"Me and Ric were never really close" - WWE legend liked Flair's AEW debut but does not want him wrestling again (Exclusive)
The world of wrestling was stunned when Ric Flair made his AEW debut. That is something that got the fans talking, and many are wondering if The Nature Boy will lace up a pair of boots again.
One of those curious cats is Dutch Mantell, who has spoken out about the entire Ric Flair/Sting/Christian Cage feud that might kick off on AEW. There have been several aspects to discuss about the probable feud, but the elephant in the room is, of course, Flair's age and health.
Mantell is outspoken about almost everything related to The Nature Boy, including his AEW debut. He had some pretty harsh words for Flair, but he firstly weighed in on his relationship with the 16-time World Champion on the recent edition of Smack Talk.
"Me and Ric were never really close. One thing about Tony Khan, he said it was a big surprise, granted, it was a big surprise. So, he delivered on that. How many times has he said that we have this big thing coming, stay tuned, but he's never lived up to the advertisement, but this one kinda did. Ric Flair coming down, Yeah, nobody expected it. They hit the music, everybody stood up. This is something you don't see every day. So, Sting has announced his retirement, and Flair has announced his too, right?" [From 05:25 to 06:07]
Mantell also took the time to point out how Flair has spoken about his retirement multiple times:
"Somebody waves a wad of money at him, he says, 'Yeah, I said I was going to retire, yeah, I said a lot of things I didn't mean at the time but...' What I am saying is, that's really lying to your fans. If you say you are gonna retire, but you are not really intending to retire. You just want that available cash thrown your way. Maybe he doesn't feel that way - I don't know." [From 06:38 to 07:11]
Mantell then gave his thoughts on a possible Flair match in AEW:
"But am I excited about seeing Sting's last match? No I am not.Am I excited to see a last match with Ric? Not no. But hell no. Can you imagine that match? The last match Flair had, I think, I thought he was dying. I thought he was dying there in the ring. And some of the people with him in the ring in that match thought he was having a legitimate heart attack. He said,'Oh he faked the heart attack to slow things down'. Ric, get the F out of here... It's an insult to the promoter." he signed off [From 07:11 to 07:56)
Check out the entire episode below:
Ric Flair stirs the pot by posting on Twitter about Christian Cage's diss on AEW
Christian Cage, who is unparalleled when it comes to promo skills, cut a heated one when Naith and The Icon reunited in AEW. The promo was pointed at Flair's health and age. While Flair didn't respond then, he did break his silence on Twitter. Flair made it crystal clear that he was ready for a fight.
Sting's upcoming feud could be a legendary one. The only aspects that stand in between the feud and immortality are the age and health aspects of everyone involved. While The Vigilante is in the twilight zone of his career, 74-year-old Flair has earlier raised concerns about his health and well-being during his last match with a 'heart attack' angle.
What do you think? Will Ric Flair really be active in-ring during this stint in AEW? Sound off in the comments section below.