Ric Flair Says He Is Medically Cleared To Get Physical, Reveals Vince McMahon Nixed A Recent Spot
Ric Flair may be retired, but that doesn't mean he's no longer to mix things up if need be. Flair has had a litany of medial issues over the last few years but he talked about how he's holding up physically when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"Absolutely fantastic, I feel great. I was just with friends a couple of weeks ago, and it's taken a few years, but I'm back to normal. I'm better than I was prior to getting sick. So, certainly someone's been watching over me and taking care of me," said Flair who then talked about almost getting physical at Crown Jewel.
"I got cleared medically to do something in Saudi and then Vince nixed it. If I would have fed Roman in that huge comeback he made, or tapped Hogan, that would have been the coup de gras. You just wanna give them everything they paid for and sometimes if you're not physically involved, you feel like you're not giving everything you had if you're not physical.
"I have this gift that God has given me where I don't hurt anywhere, knock on wood."
He added that some of his joints are stiff but there is no discomfort. Many of his friends have had replacements and surgeries including Hulk Hogan who has had several surgeries. Flair noted that Hogan had issues in Saudi and had to come back for another surgery.
"The key that I've learned is that you can't hurry the healing process. The first couple of times with my pacemaker there were issues because I had gotten into two accidents. When I had my surgery, I was driving way too early. But I'm built like that and we, in the wrestling business, that unfortunately makes you insensitive to pain, discomfort and sitting still," stated Flair. "Hulk's biggest issue is taking care of himself and following doctor's orders to a T. Jimmy Hart will text Wendy and say, 'If you get a chance, tell Hulk to follow the orders.' He can't go through any more surgeries, not saying he can't, but he just doesn't have to if he takes time to heal."
Flair said he's been cleared and could get physical, but could he actually wrestle a match?
"Yes... well, no, not wrestle a match. I could get knocked down. Could I wrestle a match? Yes... but I couldn't because it would take me so long to get in that kind of shape. But I could be involved in a spot or take a bump," said Flair.
"When I sit ringside and you see the speed and how fast the guys move, you think that at one time I was doing that. It's amazing and now I see why people buy those ringside seats as you have a whole new appreciation. But getting back, if I could have just fed Roman after he cleaned the house ? boom, take a bump on the apron or the floor ? they would have gone nuts. Roman winked at me and pointed to his heart and shook his head [laughs]."
Flair's former ally in the Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard, is now with AEW where he's managing Shawn Spears. Flair talked about the work Blanchard has done and managers as a whole.
"I haven't seen him talk or anything, only manage. I've only seen him out there just twice but I haven't seen him talk," Flair said before noting they don't do much with managers anymore. "If you're asking me if I could do stuff like that, of course. But to me, that's part of wrestling.
"One of the things that drives me crazy, and I know the answer, but what's hard for me to understand is people making their own managers now. I'm a mark for Stephanie McMahon even before she and Hunter got married as she was always a natural on the mic like her dad. I know they don't use her as much as she wants to be at home with her family but not having her out there? she can go either way. She can be good one week and bad the next. When she wants to be bad, she is the best heel in the business."
Flair said he isn't necessarily advocating for authority figures, but it's crazy to him when a wrestler tells Vince what match they are going to have.
"When Vince walks out there, time has stopped. You can see it in ratings but he just prefers not to do it anymore. Every time he talks, they listen and that's not gonna change. I'd like to think the same applies to me or Steve or Hulk if they give us time. 30 seconds is not interview time ? you need five, six, eight minutes," stated Flair.
Don't forget to do your Christmas shopping at RicFlairShop.com. Including Ric Flair Christmas sweaters, t-shirts, leggings, wallets and more! Woooooo! Flair's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In the full interview Flair discusses the status of his trademark issues with WWE, pro wrestlers controlling their brand, how he's holding up physically, Tully Blanchard's work in AEW with Shawn Spears, feuding with Hulk Hogan going into WWE Crown Jewel, Batista going into the WWE Hall of Fame, Roman Reigns' leukemia promo, Corey Graves' criticisms of Charlotte's WWE booking, comparisons between Andrade and Eddie Guerrero and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.