Ric Flair Says WWE and AEW Couldn't Afford him now if he was 35
Ric Flair is set to have the final match of his legendary career at Starrcast V, and it should be quite the event. Flair has been sharing videos of his training leading up to the match, made all the more impressive by the fact that he's 73 years of age. Flair recently joined the Two Man Power Trip podcast, and during that conversation, the topic of how the business has changed and how the approach to building stars has changed happened to come up, and if he were 35 years old today, Flair doesn't know if WWE or AEW could actually afford him with where things stand now.
"If I was 35 years old right now, they wouldn't be able to afford me, and boy they need help with the ratings right now, both of them [laughs]. Those written interviews, you can tell a mile away whether the kids feel it or not, it's a lot of pressure to read something that you don't actually feel in your heart. That's a big difference. If they are thinking about what they are handed to memorize, they put no emotion into it. That's just talking generically. It doesn't sell tickets. When The Rock comes back to wrestle Roman (Reigns), that will sell tickets. When Steve Austin came back, that sold tickets. It's a different timeframe," Flair said.
Flair doesn't believe it's a lack of talent though, because both companies are flush with it. "The talent is great, make no mistake, there are some great wrestlers. (Randy) Orton, my daughter [Charlotte Flair], Sasha Banks, AJ Styles. There's a list of a great top ten between the two companies, but the events sell themselves now, as much as the wrestlers do. I don't think they turn them loose enough. They want to make sure they get the right advertisers, everyone has to be happy. It's a whole different world. I still love it, I just feel that the guys who are really great like Randy and my daughter, they are held back because they only want people to go that far. They don't want anybody to become The Rock, that's going to walk off or become Steve, who can say, 'I don't want to do it.' Back in the day with Hulk (Hogan), he'd say, 'I don't want to do it,' he had that kind of power. I don't know if that's healthy, but Vince won't let that happen again. He won't let anyone get in a position where they can say, 'Hey, see ya.' I understand that, it's business," Flair said.
Flair was then asked if wrestling lacks larger-than-life stars, and while Flair thinks there are several larger-than-life stars, he feels that they are only allowed to soar to a certain point.
"I think Roman, my daughter, Randy, AJ are larger than life, but they don't let them get larger than they want them to get. There has never been a better worker, period, in the company than my daughter, but they're going to keep her in check. They keep everybody in check. They don't let the situation get out of control to where someone walks off and 'wow, how do we replace them?' Talent is limited. They just signed 70 different guys, college athletes, out of that 70, I bet two of them make it. It's a different business. Being a good athlete in college has nothing to do with being a wrestler. Time away from home, sacrifice, three days a week from noon until midnight. It's a lot," Flair said.
Do you agree with him wrestling fans? Let us know in the comments!
H/T Fightful