Wrestling veteran admits an approved plan for him to defeat WWE legend Ric Flair was changed (Exclusive)
Ric Flair has beaten some of the biggest names in wrestling throughout his astonishing 50-year career. Magnum T.A. was one of the stars who lost to The Nature Boy during the 1980s; however, it has now been revealed that the retired veteran was initially supposed to beat Flair.
Magnum T.A. feuded with Ric Flair for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and they had a fantastic match for the title in September 1985. At the time, Magnum was a promising young talent, and Jim Crockett Promotions wanted to push him to go over the legend.
On this week's UnSKripted, Magnum T.A. admitted that he was slated to defeat the WWE Hall of Famer before a last-minute change of plans:
"Yeah, I was. And as a matter of fact, the plan, it sounds so ludicrous today because we know what an amazing career he had for, you know, he just finished wrestling in 2022," recalled Magnum T.A." "But, the Crocketts had this mentality that they wanted this youth movement, and I was 27 years old, Ric was ten years older than I was." [22:40 - 23:05]
Magnum T.A. stated that all the relevant committees approved the booking plan for him to dethrone Flair. While the 63-year-old veteran would have loved to have succeeded Ric Flair as the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, he didn't believe he would have had a long reign with the title.
Magnum T.A. added:
"So that was a done-deal as far as the committee and the NWA and everybody that had to approve it back then because you had a group of people who had to approve it. And I'm not saying I would have kept the belt for two years or what might have taken place, but it would certainly have been a different landscape. And I'm sure he and I would have gone back and forth with the belt." [23:36 - 24:00]
"They wanted young blood in that role" - Magnum T.A. on why he was picked to beat Ric Flair
Ric Flair was already an established name and a credible world champion when he faced Magnum T.A. nearly 40 years back. While Flair was still a massive draw in the wrestling business, officials seemingly wanted fresh faces in the top spot as they felt the legendary star was nearing the end of his in-ring career.
It's been said by many that,if not for Magnum T.A's tragic car accident that ended his career back in 1986,he would've been the heir apparent to Ric Flair as the top star in the NWA.Magnum absolutely had the look and the ability that would've taken him to the top,in my view https://t.co/IuMyeaXE2v
The idea was for Ric Flair to transition to a veteran's role as Jim Crockett Promotions allegedly wanted to focus on a "youth movement." Here's what Magnum T.A. added about his program with the 16-time world champion:
"They, at that time, were looking at Ric like he should be on the tail end of his career, and they wanted him to become more like the Jack Nicholas of the Crockett Promotions and a spokesperson and all these things. They wanted young blood in that role, and they wanted the title to be, or the perception to be, on a youth-type movement." [23:06 - 23:32]
Ric Flair went on to wrestle for many more years and won multiple titles before finally hanging up his boots earlier this year.
Do you foresee Flair returning for one more match in the future? Sound off in the comments section below.
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