Ric Flair has been a member of the professional wrestling world in one form or another since 1972, when he worked his first-ever match against George Gadaski for the American Wrestling Association.
He's wrestled all over the world for dozens and dozens of different promotions and has the rare distinction of having won 44 titles over his career, a massive number when you consider he basically spent the entirety of the 1980s as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, with nine reigns between 1983 and 1991 that lasted a combined 2,945 days.
And yet, Flair finds himself in a unique spot in 2023, not because he's a septuagenarian who could die in the ring if he ever actually works another match, but because the business has changed so considerably since he began working matches.
Discussing how things have changed in the business over the years, Flair put over the younger in-ring talents for being far more focused on their money than his generation, even if it has made companies far more political than in the past.
“I like the fact that the kids make a lot of money. That's the most important thing,” Ric Flair told Charly Arnoldt via Fightful. “Unlike myself, they are more conscious because of the people around them and the culture being different of taking care of their money, paying taxes on time, stuff like that. It's really corporate now, and I dressed the part, but I could never think like that. I don't have the patience. AEW, very professional, it's an easier pace. There are politics everywhere in the world, but the WWE right now is very political.”
Asked to further extrapolate on his suggestion that WWE is “very political” right now, Flair refined his statement ever so slightly, noting that everyone is trying to run WWE at the moment before sending a pretty significant vote of confidence to his long-time pal and former friend Vince McMahon.
“I don't know. The fight for control,” Flair noted. “Everybody wants to run WWE. I liked the way Vince ran it. For better or worse, everybody knew where they stood more than they do now. Social media is out of control with stories. You don't even know what's real anymore.”
Is Flair's assessment of WWE on the money? In 2024, probably not, as the politicking in the promotion over who runs the business side and who runs the creative side of the company has been more or less decided since the “Nature Boy” left the promotion. Still, when careers, coffers, and college funds are often decided by who is on top of the proverbial card, there will always be folks trying to work their way into better spots on the show, as Flair did himself back in the day.
Tyrus puts over Ric Flair on his Fox News New Year's Celebration.
Speaking of wrestling getting political, Ric Flair spent some time with Tyrus on Fox News's New Year's Eve coverage, and he was afforded some pretty big praise from one former NWA World Heavyweight Champion to another.
“One of the things I've loved about you is you've never shied away from taking responsibility from anything. You've always owned everything, I think that's what makes you the Nature Boy,” Tyrus shared via Fightful. “I have to be honest with you, I have a little bit of beef with you. You put a post out where you had the temerity to think that maybe you shouldn't have walked out there at AEW. Let me remind you of who you are. You have forgotten more wrestling than most of us will ever know. You are one of the last greats that when you come out, and walk that aisle, a grandfather can look at his grandson and say, ‘I saw this guy wrestle and this is the reason why you're here.' Don't you ever, and I don't comment on social media that much, but don't you ever apologize for Ric Flair coming out because when you come out, that pop is as loud as it's ever been. I have to remind you of two things. Diamonds are forever and so is Ric Flair. You need to remember that. Thank you for who you are, sir. You are welcome at any wrestling arena at any time because you just walking by the locker room, we're all going to get smarter.”
Goodness, for not wanting to be too political, Flair certainly didn't help his cause by literally stopping by Fox News to talk to quite possibly the least popular former NWA Champion in the promotion/brand's 75-year history. Still, Tyrus' comments are actually sort of sweet, if not a tad out of touch, as few fans, wrestlers, or pundits have any issue with Flair's knowledge of wrestling, with his history and pension for womanizing earning far more scorn.
NEW: Tyrus full interview with Ric Flair on Fox News pic.twitter.com/yRrBXG7Dfa
— Craig R. Brittain (@RealBrittain) January 1, 2024
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