"I wanted to be the Ric Flair of our generation" – How Former World Champion was inspired by the 16-time Champ

Ric Flair inspired many athletes to become pro-wrestlers

WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler recently spoke with SevenVenues in an exclusive interview discussing his close friendship with Ric Flair.

Ziggler was there to promote the first-ever SmackDown episode from the Hamptons area, Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia on November 12th.

Ziggler spoke about how he emulated The Nature Boy and mentioned that Flair would often meet him backstage and encourage him to go after bigger goals. Ziggler added that he developed a close bond with his hero and the two would hang out after shows

“As we discussed, I wanted to be the Ric Flair of our generation. I would ask for his help; what I should do and how to do it. We both also have this love for amateur wrestling so that and the work in the ring, started at some point to stand out to him and he said, ‘Okay, this kid is not just saying these things, he is backing them up.’ We got closer and closer. Anytime he was at RAW, he'd push for me to do bigger and better things. One time we did a segment on the show where he was giving me a pep talk to go fight Miz, and I remember thinking to myself, well I did that, I had a segment with Ric Flair, that’s pretty great, I got the nod from Ric. And it just got better and better from there. It was pretty cool. A couple of nights afterwards we would hang out.”

Dolph Ziggler on attending Ric Flair's 70th birthday

The Showoff also mentioned being a part of Flair's 70th birthday party. He said that it was an amazing party and he had a chance to connect with Wendy, Ric's wife.

So Many Wonderful Memories With This Beautiful Woman! I Will Spend The Rest Of My Life Loving Her! ❤️@wonderouswendy1 https://t.co/VJSOOWuhU2

Ziggler discussed how he planned to walk Wendy down the aisle at Flair's wedding. He recalled Ric's surprise at seeing him walk with Wendy and giving her hand in marriage to Flair.

Ziggler mentioned that Ric and Wendy were like family to him and they bonded over their love for wrestling and having a good time.

Do you think Dolph Ziggler is the Ric Flair of our generation? Let us know in the comments section below!