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Ric Flair has revealed that WWE did not let him walk up the steps at ringside during his most recent televised appearances for the company.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer suffered from various medical conditions, including kidney failure, respiratory and heart failure, and pneumonia. In 2017, Flair's family members were told he only had a 20 percent chance of survival and was placed in a medically induced coma.
Speaking on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast, Ric Flair discussed his recent appearance alongside Andrade El Idolo in AAA. He also commented on WWE refusing to let him walk up the steps in case he suffered a health scare on television.
“They [AAA] let me get in the ring,” Flair said. “WWE won’t even let me walk up the stairs for liability reasons. I can’t. I can stand in a ring but, Renee, it’s kind of like I said, I either wanna die in a ring or on top of Wendy [Flair’s wife]… A or B. What better way is there to go? What I did for a living or with the one I love? Woo!”
Ric Flair left WWE on August 3, 2021, after requesting his release from the company.
He thanked Vince McMahon and Triple H, among others, during a speech at the NWA 73 event on Sunday.
Ric Flair is not the only WWE legend who was deemed a liability
In 2012, Jerry Lawler suffered a cardiac arrest at the commentary table shortly after competing in a match on WWE RAW.
He explained on The Jerry Lawler Show in 2019 that WWE refused to clear him even as he continued to wrestle for other promotions.
“Still, to this day, the people in WWE still feel like that’s not the case [Lawler being cleared to wrestle],” Lawler said. “They keep me on the no-touch list and all of that kind of thing. We’ve talked about this before on the podcast. The doctors told Lauren [Lawler's partner], ‘We can’t clear him to go back in the ring because he’s a liability to the company.’”
Ric Flair also confirmed to Renee Paquette that rumors about him returning for one more match at the age of 72 are incorrect. He is, however, still open to working for more companies outside of WWE, including AEW.
Please credit Oral Sessions and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use the recent quote from this article.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
