WWE is moving forward without Vince McMahon. Roughly one month after he stepped back from his positions as chairman and CEO of the company, McMahon announced that he is officially retiring from his corporate positions in WWE. “As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE,” McMahon wrote in his statement. “Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand.” McMahon is currently under investigation for alleged misconduct.
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The wrestling world has slowly began to unearth their reactions to the industry-changing news, with emotions ranging from optimistic about the “great hands” the company is now in to feelings of dejection of WWE losing its longtime leader. While he is no longer with the promotion, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair offered his immediate reaction, noting he “wasn’t happy.”
“I wasn’t happy about it at all,” Ric Flair said during an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet (h/t Wrestling Inc). “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, but he loved the business, and he made us all who we are, from Hulk [Hogan] to everybody. I don’t care what everybody thinks, he made us, you know? I have nothing but respect for him.”
Flair says he owes a lot to McMahon for helping him “straighten out” his career when it was close to getting off the rails.
“He said that I needed to get my s–t straightened out, because I was pretty wild, as people are well aware,” Flair said. “I could be remembered for two things — I could either be the greatest wrestler of all time or I could be some guy that just, you know, whisked it away, you know? Getting married too many times, and he’s been with me through it all.”
As for whether McMahon will actually stay away from WWE completely, Flair simply said he hopes fans have not seen the last of his involvement in the company.
“He’s the majority stockholder, I don’t know if he will or not,” Flair said. “I hope not. He’s a genius.”
Flair is currently training for this Sunday’s Ric Flair’s Last Match event, where he is stepping out of retirement to team with son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to take on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.
