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When Ric Flair made his long-anticipated debut in AEW, managing String instead of his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo, it drew all sorts of different reactions from around the professional wrestling world.
Some fans celebrated the decision, touched by the idea of Sting getting to ride off into the sunset with one of his best friends, while others called the decision unnecessary, both because the storyline is already loaded with talent and because of the fact that Flair is, well, Flair, a man with some of the deepest baggage in professional wrestling.
Needless to say, in a sport known for the backstage details being as intriguing as what goes down in the ring, this storyline is one of the more titillating in recent memory, but there's one take that might just rise above the rest as the most ridiculous; a take so needlessly incendiary, it could only be made by one Vince Russo.
“Ric Flair's absolute dream is to go out in the middle of the wrestling ring. To him, that is the perfect story for the end of Ric Flair. That is the perfect final last chapter. He dies in the wrestling ring,” Vince Russo said via WrestleZone. “I really believe that's what he wants. And he can do whatever he wants; it doesn't affect me one way or another. But I'm telling you, bro, I honestly believe that that is his fairytale ending. Musicians have died on stage. Tiny Tim, who I loved and adored, died on stage. And there's something about being a legend when you die doing what you love to do. I honestly believe that's somewhere in the back of his mind.”
Hahaha, good one Russo; we get it, Flair is old, he's lived a hard-partying life, good one.
… wait, Flair responded on social media and actually agreed? What in tarnation?
“For the first time Vince Russo, I totally agree with you. We've had our differences, probably because of Bischoff, but he's an issue in everyone's life,” Flair wrote on social media. “I left my entire family behind trying to be the best I could be in professional wrestling. I totally agree with you that I would love to die in the ring. I spent my entire life there, so why not? Wooooo! Thank you for the respect which Eric Bischoff has never shown me.”
Alright, so be warned, professional wrestling fans, Flair is gunning to literally die at some point in the ring between now and March: Watch AEW Dynamite, Collision, and Pay-Per-Views at your own risk.
For The First Time @THEVinceRusso, I Totally Agree With You. We’ve Had Our Differences, Probably Because Of Bischoff, But He’s An Issue In Everyone’s Life. I Left My Entire Family Behind Trying To Be The Best I Could Be In Professional Wrestling. I Totally Agree With You That I… pic.twitter.com/qoacsxxoFL
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) October 24, 2023
Reliving the hatred between Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair.
So, you may wonder, why does Ric Flair have so much hatred for Eric Bischoff? Well, the “Nature Boy” commented on just that in an appearance on This Past Weekend and reminded fans of just how poorly he was booked in WCW.
“Hated it. The worst. Well, I was out of sight, out of mind. It didn't work. He kept trying to lose me. He thought if he could take me off TV and bury me, he forgot where I'd been for 20 years, 25 years before I met him,” Ric Flair said on This Past Weekend via WrestleZone. “You don't lose 25 years of being a man and then all of a sudden have some dipshit try and put you in the back of the pack. He beat my brains out, though. That was a big-time loss of self-confidence, period, in my life.”
Asked about Flair's comments on his 83 weeks podcast, Bischoff gave his side of the story, telling fans that he doesn't want to talk about the situation any further.
“I've thought, as you know, ever since Ric made the first comments about me being some kind of an arrogant pr*ck or whatever it was, that was like first, you know, shot across the bow. And it really caught me by surprise. I mean, six months ago, I was sitting at a bar in Houston entertaining a room full of people with Ric Flair. It was classic, Ric Flair, you know, I even posted a couple of pictures of it, it was so much fan. Dennis Rodman came down. We all hung out together. And I'd see Ric at different conventions and, you know, we'd get together if we're at the same hotel. And I'd get a text from Ric, hey, come on down, see you at the bar. And that was like six months ago, right. And then all of a sudden, bam, I'll get blindsided with that,” Bischoff said.
“And I don't know what it was, I have my suspicions, I've had other people suggest what it might be and whatever. And, you know, because I went into that kind of like, well, it's just Ric being Ric, and he just kept on and on. And then I responded, you know. I did an interview with Chris Van Vliet in Las Vegas, Thursday, and Chris asked me about it. I said, ‘Chris, I'm done, you know, I have love for Ric, true affection. I don't know why, personally, but, you know, there's probably a lot of us that have affection for Ric and don't know why, but it is what it is. And I have a lot of respect for Ric. It doesn't mean I'm not going to fire back, especially publicly if somebody's going to start taking shots at me from the sidelines because for better or worse, it's in my kind of nature just to fight back, right.'”
Could Flair and Bischoff eventually let bygones be bygones and move on with their lives? Maybe yes, maybe no, but at this point, as long as Flair's breathing – which, again, could happen at any point he's in a ring – I wouldn't count anything out.
