Ric Flair Thinks WWE’s Current Product Spends Too Much Time Trying To Validate NXT, Reflects on His Legacy

During a recent interview with The Ariel Helwani Show, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair spoke about his friendship with Arn Anderson, his thoughts on the current WWE product, and his legacy in wrestling. Flair shared his thoughts on WWE’s current product, believing it spends too much time trying to validate the NXT brand. Below are some highlights:

Ric Flair on His Reconciliation With Arn Anderson

“I didn’t know we weren’t ever friends. We just went different ways. That make sense? But I think a lot of people associate I got divorced and we both we both now have suffered the loss of a son, and you know how do you ever get over that? I spoke with him there. Never went different ways. Arn to me is one of the most underrated performers in the history of the business. But here’s the deal. When people go on these documentaries and say, ‘Oh, God, without Ric Flair, there’s no Four Horsemen.’ Okay? Or like Hulk said, it’s called diminishing — Like if I left, they wouldn’t be driving Mercedes. They’d be driving– Does that make sense? And that’s got to hurt cuz that’s not true. Arn was every big a part of the show with me all day long.”

His Thoughts on the Current WWE Product

“I enjoy everything about what I see they’re doing with my daughter. Well, I take that back. I enjoy some of it. Okay. My problem is that I think they spend too much time trying to validate NXT, and nobody knows who anybody is. And even me, cuz I watch the shows so that I can communicate with my daughter on a semi-intelligent level without her calling me a dumb***, which she has no problem doing, but I don’t know who half the people are. And it’s — you have to remember when you train in NXT, you go work out with the same guys three days a week for a couple years and then you’re asked to get into the ring and you may have one shot or two at the most, especially when Vince was there to prove who you are, what makes you different, and what you can bring to the table.”

Ric Flair on His Legacy

“Well, like my legacy. I got asked that the other day when I was doing this show with Giannis. I just wanted people to think that I gave my life to the business. I made sacrifices. I made bad decisions, a lot of them with women. But I sacrificed my life, my body. And as an example, from 83 to 85, I had 17 days off. That’s wrestling an hour every day. One time I turned into my accountant that I wrestled 425 times. ‘Ric, what are you smoking weed?’ I said no, twice on Saturday, twice on Sunday, twice on Wednesday. I wrestled Ricky Morton nine-hour draws in one week. Two on Saturday and two on Sunday. I wrestled Ricky Steamboat [in] 11 [one] hour – no, eight [one] hour Broadways and a 190-minute Broadway. Yeah, I’ve done it all. I wrestled Bruiser Brody 175 times for an hour each time. The kids today couldn’t even get in the ring with him. He’d squash him like a grape. The only guy I can think of in the company that could hang with Brody would be Lesnar. Bruiser was 6’6, 290-300 lb. Brother, he was a bad man. Ask The Undertaker.”

On Never Looking Back at His Matches

“I never looked at. I swear to God, this was a very arrogant thing to say. I didn’t ever look at the match because I knew how good it was. All I can say to you is that as they’re talking about a trilogy of matches with me and Steamboat 40 years later, we must have done something right.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Ric Flair claimed he wasn’t invited to WrestleMania 42 this year because he threatened to beat up Ludwig Kaiser, stemming from comments he made during Tiffany Stratton’s feud with Charlotte Flair last year.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Ariel Helwani Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.