Mike Tyson Backs Out Of The Roast Of Ric Flair

Just 24 hours after being confirmed for the event, boxing legend and WWE Hall Of Famer Mike Tyson has reportedly pulled out of "The Roast Of Ric Flair" event which is set to take place as part of the Starrcast V festivities in Nashville.

Conrad Thompson had previously confirmed the roast would be happening and so far Diamond Dallas Page and Eric Bischoff have been announced as roasters, alongside Tyson, as was first announced by TMZ. They noted in the original report more names from the celebrity and wrestling world are expected to be involved, but now Tyson is not going to be part of that.

In a new report by TMZ, the former boxer has apparently pulled out, with his rep telling them "Due to unforeseen circumstances Mike will not be participating in the roast," and they opted to not elaborate on the reasoning behind that.

Tyson and Flair have formed a genuine friendship over recent years, and have also become business partners, with Tyson's cannabis company "Tyson 2.0" joining up with Ric Flair's new marijuana venture to sell "Ric Flair Drip" products for his fans.

Starrcast V is going to have numerous panels, meet and greets and wrestling matches taking place, but Flair is going to be a huge part of the event. He will be reuniting with the Four Horsemen for a stage panel which will see Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, JJ Dillon, and Lex Luger join him.

There will then be the "Roast Of Ric Flair," which is going to see a series of guests poke fun at the Nature Boy, with everything culminating with his final ever wrestling match, which is being billed under the Jim Crocketts Promotions banner. At this point in time, it is not known who he will be competing against, but Flair has been sharing clips of himself training, including taking a bump from the top turnbuckle with Jay Lethal.

Neither Thompson or Flair have made a public comment on Tyson backing out of the event at this point.