When it comes to legends in professional wrestling, Ric Flair is among the most well known. The Nature Boy is a very strong contender in the conversation of Greatest of All Time, and most of that comes from his years on top in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). However, come the 90’s, he was faced with a choice. He could stick with the WWF or return to WCW. With many years of hindsight behind him, Flair wishes he stayed with the WWF.
Ric Flair Regrets Leaving WWF In 1993
While speaking on the Ariel Helwani MMA Podcast, Flair would discuss his time in the WWF in 1993. He was hot off winning one of the greatest Royal Rumble matches of all time a year prior, but would lose a “Loser Leaves Town” match on an early episode of Monday Night RAW to ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Henning. He had made the choice to head back to WCW, and now regrets that.
“I had another year and a half, the greatest time of my life, and the worst mistake I ever made was leaving.” He was told by Vince McMahon himself to make this move as well. “Vince McMahon said to me ‘We’re going to go younger,’ and he said ‘if you want to go back, they’ve been calling me every day so I’m sure they’ve been calling you, go in and go’.”
No Immediate Good Option In Hindsight
When you look at where WWF was headed in this time period, an era known as ‘the new generation’, it’s easy to see why Flair would have had a hard time sticking around. Matches with the likes of Shawn Micheals, Razor Ramon and Bret Hart could have easily worked with Flair, but they wanted to focus on a new crop of talent.
Meanwhile in WCW, Flair was able to remain near the top of the card, but with Hulk Hogan showing up? He wasn’t going to be the top star. The Four Horsemen allowed him to remain relevant, but either way Flair went, he wasn’t going to remain a top star in the 1990s, regardless of how good he still was.
Do you wish Flair stayed in the WWF? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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