Conrad Thompson Comments On WWE Using His Father-In-Law Ric Flair During The Pandemic
Not only is Conrad Thompson a podcast host, but he's also married to Ric Flair's daughter Megan which makes him Charlotte's brother-in-law. Thompson discussed Ric's recent comments on him hoping that Charlotte takes some time off from WWE soon when he joined The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast.
"We haven't talked about this to be clear. She and I have not talked about her taking any sort of extended break. But it does feel like while everything is sort of weird, now would be the perfect time," said Thompson. "They say there's never a great time to have children, you know, it just happens. But the circumstance with Becky Lynch ? if you're going to be off the road and you're going to be away while things are weird and there's a lot of uncertainty in the air and you're not touring and you're not working in front of crowds and everything's just different for lack of a better word ? wouldn't now be the time to go do that? So, I'm not saying that was Becky's intention. I haven't talked to her, blah, blah, blah. I'm just saying hypothetically, if you were going to sort of take a break and step away for a little bit, now is probably the right time. But with that in mind I don't see Charlotte doing that."
Thompson said that Charlotte enjoys being that bankable, dependable top star and that she could pursue those outside interests once she retires like other former women's stars have.
"Trish Stratus has proven that. You look at all the stuff that Trish and certainly Torrie have done in the fitness world. They're both doing very, very well outside of the squared circle and they've got plenty of time to do that," said Thompson. "So, I would think that maybe she's got time once she decides to hang up the boots to do all that."
Ric Flair is 71 years old and has had some near-death health issues, but WWE is still using him on Raw during the pandemic. Thompson discussed criticism from fans of WWE including his father-in-law on TV during this time.
"I don't know what my response to that criticism should be. I don't book him and I don't accept the bookings. He's a contracted performer and if he's asked to come to work, knowing Ric, he's going to go work. They're paying him to work and he's gonna go work. If he feels safe and they feel like they can keep him safe, and clearly they do, then more power to him," stated Thompson.
"It's easy for us to say, 'No one should run.' But at the same time, if they've made the decision they're going to, that's not the decision that Conrad or Nick [Hausman] can make. They've got to make those calls and do the best they can to keep everybody safe. Knowing Ric, I know Ric wants to be there. You've got to appreciate that this is a guy who's been on the run every day of his life since 1975. He's had a booking somewhere in some town. Now, he's been home since at least March. I've got to imagine he's got to be a little stir-crazy and is excited to be back around the guys and doing wrestling and performing."
Thompson noted that it's not the same without the fans and without touring, but it's still a welcomed change for Ric.
"It's a different experience but it's not his house in Atlanta. It's a new four walls. But he's probably enjoying that if I had to guess," said Thompson.
No one is exempt from this pandemic and Thompson talked about how he's holding up.
"It took a bit of an adjustment, but I finally reached the stage of acceptance. That's where I'm at now and I hope this isn't the new normal, but I'm ready for it if it is, I suppose," Thompson said before being asked if his podcast business is affected in anyway by it.
"Well, I mean, the only major difference with the podcasts are we can't do live shows anymore and we had a lot of fun piggybacking big PPV events and going to some random town across the country and having a fun weekend there and getting to hang out with some of the listeners for the show. So, we're missing that but hopefully sooner, rather than later, we'll get back to normal. But it's feeling more and more like that's a next year idea."
You can follow Conrad on Twitter @HeyHeyItsConrad. Conrad's full interview aired as part of today's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.