WWE veteran rips into Ric Flair; calls him a "narcissist"
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is widely considered to be one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. He's also seen as one of the most polarizing figures in the industry, and now a veteran has taken things a step further in their recent rivalry.
The Nature Boy and Dutch Mantell never faced off in the ring, but in the last year the two wrestling legends have traded shots on social media. The former Zeb Colter of WWE recently discussed Flair's final match in July 2022 and how the then-73-year-old suffered a heart attack that night. Dutch opined that Flair might even want to pass away in the ring so he could be the center of attention.
Dutch's comments led to a back-and-forth between the two, with the current AEW star admitting that he does want to "die in the limelight." Speaking on today's episode of his Story Time with Dutch podcast, Mantell was asked about Flair's admission and what his kids would think of him wanting to die in such a way. He declared the 43-time champion to be a narcissist.
"Ric don't think of the kids, he don't think of anybody else. You've heard of a narcissist? You don't even have to describe the meaning of it, just put a picture of Ric Flair on the wall, and that's a narcissist... because everything to him, he's first in everything," Dutch Mantell said. [From 13:09 - 13:34]
The Dirtiest Player In The Game has not publicly responded to Dutch's latest comments as of this writing. Flair's last match, which was not affiliated with WWE or AEW, saw him and son-in-law Andrade team up to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett on July 31, 2022.
Dutch Mantell speaks on WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair's in-ring work
Ric Flair has been described by wrestlers and journalists alike as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, praised for being an all-around premier talent.
The Nature Boy has been active in the business for 52 years. His career includes dozens of championship wins in WWE and other promotions, multiple Hall of Fame inductions, and rivalries with names like Sting and Ricky Steamboat.
The legendary Dutch Mantell recently discussed Flair's in-ring work, which did not seem to be a priority when he wrestled his final match in July 2022. Speaking on his Story Time podcast, the former Zeb Colter praised the two-time WWE Hall of Famer and those he worked with.
"He used to be so picky about his matches, and how were they, because he was really worried about having good matches, and he always did have good matches [as he should] because he was with some of the best talent in the world. I'm not saying he's not a great talent, he is... he is a great talent, but he was with other great talent. You don't get a shot at the Worlds Heavyweight Champion if you're just a so-so guy. He would take some guys that really couldn't wrestle that well, and get a helluva match out of them," Dutch Mantell said. [From 13:35 to 14:32]
Mantell continued and noted how he thinks "what happened" to Flair is that he does his signature bumps in every single match, so if you've seen one Flair match, you've seen them all.