel it, when you walk out there, whether it’s, and obviously it’s not real animosity, but he is saying things that make people mad.”
On Sami Zayn, Ric stated, “When I first saw Sami Zayn, I should have realized that was good. He got so much heat with me. I couldn’t stand his character. Now, I love him, but at first, I was like, ‘What the hell are they doing’, and here he is. He’s entertaining as sh*t. I stand corrected. I think he’s great. When I first looked at it, I thought this is such a serious faction.”
On if he thinks Vince McMahon is back to sell the WWE, Ric said, “I’m personally glad he’s back. I don’t begin to know, There’s only a few people that do know and I’m not one of them. I honestly believe that he lives and breathes the business and he just said to himself, ‘I own all this stuff. It’s mine. I built it. I want back in’, and I don’t blame him. Thirty years of being on TV on RAW. Think about that. Thirty years. I mean, it’s unbelievable. I hope he walks out that door in Philadelphia, busts the door open, stands there, and struts down that aisle and says, ‘I’m back.’ The place would go crazy. I guarantee it. That will be a rating.”
Conrad told Ric, “You were the front page of ESPN more than anything else in combat sports or pro wrestling or whatever last year.”
Flair said, “In 2022,” Conrad said, “Yes.’ Flair said, “For the whole year.” Conrad said, “Yes.”
You can listen to the complete podcast via AdFreeShows.com.
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
