Ric Flair used his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show to fire back at a group of wrestling personalities he believes have taken shots at him online, calling out Stevie Richards and Dutch Mantell by name during a lengthy rant.
The comments came after Helwani asked Flair about his relationship with Triple H, which led Flair into a broader complaint about the online wrestling commentary ecosystem. Flair’s anger appears to be tied to coverage from both Richards and Mantell’s respective podcasts, where both of them recently broke down a Flair social media post complaining about being dropped from his Roots of Fight deal.
Flair Names Stevie Richards And Dutch Mantell
Flair said the commentary from certain former wrestlers has become frustrating, particularly when he feels the criticism is coming from people whose legacies do not match his own.
“I get punks like f**king Stevie Richards and Zeb Colter, whatever his name is,” Flair said, referring to Dutch Mantell.
Flair went on to question why Mantell, who worked as Zeb Colter in WWE alongside Jack Swagger during the Real Americans run, feels qualified to speak on his career.
“A guy that has suffered serious health problems, not as serious as mine. I would keep my mouth shut, because if you don’t have a legacy, you can’t talk about a legacy.”
Flair also took aim at the host of Mantell’s podcast content, struggling to remember his name before referring to him as “the peanut shell.”
“He and Stevie Richards and that little jackoff… God, I call him the peanut shell, the guy that does the interviews for Zeb.”
A Story About Lex Luger And Blackjack Mulligan
Flair then told a story about the late Blackjack Mulligan that he said summed up his current view of Mantell.
“We were in Marietta Georgia and Lex Luger used to always speak of himself in a third person,” Flair said. “And he looks at Jack Mulligan, who was the agent, and he goes, ‘Why would a Lex Luger wrestle a’ — what’s his real name again — ‘Dutch Mantell?’ Now I understand why Luger said it. Who in the f**k is Dutch Mantell to help fuzz off, who has serious health problems, that should mind his own business.”
Flair closed the Richards portion of the rant with a physical comparison.
“Stevie Richards, my little finger is bigger than his neck.”
Flair Says The Attacks Don’t Bother Him
Flair was pressed on whether the online commentary gets to him. He said it does not and framed the shots as jealousy.
“How could it bother me? Who are they? I just talked to Donald Trump on the phone myself. Do I give a sh*t about those guys? They don’t even have Donald’s number.”
Flair then listed the people he said he has direct access to.
“I can call Charles Barkley. I can call Shaq. I can call Mark Wahlberg. I can call anybody because I’ve earned their respect. Darius Rucker, Kid Rock, Snoop Dogg, I have all their numbers right here in speed dial. These guys don’t know anything and don’t know sh*t. The only way they make a dime, and I’m sure it’s a minimal amount of money, is by cracking on people that are successful. And the older you get, and the more successful you stay, the more relevant you stay, the more jealous they get.”
The Roots Of Fight Post That Got Covered
Flair’s original social media post, which set off the recent chain of events, came after he was dropped from Roots Of Fight. The company had entered into an exclusive deal with WWE, and Flair is currently signed to AEW. In the post, Flair listed his accomplishments and accused WWE of trying to “kill my legacy.”
“I woke up this morning to find out that I’m no longer allowed to be with Roots of Fight per WWE,” Flair wrote. “What more of my legacy do you want to destroy? You all grew up loving me and I set the bar. Now you are trying to kill me, diminish my legacy. Thank you, but it ain’t happening. Nice try. LFG.”
Flair listed his ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, his Emmy-nominated status, 21 world championships, and his payback of an $800,000 loan from Vince McMahon as part of the post.
How Dutch Mantell Covered It
Mantell broke down the post on his podcast with host James Romero. Mantell focused on what he saw as Flair’s own role in the situation and questioned the framing.
“It’s because Roots of Fight are entering into an exclusive deal with WWE and Ric Flair is signed with AEW. That’s it,” Romero said about the reason behind the deal ending. “I said ego. That ego bouncing around in his head,” Mantell added.
Mantell also pushed back on Flair’s legacy claim.
“That’s Flair. That’s his legacy. He’s doing a hell of a job of keeping his own legacy alive. That’s why he posts on Twitter, so he won’t be forgotten. Some guys, it is a major part of their everyday experiences. If he’s not out there posting on Twitter and saying some things that have put him back partially in the limelight, they don’t know what to do.”
Mantell also questioned why Flair would brag about paying back a loan.
“He’s bragging that he paid back someone who lent him money. I kind of would just pay someone back anyway. He has said that more than once. Why does that make him a good guy? Shouldn’t you do that anyway?”
How Stevie Richards Covered It
Richards covered the same post on his own podcast, also hosted by James Romero. Richards’ take focused on what he called Flair’s pattern of public rants.
“The overarching theme is, you have to have your head on a swivel to see who Ric Flair is upset with today,” Richards said. “Doesn’t it go back and forth? Then he puts WWE over, then he buries this. This is like the sixth or seventh round of Flair going back and forth with the company.”
Richards also questioned the move to list an $800,000 loan repayment as a point of pride.
“He’s bragging about paying someone back the money he owed,” Richards said. “If Vince is going to forgive a debt, which I’ve never heard of him doing, if he’s going to forgive a debt, you take it.”
Richards closed with, “Ric Flair is doing a grand job of destroying his own legacy.”
Flair’s comments come during a week in which he has been publicly addressing his standing in the wrestling industry, including saying he was not invited to WrestleMania 42 and defending Vince McMahon on the same show. Both Richards and Mantell have regular wrestling podcasts where they break down news stories on a weekly basis.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit the source and include a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
