WWE legend going off-script caused Vince McMahon to ban unscripted promos
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair's unscripted promo during a show at Madison Square Garden annoyed Vince McMahon, which resulted in promos being vetted beforehand.
The promo in question happened in 2004, ahead of Ric Flair's match with Randy Orton at WWE's Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view. Flair cut a promo on Orton on RAW, where he took a shot at The Viper's inexperience.
In an AdFreeShows interview, former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz said that Flair's promo, which had a controversial line, was ad-libbed by The Nature Boy. The show, held at the iconic Madison Square Garden, had several corporate sponsors backstage, which caused McMahon to shout at Flair.
"There might have been an incident in Madison Square Garden once when Ric Flair went off script that got Vince a little heated about what he had said and said, 'Dammit, from then on, I need to know what every single talent is going to be saying going out there.' That was in Madison Square Garden with lots of corporate sponsors and when he said [that he has made virgins bleed] there was, there was a noticeable shift in the amount of approval process growing from that point," said Gewirtz. [H/T WrestlingInc]
I was hoping to use Ric Flair’s “virgins” promo to make a point in a Twitter discussion, but it’s not on YouTube and the Network version is edited to remove him saying "And you know how many virgins I have made holler, scream, and bleed all night long? God! That's my specialty!" https://t.co/yTZskfI3hL
Gewirtz believes the Flair incident resulted in McMahon changing his stance on promos and wanted every promo to be pre-approved by him.
WWE legend Ric Flair shares a good relationship with Vince McMahon
.@VinceMcMahon, You’ve Made My Life Better Every Day Since I’ve Been In The Wrestling Business. You’re The Only Promoter In My Career That Treated Me Like A Man, Respected Who I Was, And Made Me A Better Person. God Bless You For All You’ve Done. FYI- No One Can Follow Your Act. https://t.co/EGR1Wmkhzr
The Nature Boy has said he will be grateful to Vince McMahon for helping him during a tough phase he was going through financially.
Flair thanked former WWE CEO Vince McMahon in the promo that he cut at NWA 73.
“Vince McMahon, I love you, thank you. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm here," said Flair.
On an episode of on Busted Open Radio, the 16-time world champion said that he met Vince McMahon and thanked him personally for adding him back to the RAW and SmackDown intro.
What are your thoughts on wrestlers going off-script on their shows? Let us know in the comments section below!