On the latest “To Be The Man” podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair discussed the passing of Antonio Inoki and his legacy. Flair also talked about some current events.
Flair was asked to clear the rumors if he will wrestle again after seeing that Ricky Steamboat is having another match:
“When I say it inspires me to want to do it again, it’s not that I couldn’t. I will stand by this. I wish I hadn’t said it was my last match, and I don’t want to disappoint a bunch of fans by doing it again, but I got myself into good shape. Then I made what turned out to be a drastic mistake by not hydrating, but I feel great. I feel like as long as you’re healthy, you should do what you want to do when you get to my age. I mean, you know, I feel like we limit ourselves to what people think we should be doing sometimes as opposed to what we’re doing. What the hell? I can do that and probably better’, and he probably will. You know he’ll look better. He always has and always will.”
Ric Flair reflecting on the wrestling show when he first started compared to today:
“I look at the 50 years and I think what makes me different is that there’s nobody I haven’t wrestled. I look at the cast of characters, I look at the show now and I go, man, it’s so different. I mean, I can’t even see Hansen and Brody wrestling right now. The guys wouldn’t know how to handle them, or Mulligan, I mean, Jesus Christ. You couldn’t say a word to Jack without him punching somebody? Can you imagine one of the guys giving sh*t to Harley Race? I mean, it’s just a different time.”
“The difference is, and I’ve gotta qualify this so everybody understands what I’m saying. The difference is that you had to, number one, you wrestled every possible imaginable character and style in the world, and if you’re in Japan, you had to fight for your life. Now, it’s a much more controlled environment. Let’s put it like that. Of course, the choreography is totally different. There was no choreography. You just went out there and hoped that you had the chemistry and through practice and trial and error you found the right guys. I would like to think I found a lot of guys that I had great chemistry with, from Dusty to Harley to Terry.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
An episode to remember and to celebrate.
Join @RicFlairNatrBoy & @HeyHeyItsConrad as they discuss the great Antonio Inoki and examine 50 years of 'The Nature Boy' in wrestling.#TBTM: INOKI & 50 YEARS OF FLAIR is available NOW! Get ad-free access on https://t.co/BOIPK2Zw4I pic.twitter.com/BTVOB7LlBX
— To Be The Man with Ric Flair (@ToBeTheManPod) October 5, 2022
