Ric Flair accuses WWE of trying to take advantage of him while he was dying

Ric Flair has accused WWE of trying to take advantage of him while he battled for his life. The two-time Hall of Famer has had some issues with the company over his Intellectual Property (IP) rights with WWE.

In 2017, the 16-time World Champion was placed on life support after a kidney failure and congestive heart failure. It was during this time that many tried to take advantage of his situation.

In an interview with Games with Names, Ric Flair revealed that he and The Rock are the only two people in WWE who own their intellectual property. He then mentioned how the Stamford-based company tried to take his name and how he got the ownership of his persona.

“Because I sued them. Well, because when I was dying, I was on life support for 14 days, everybody cashed in. My agent stole 150 grand, because if I was dead, then it would all go to court, whatever my will was at that time. Estate planning is very important, by the way. But everybody cashed in because they thought I was going to die," he said.

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Flair revealed that after he recovered, he found that WWE had sent him letters to sign while he was battling for his life.

"And then when I lived, I find out what was going on. I read the letters, WWE was writing me letters, wanting me to sign them while I was assigning my intellectual property back to them. So I didn’t sue them, I just said, ‘I’m going public with this. Give me my sh*t back.'" he added.

You can watch the interview below:

Ric Flair settled another dispute with WWE

In 2018, Ric Flair got into a dispute with WWE over the use of The Man nickname. The moniker was taken by Becky Lynch in the buildup to WrestleMania 35.

However, the Nature Boy had been using the nickname since his heyday as a wrestler. Flair even filed for a trademark for the name in August 2019.

Eventually, the dispute was settled in May 2020, with the former WWE Champion reaching a deal to transfer the rights to his trademark for the company.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit Games with Names and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Sherjeel Malik