Former professional wrestler and 16-time World Champion Ric Flair sat down with Comedian Theo Von on the This Past Weekend Podcast to discuss the current state of wrestling, his illustrious career, and his journey as “The Nature Boy.” We put together a list of the top moments from this interview.
1. Flair’s Take On Current Superstars
Flair acknowledged the challenge of becoming a successful wrestling superstar. “The percentage of people that come out of there, I would say, is one percent,” Flair said. He told Von that certain wrestlers, including his daughter, Charlotte Flair, have continued success over the last decade. “In the last ten years, my daughter, Sasha, Bailey, Becky, Roman, Seth, Dean – they’re all main eventers and still are. That’s hard,” Flair said.
Flair commended WWE Superstars John Cena, Randy Orton, and The Miz for remaining at the top of their game for an extended period. Flair specifically complimented the work ethic of The Miz. “He’s a great kid. He’s a guy that really cares for the business, man.” Flair said. Flair explained that The Miz was mistreated when he entered the WWE. “That’s – the guys that bully, I got no time for that,” Flair said. “I’ll tell you the truth. He – whatever they hand him, he makes work. It’s a gift.”
2. Flair on The Current State of WWE
Flair spoke about how the politics of WWE has changed over time and has created barriers for talent. “When I got in the business, you were either good or you were bad, and if you were bad and they didn’t like you, they’d beat you up.”
Flair explained how politics has gotten in the way of potential superstars making it in the business. He compared how WWE has approached politics and talent to how the NFL has handled it. “It’s political, but you’re not gonna put Aaron Rodgers down,” Flair said. “You’re not gonna put down XYZ guy. I’m using Aaron as an example – because he said something smart. You’re gonna play to win.”
Additionally, Flair criticized the writing staff and the turnover rate at the company. “They have these writers that come in that never wrestled. They come, and they go – the turnover – and how do you ever learn the business if it took me – it took me twelve years,” Flair said.
3. Flair on His Fighting Style
“It was as much fun to watch you being defeated as it was to watch you winning.” Von said. Flair agreed with Von and admitted that he was better at getting beaten. Von goes on to describe how he focused on Flair’s reaction to getting beaten rather than the opposing wrestler when he watched Flair wrestle. Flair explains how he would lie the following day after losing a match and claim that it never happened.
4. Flair on The Eric Bischoff Years
Flair talked about how he struggled during the years when Eric Bischoff gave him less screen time. “Out of sight, out of mind. It didn’t work. He kept trying to lose me.” Flair said. “He had thought if he could take me out of TV and bury me – He’d forgot – He’d forgot where I’d been for 20 years – for 25 years before I met him,” Flair explained that despite his loss of confidence during these years, it was hard for audiences to lose admiration for him. “You don’t lose 25 years of being the man.”
5. Flair on Vince McMahon
Flair discussed business decisions made by Vince McMahon. He explained how McMahon would put personal feuds aside if it benefited the company. He used McMahon’s hiring of Eric Bischoff as an example. “He still found a way to use him,” Flair said. “And it worked. But how did he leave the company? In a garbage truck. He always gets you at the end.”
Flair elaborated on McMahon’s ability to forgive. “Vince can forgive anything if there’s a dollar attached to it. Businessman. Business first.” Flair said. Flair used nWo to exemplify how McMahon is highly forgiving. “They’d be on TV and say, ‘We’re going to close you down, Vince. We’re sitting here telling you – because they beat them for 83 weeks.” Flair said. Flair explains how WCW went out of business two years after that was said, but McMahon forgave the members of nWo and hired them.
6. Flair’s Life on The Road
“I’ve had problems with relationships. I’ve been married four times.” Flair admitted. “A lot of that is in respect to my travel,” Flair explained that he wrestled for an average of 400 times per year. This included wrestling twice on Saturdays and Sundays. “I did that for ten years,” Flair said. “You’re not – You’re never home. How do you stay married? Some women just can’t live like that, and I don’t blame them.”
Flair told Von that he would have fun on the road and wouldn’t want to go home on his off days. “Why go home?” Flair asked. “You have a day off, and you’re in Los Angeles; you have one day off – are you gonna go all the way back to North Carolina? Or are you gonna stay in LA?”
7. Flair on The Passing of His Son
Flair discussed the death of his son and how it affected him. Reid Flair passed away on March 29, 2013, from an overdose. Flair explained how his son had several bouts with death before passing away. “He was on life support four times,” Flair said. “This was prior to dying.”
Flair said that during one of those incidents, the doctor told him that his son’s oxygen levels were too low and he would most likely pass away. The Flair family and the doctor were stunned when Reid woke up from being on a ventilator, unaffected. Flair said that he hoped that would be a wake-up call for his son to change his life around.
Flair said he suspected his son was high in his hotel room during WrestleMania weekend in Charlotte, but he didn’t see any evidence. He said he was angry at Reid but decided to check on him. He ended up finding his son perished in the hotel bed.
“I’ve told this story a hundred times,” Flair said emotionally. “It still kills me,” Flair explained that he used alcohol to deal with losing his son. He admitted that he blames himself for denying that his son had a problem. He likened his denial to Fritz Von Erich, a former professional wrestler who lost multiple children to addiction. “He would not believe they were getting high – they were screwed up all the time. He was in denial.” Flair said.
8. Flair’s Health Battle
In 2017, Flair’s intestines ruptured, resulting in heart and kidney failure, sepsis and pneumonia. He was hospitalized in a comatose state for 13 days. He spoke with Von about his experience waking up from the coma. “I had no memory for six months going backwards. Forward – From the time I woke up, I recognized everybody, but I couldn’t remember anything. I didn’t even remember going to the hospital,” Flair said.
He describes the after-effects of his coma, which included a large scar, a loss of 41 pounds, and the need for a colostomy bag. Afterward, he explains what it was like to be in a coma. “I just dreamt,” Flair said. “I dreamt my daughter got married. I went back and thought about stuff with wrestling.”
9. Flair on Dusty Rhodes’ Funeral
Flair admitted that Dusty Rhodes’ funeral was one of the more emotionally difficult for him to attend. “The WWE – the funeral for Dusty was as well handled as I think I’ve seen,” Flair said. He explains that WWE had provided complete security to contain over 2,000 people trying to get in. He mentioned that Dusty’s children and professional wrestlers, Cody and Dustin Rhodes, spoke eloquently about their father.
Paraphrasing Cody’s speech, Flair said, “He asked his mom once, he said, ‘How come there’s just pictures of dad in the house and no other wrestlers?’ His mother replied, ‘Why would you have a picture of any other wrestler when you’re married to Elvis?” Flair commended Cody and Dustin for not breaking down during their speeches while he said that he would break down just thinking about it.
10. Flair’s Possible Return To Wrestling
Flair spoke about his last match ever, which occurred on July 31, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. He teamed up with his son-in-law, Andrade El-Idolo, to face Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. “I was in better shape there than I was in 2008.”
Flair explained how he underwent intense training with John Cena’s physical trainers to prepare for the match. Despite rigorous training, Flair said he forgot to drink water and felt dehydrated during the match. “I got out there and felt great,” Flair said. “And then I realized – and I made the mistake of saying to one of the guys, ‘I don’t feel good.’”
Flair explained that he got lightheaded and fell asleep on the apron. He faked a heart attack, and a meant-to-be twenty-minute match with a suplex from the top rope was cut short. “That’s what makes me want to do it again because I got in such good shape,” Flair said.
Flair concluded the interview by stating his intentions to remain in shape. He specified that he has a goal to bench press 225 pounds five times, and he wants to do 500 free squats in 14 minutes. “It’s very doable, but you have to do it,” Flair said.
What’s Next for Flair
There’s no telling what’s next for the stylin’, profilin’, limousine ridin’, jet flyin’, kiss stealin’, wheelin’ n dealin’ son of a gun, Ric Flair. At 74 years of age, Flair has lived an exceptionally fascinating life. Not only did he give his two cents on the industry and summarize his impressive career, but he bared his soul on topics including addiction, loss, and grief. Seeing what’s ahead for wrestling legend Ric Flair will be interesting.
