On July 22, Vince McMahon announced he would be retiring from WWE, officially stepping down as CEO of the company.
McMahon had been in charge of WWE since he purchased the company from his father in 1982, and retired amid allegations of sexual misconduct and hush money. During his time running the company, McMahon worked closely with Ric Flair, who had multiple stints in WWE as an in-ring performer, manager, and on-screen personality.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Ric Flair weighed in on Vince's decision.
"I wasn't happy about it at all. I love Vince McMahon. I don't know what he's doing right now but I feel like he'll have a hard time...he'll adjust, obviously. He loves the business. He made us all who we are. From Hulk (Hogan)to everybody. I don't care what everybody thinks. He made us. I have nothing but respect for him," he said. "He's a majority stockholder. I don't know whether he will or not (be able to stay away). I hope not. He's a genius. I asked him, 'who is the competition now?' He said, 'Disney, maybe.' [laughs]. Maybe. That was ten years ago he said that."
When asked about the best advice Vince gave to him, Flair said, "For me, personally, he said I needed to get my shit straightened out. I was pretty wild, as people are well aware. I can be remembered for two things. I can either be the greatest wrestler of all time or I can be some guy that pissed it away, getting married so many times. he was with me through it all. He's such a hands-on guy. Nothing went on in that company that he didn't know. He had a very difficult time delegating authority. He had to really trust somebody to put them in a position to make decisions. I could always go to him and ask him. He hates lawyers. He likes to talk to you man to man. He'd always tell me, 'Before you say a word, hear me out.' I can't do that. The first time he said something I don't like..'let me finish.' When he tells you 'let me finish,' he's not bullshitting you. He's the real deal."
Flair's signature "Wooo" was removed for the WWE intro in September 2021 as Flair was facing backlash after having sexual misconduct allegations against him and having the depiction of said allegations featured in an episode of Dark Side of the Ring. The "Wooo" was added back in July and Flair personally thanked McMahon for his decision.
Flair is set to wrestle his last match on Sunday when he teams with Andrade El Idolo to take on Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett.
Fans can find Flair's comments about his last match by clicking here.
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