Ric Flair is a man known by many, many names. He's “The Nature Boy,” a nickname he technically borrowed from Buddy Rodgers, the “Kiss stealing, wheeling and dealing, you-know-the-rest,” and, at least for a time, simply “The Man,” a moniker he trademarked but eventually sold to WWE for fairly obvious reasons. Though Flair ultimately earned a nice payout for his former nickname, as WWE made bank off of selling “The Man” shirts during the back half of the 2010s, he never felt that he wasn't “The Man” anymore, and once made that point to Lynch on Twitter back in 2021.
Surely the feud between Flair, Lynch, and by extension, Seth Rollins, has been one of the low-key storylines running under WWE for years now, but since “Natch” returned to the promotion's good graces following a minor removal from content due to his cancelable offenses from the “Plane ride from h*ll,” the 16-time champion has approached pro wrestling with a newfound appreciation, seemingly just happy to be there instead of vying for another shot at stardom. Looking to make things as copasetic as possible within the WWE universe moving forward in the hopes of carving out a little section for himself, Flair decided to be the bigger “Man” and apologize to Lynch and Rollins once and for all.
Ric Flair apologized to “The Man” at RAW XXX.
Discussing his appearance on RAW XXX, which also featured Lynch in a scrapped cage match, on his fittingly named To Be The Man podcast, Flair let fans know that he not only loved his time at the South Philadelphia-based show but apologized to Lynch and Rollins to squash their beef once and for all.
“It was phenomenal,” Flair said via Cageside Seats. “I gotta tell you, I learned more about myself and more about what I’ve missed in the business and what I hadn’t missed in one day because I haven’t been here for a long time. I felt like I was respected. I felt like I was wanted. I felt like I was part of it again. I walked away a better man with a better understanding of who I am as a person and what the business is about.”
“It started out with me and Hunter talking for about an hour, which is a private discussion, but resolving a lot of issues that have been lingering for a couple years, and then I apologized to Becky Lynch. I walked up to her and said, ‘May I speak with you for a minute’, and I said, ‘I’m sorry that this got to where it is.’ I went over and shook Seth Rollins hand and I said, ‘I’m going to apologize to your wife.’”
“I’ve just decided that, you know, it all comes with the documentary. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in things that you just forget, and you say it so many times for so many years. Actually, the whole ‘The Man’ trademark was decided by someone besides she and I. It’s not that as much as the money that was involved in it which the company reaps the better part of it anyway. Then I saw them with their child and I thought, ‘My God, this is going to be Ashley someday, and Megan [Flair’s daughter who is married to his podcast co-host Conrad Thompson] now with [her daughter] Morgan.’
“It’s not worth it. I am not The Man anymore. The Man is who the people think it is, and basically we’ve turned it over to social media to decide who The Man is.”
To some fans, Flair will forever be “The Man,” but to other fans, when they near the nickname, Lynch comes to mind, which, considering the cyclical nature of pro wrestling, is totally fine. Much like “The Nature Boy,” each wrestling generation can have their own man, and it's nice to see Flair actually accept that.
“I can walk around and not walk by Becky and feel uncomfortable and I can shake Seth Rollins’ hand, and it makes it a better world for me to be in,” Flair concluded. “I feel better about myself. Becky was very receptive and said nice words to me, and so did Seth. My daughter works there, I want it to be perfect. Nothing’s perfect, but you want it to be as best as can be. How many people get to introduce their daughter? That, you’re not gonna see for a long time, something like that. So I feel thankful that I had that opportunity.”
Follow Us
Subscribe