"I quit" - WWE icon says he cried in meeting with Vince McMahon after booking dispute
Ric Flair recently recalled how he became emotional during a meeting with Vince McMahon about his WWE status in 2007.
The 16-time world champion took exception to WWE asking him to advertise a show in Columbia, South Carolina that he was not even booked on. He also struggled to understand why he was once told to team up with Torrie Wilson against Carlito and Victoria.
Speaking on his To Be The Man podcast, Flair explained that he allowed Victoria to throw him around “like she was Ricky Steamboat.” Following the match, he had a brutally honest conversation backstage with Vince McMahon, which resulted in him quitting.
“I walk into Gorilla [backstage area] and Vince said, ‘What the hell are you doing?’” Flair said. “I said, ‘I’m working with a girl. I made her look like who she is, a great worker.’ ‘Who booked that match?’ ‘I don’t know, somebody right here. You just watched it.’ That was the exact conversation, and I quit.” [6:34-6:54]
Shortly thereafter, Flair attended a meeting with Vince McMahon alongside two lawyers. The Nature Boy, who was coming to the end of his WWE career at the time, broke down in tears in front of his former boss.
“[Vince McMahon] chewed my a** out and I started crying and said, ‘Okay,’” Flair said. “He cussed out my lawyers. He said, ‘Who the f*** are these two j*ckoffs? You’ve got a lot of balls to bring a lawyer into my office. Aren’t you man enough to talk to me man to man? I hate lawyers. I hate my own f***ing lawyer!’” [6:56-7:16]
Flair is widely viewed as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Although he has had problems with Vince McMahon in the past, he is now on good terms with the WWE Chairman.
What happened after Ric Flair’s meeting with Vince McMahon?
Is Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair from wrestlemania 24 one of the greatest matches of all time? https://t.co/SPfsjMibuB
It is well known that Flair lacked confidence in the latter stages of his full-time wrestling career. He often credits Triple H for restoring faith in his ability during their time together in the Evolution faction between 2003 and 2005.
After his booking dispute with McMahon, the WWE icon competed in a series of career-threatening matches in late 2007 and early 2008. The storyline led to WrestleMania 24, where he lost a retirement match against Shawn Michaels.
Now aged 73, Flair is set to come out of retirement once again in a six-man tag team match on July 31 at the Nashville Fairgrounds. FTR and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express are set to compete in the match, but the sixth participant is currently unknown.
Please credit To Be The Man and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.