"I was mad" - Ric Flair admits he was wrong to criticize WWE Hall of Famers
Ric Flair no longer believes the nWo was the worst faction in wrestling history.
In 2008, Flair made several derogatory comments about the WCW group during an episode of the WWE roundtable series “The Legends of Wrestling.” His issues stemmed from the fact that the popular stable took over WCW and failed to make their opponents look good.
When asked on his “To Be The Man” podcast why he made those remarks, The Nature Boy confirmed he has changed his opinion.
“Because I was mad, I was mad,” Flair said. “It was out of anger. They actually were a great faction. It had nothing to do with any individuals. The truth is, they just kinda took over the company and did what they wanted to do, and the boss [Eric Bischoff] let them do it.” [41:01-41:26]
Created in 1996, the nWo originally consisted of Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. The group added another 59 members before disbanding in 2002.
What exactly did Ric Flair say about the nWo?
Honorary Member For The Day! WOOOOO! #nwo @SCOTTHALLNWO @RealKevinNash https://t.co/ziNyRt39Qv
“The Legends of Wrestling” is available for fans to watch on the WWE Network. The “Factions” episode aired on May 1, 2008, and featured a discussion between Gene Okerlund, Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, and Tazz.
Comparing the nWo to his own Four Horsemen stable, The Nature Boy made it clear which group he thought had the most success.
“We made a living out of making our opponents look good, and they were good opponents,” Flair recalled. “The nWo made a living out of destroying the entire company to get themselves over. And ultimately, because of their problems internally, it destroyed the company.”
Asked later in the episode to name the worst faction ever, the 16-time world champion responded with another controversial answer.
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt, and I wanna go on record as saying this, the nWo is the worst faction and the worst thing to ever happen to our business,” Flair added.
The nWo (Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman) joined the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020. In 2012, The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, J.J. Dillon, Ric Flair, and Tully Blanchard) also received an induction into the elite group.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcriptions if you use quotes from this article.