Ric Flair recalls not wanting to go through a match with Vince McMahon
Wrestling Inc.'s podcast hosted the 16-time WWE World Champion, Ric Flair recently. On the show, Flair spoke about the wrestling business, his time away from the ring and his return to WWE.
Ric Flair was one of the top stars of WCW when the Monday Night Wars between the promotion and WWE was raging on TV. When WWE bought over WCW, The Nature Boy jumped ship and aligned himself with WWE.
Why Ric Flair didn't want to wrestle Mr. McMahon in WWE
Ric Flair's first major feud in the WWE was with the boss himself, Mr. McMahon. He faced The Chairman at the Royal Rumble in 2002 in a Street Fight that he went on to win. Before his WWE debut, Flair was on a hiatus of over eight months and had a few apprehensions. This what The Nature Boy had to say:
"First of all, I had no self-confidence and Hunter helped me with that. [Vince] was overwhelmed that he was getting to wrestle me. He goes, 'This is such a huge honor' and I'm going, 'Oh my God! This is not what I'm looking for. I need you to tell me that we don't have to do this [laughs].' I was cosmetically insecure and mentally insecure."
"As far as my self-confidence with talking, I'm great. Getting in the ring – zero [self-confidence]. I get there in November and in January Shane asks, 'What do you think of wrestling my dad at the Royal Rumble?' I'm thinking that's not what we agreed upon [laughs]. Sure enough, here we are."
In addition, Flair had also approached the McMahon Family backstage to get himself out of the match. But Stephanie McMahon patted him on the back and opened the door for him to leave.
Since then, Flair has come a long way in WWE. He was a part of one of the most dominant factions in the business, Evolution. Flair has nothing to be disappointed about in his WWE career. His daughter Charlotte Flair is the current NXT Champion and a 12-time Champion in the WWE.