It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Ric Flair is arguably the greatest professional wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots. There are counter examples that can be made, depending on the criteria, but his impact on the sport as an iron man of the industry and one of the cornerstones of the business, especially in his heyday, isn’t up for debate.
His impact on the sport might not be up for debate, but his legacy, specifically since his original WWE retirement in 2008, is questionable.
Maybe Ric Flair is a product of his time or the embellishment of the pro wrestling business has that type of effect on those that spend most of their lives hyping their next big bout. The late Hulk Hogan gained a notorious reputation for outlandish lies that weren’t remotely true or even possible in some cases. Maybe some of the old timers get too wrapped up in their pro wrestling persona. They were on the road the vast majority of the year, with Ric Flair as a prime example of a nonstop schedule of being The Nature Boy during his prime. But, within the modern age of technology, some of the aging legends have too much access to the public or a platform that fans will flock to based on their previous accomplishments.
Ric Flair has became known as someone that puts his foot in his mouth more often that not when he makes public statements these days.
The claim that Hulk Hogan died from street drugs last year that he had to back peddle from, the bizarre criticism of Jim Ross on Twitter after the legendary announcer provided an update on the skin cancer treatment that he was undergoing at the time, his claim that WWE blocked his deal with the Roots of Fight clothing line, his public feud with former longtime friend, Mark Madden and a slew of other nonsense that you’d think would be beneath a former world champion of his caliber. There were also the very disheartening cameo videos where Flair was obviously very intoxicated when he recorded video messages that he charged $500 for, the video of when he was kicked out of a pizza place while also sounding intoxicated, and of course, the other occasional nonsense.
Sure, Flair is a capable adult, but given his lengthy track record of unwise decisions, including being broke a few different times in his career, despite making millions of dollars as a pro wrestler, someone close to him should step in to advise him to stay out of the public eye. At 77, he sounds like an old fool that is grasping at straws to stay relevant rather than being regarded as a legendary elder statement of the industry, which is the statue that his skills justify.
The former NWA world heavyweight champion was a guest on the Ariel Helwani show last week, and while I don’t think the MMA reporter’s objective was to get some “red meat” to create headlines, he obviously wasn’t going to steer Flair a way from the rant, as the controversy only made the segment on his show more newsworthy. This appearance, as if it was needed, provided exponentially more evidence that Flair, despite being a masterful promo in his heyday, should be nowhere near a live mic on television or anywhere else. Flair is still under contract to All Elite Wrestling, even those he has only made a handful of appearances since he signed with the company a few years ago If Tony wants to keep him under contract to give him a payday as a sign of respect, that’s fine and even admirable on some level, but as a commodity, Ric Flair is more of a liability than an asset for any organization. His association with AEW is more or less under the radar so there’s no negative publicity for the organization, but the point remains, would any company want to publicly do business with Flair if these are the type of headlines about him?
Flair claimed that he wasn’t invited to Wrestlemania 42 because of incident last year when he called Ludwig Kaiser, who was dating Tiffany Stratton after Kaiser posted a reaction to an infamous promo between Stratton and Charlotte that made a few real-life references. According to Flair, he got Kaiser’s number from someone and threatened to fight him. Flair claims that Kaiser went to management and told them about the incident, leading to Flair not being allowed to attend Wrestlemania this year. If the incident actually took place, what exactly was Kaiser supposed to do? If he gets approached by Flair, he’s in a no-win situation. He can’t smack a 77-year-old man with a lengthy history of health problems, nor would he since he’s not going to risk his job. Furthermore, if Kaiser said anything to the office, which hasn’t been confirmed, maybe the decision was made to keep Flair away for his own good. Does TKO need a drunk senior citizen causing a scene backstage? Ironically, this entire fiasco was based on a promo on television, and reportedly, Kaiser and Tiffany ended their relationship almost six months ago. Just a few days ago, Flair posted an apology to Kaiser online. During the tirade, Flair claimed that “a red carpet to the front row” should be put out for him at WWE events. This interview is exactly why it’s not and shouldn’t be.
As the interview progressed, Flair sounded intoxicated. He praised Triple H, but mentioned their friendship wasn’t the same. Given that being friends with Flair would consistent of putting out fires on social media, it’s understandable why a guy that runs a publicly-traded company would keep his distance from Flair. Dutch Mantel, Stevie Richards, and their co-host, James Romero were the subject of Flair’s disdain because of their criticism of his post-WWE career. Considering how publicly Flair embarrassed himself, it’s going to be a topic of discussion. Flair bragging about his ability to call Trump as a response lets you know that he doesn’t have much of a comeback to the criticism. Yes, Ric Flair was a bigger star than Stevie or Dutch, but neither of them took anything away from his wrestling ability. They have also echoed the statements of many others in the industry about Flair’s behavior. Ric Flair worked more main events than Stevie in his career, but Flair had more bankruptcies than Richards so success depends on prospective.
Later on, Flair said that “everyone in the world should be thanking Vince McMahon.” There’s no doubt that Vince built the WWE from a north east territory to a global corporation, but if any of the deviant accusations against him are true, it’s difficult to celebrate him within a modern context. In reference to drinking Flair said that he “drinks because he wants to drink and it helps him keep his sanity.” Considering that Ric Flair almost died from alcoholism in 2017, the fact that he brags about it online shows that he’s not grateful for a second chance at life. Flair praised Tony Khan, which probably has more to do with the fact that Tony is paying him than anything else, but it’s also more proof that despite the booking blunders, Tony is known as a genuinely good guy. Flair went on to brag about his $300,000 boat and of all the outlandish things that he said during the 55-minute interview, that’s probably true, which is another reason he was broke on a few occasions.
As I said, someone that is close to Ric Flair should keep him away from the public eye. At 77, this is who Flair is, he’s a tremendously entertaining and legendary performer that can’t seem to handle any of the responsibilities of real life. He’s not The Nature Boy living like a rock star in 1985 anymore, he’s a senior citizen that can’t handle that he’s not the center of attention. He comes off as foolish, not legendary. That’s the saddest part of all of this, as this appears to be an indication that Flair has a lot of problems that he either didn’t deal with for many years or he still hasn’t dealt with them because the story has more or less been the same since he retired from WWE in 2008. Again, there’s no doubt that Ric Flair is one of the all-time greats, but that shouldn’t shield him from rightful criticism. He was one of the top drawing cards of his era, but he has made himself too much of a liability for any sports entertainment company to promote today.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
