WrestleNewz.com was joined by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, for a 2 part interview. The “Nature Boy” discusses his early days in wrestling, his thoughts on the current WWE product, his greatest opponents and much more. He also mentions Shawn a few times, mentioning that his retirement match with Shawn was his favourite moment in the ring. You can read what Flair had to say about Shawn below. Here is Part 1 and Part 2 of the full interview.
Source: WrestleNewz.com
WNZ: Ah, of course. Is charisma something that’s lacking these days?
RF: I think that wrestling is in a good spot. I’d just say that it’s very hard right now to replace Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H. The Undertaker’s not working right now, and a lot of guys are off the roster right now. You just can’t make that kind of stuff overnight. It takes years to build that kind of notoriety, and they’re being very patient and working hard. You know, Vince is a genius. He’ll make it work, but it will take time.
WNZ: Do you still talk to some of the top WWE stars you mentioned earlier?
RF: I stay in touch with Austin all the time, and Undertaker, Shawn, Triple-H, Jim Ross. I stay in touch with a lot of those guys. They reach out to me, I reach out to them. I stay in touch with Ricky Steamboat a lot, and Sting I talk to all the time. And Kurt Angle — a lot of those guys I talk to all the time. It’s great. It’s a kind of mutual admiration thing.
WNZ: You mentioned Steamboat and Sting — two of your most memorable opponents. When you look back on those classic matches now, what do you think?
RF: Nobody can follow them, even to this day! I think those Ricky Steamboat versus Ric Flair matches — I know for a fact that wrestlers still watch those matches all the time. Sting and I had great matches too — we had great chemistry — but I think Steamboat was in a league of his own. He and Shawn Michaels and Triple H were the three best I’ve ever been in the ring with, hands down.
WNZ: Let’s get right to it — what was your favourite moment in the ring?
RF: The greatest moment in my life was wrestling Shawn Michaels for my retirement. No lie about that. But he carried me in that match. The little smart-ass actually told me to keep my mouth shut in the ring and follow him! (laughs). I didn’t do shit.