Two reports came out on Monday stating that Ric Flair had requested and has obtained his release from WWE.
Fightful and Wrestling Inc reported on Flair’s release that ends the 72-year old’s latest relationship with the company.
In Fightful’s reporting, they stated that Flair had contacted Vince McMahon directly regarding his frustrations with booking decisions and requested his release.
This latest tenure with WWE goes back to late 2012 when Flair returned to the company after working for TNA for over two years. Following an appearance at that year’s Hall of Fame (while under contract to TNA and given their blessing), he returned at the Slammy Awards that year. Over the years, he would make appearances sporadically with his most involved story occurring when he seconded daughter Charlotte Flair to the ring until May 2016.
In the summer of 2017, Flair had the most significant health scare of his life that required a piece of his bowel to be removed, and suffering kidney failure.
Earlier this year, he was involved in an angle where he was infatuated with Lacey Evans. Flair aligned with Evans, her daughter’s rival, in a storyline that was cut short after Evans announced she was pregnant.
Flair shared his dissatisfaction with the angle while speaking to Ariel Helwani earlier this year:
In this instance, I didn’t. The one thing I’ve learned is you aren’t going to win a war when someone has their mind made up and she (Charlotte Flair) most definitely didn’t like it. The one thing I can say about me, I always said ‘yes’. I didn’t want to be that guy that always goes ‘that isn’t perfect for me’. I don’t know how much you’ve followed my career but I’ve been buried in the desert by Russo, I’ve had my head shaved. If you look at the other top guys in history whether it’s Shawn (Michaels) or Hunter or Undertaker or Bret Hart no one has gone through this. I’ve done everything. I got fired for a year for taking my son to the AAU nationals where Dan Severn was the master of ceremonies, and he won. I’ve weathered every storm and I’ve come back.
This was something new and I got to TV and Mr. McMahon wasn’t there to argue the point with and he had stuff going on and I don’t like to put the pressure on someone if I can’t talk to him. He just made up his mind. I think a lot of it is because she’s a Marine and God only knows, we cannot give enough back to the people that served in the military, that’s a given. I think he wanted her to be successful and the way to get successful sometimes is to take two other people that are doing well and give them the rub. She’s a very nice girl, it didn’t fit this time, you know what I mean? But we made the best of it and ultimately, she’s pregnant now with her husband and it wasn’t anything personal. I barely knew her and her whole life is her husband and her daughter.
I didn’t like that one. To him (McMahon), I’m always going to be the ‘Kiss stealing, wheeling-dealing…”, you know what I mean? Which is great because he likes that even though he hated when I used to say it. He used to say, “’80s heels don’t draw”.
Neither WWE nor Ric Flair has commented on the reports of his release yet.
