"Go with Vince McMahon; he'll take care of you" - Ric Flair told major superstar not to join WWE's rivals
Kurt Angle revealed that Ric Flair advised him against joining WCW when he spoke to the Nature Boy before entering the wrestling business during the late '90s. The Olympic gold medalist recalled what Ric Flair told him on this week's episode of The Kurt Angle Show, which revolved around the 2002 Backlash pay-per-view.
Kurt Angle was the hottest free agent following the 1996 Olympics, and he unsurprisingly attracted interest from WWE and WCW, the two biggest promotions of that era.
Flair was all too familiar with WCW's operations and believed that Kurt Angle had the best chance of succeeding if he signed with Vince McMahon's company.
'Yeah, you know what? I met Ric Flair before I started in the business. I met him in his gym in North Carolina, and I asked him, and I said, 'Ric, which company should I sign with?' Because both companies were interested WWE - it was WWF at the time - and WCW. And Ric immediately said, 'Go with Vince McMahon; he'll take care of you. Do not go to WCW' because he knew they would probably bury me in WCW. Vince McMahon would take care of me," revealed Kurt Angle. [ 19:32 - 19:58]
"There is no other person like Ric Flair," Kurt Angle said
Kurt Angle has shared a close relationship with Ric since he first met the WWE Hall of Famer multiple decades ago.
Flair is one of the most accomplished superstars in the history of the industry, and Kurt Angle revealed that he has always admired the legendary star's unmatched body of work.
"Ever since, I have had an incredible relationship with Ric," Angle continued. "We always kept in touch, and I always looked up to him because he had so much success in the business, you know, 16-time world champion, there is no other person like Ric Flair. He is really special." [19:59 - 20:12]
Kurt Angle thankfully followed Flair's advice and became a WWE Superstar, and the rest, as they say, is history!
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