Ric Flair 30 For 30 Director Reveals Why Flair Is a Great Subject, Talks Working With Shawn Michaels & Triple H

– Rory Karpf, the director of ESPN’s 30 For 30 special on Ric Flair, discussed working with WWE stars on the documentary piece in an interview with Sporting News. Highlights are below:

On why he wanted to use Ric Flair as the subject of a documentary: “I thought always thought Ric Flair would be a great subject because he’s relevant today. What wrestlers can you say from that era are quotes today in rap songs and athletes are doing their chants? They’re wearing Ric Flair cleats at NFL games. I pitched (ESPN) on (the idea that) we could explore why he was relevant and why athletes revered him and why wrestling could be and should be looked at as a sport, and they were game by that point.”

On how honest Flair was with the documentary: “People say some tough things but, to his credit, he accepted it all. He didn’t ask for anything to be changed. He was very proud that he was the first wrestler, the only wrestler, to have an ESPN ’30 for 30′ done on him. To his credit, he could easily have said, ‘I don’t want anything negative about me.’ I told him from the beginning we’re not whitewashing anything here. I tried to put wrestling on a pedestal as I would any other sport, and I think he appreciated that, that it is a sport, at least to me.”

On having Shawn Michaels and Triple H included in the project: “I think Ric, on one hand, he has an indescribable charm almost like a little kid with his hand in the cookie jar. At the same time, if you’re very selfish and lived your life a certain way, there’s ramifications. Two of his closest friends in wrestling are Shawn Michaels and Triple H, but they say some hard truths in the film. Triple H calls him a consummate liar. Shawn Michaels says the ‘Nature Boy’ is just a myth. For me, hearing those people say it carries so much more weight.”