Wrestling legend Ric Flair has revealed he asked to be released from his WWE contract.
The Nature Boy’s historic run with the promotion came to an end in August, although the circumstances surrounding his departure were unclear.
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Wrestling Inc. claimed that the 72-year-old two-time Hall of Famer left the company after asking Vince McMahon to rip up his contract.
It was suggested the WWE brass relieved the hero of his duties, a notion that Flair – who is raking in the cash with his new podcast – has emphatically denied.
The 72-year-old superstar said: “I made more money last week in the first week of our podcast than I made in my first year of wrestling in 1973, so I’ll be OK.
“The day that I asked for my release, nobody fired me, I asked for it.
“I signed a contract that paid me more money for three years than I was making there, so let’s just leave it at that.
“The guy I work for is Ryan Fiterman, Fiterman Sports in Houston, Texas. Money is not an issue.”
Fan favourite Flair has been tipped to join a host of former WWE stars at surging promotion All Elite Wrestling.
The wrestling icon is open to taking his talents to AEW – but has yet to hold talks with the organisation.
During the second episode of his Ric Flair Wooooo Nation Uncensored Podcast, the veteran said: “There were no discussions at all.
“I told Vince McMahon and my word is pretty much my bond: unless they do something really stupid to me, that I would never ever go to work for the competition.
“And now they’ve done some really stupid stuff so that door has opened.
“But I’ve certainly not talked to Tony [Khan], I haven’t heard a word from him.
“I watch all the shows, appreciate the athletes and the people that are involved in it but I’m not actively in discussions with anybody.”
Despite being beloved by generations of WWE fans, Flair has no intention of returning to the promotion.
He said: “I would go to work for Tony Khan but I will never go back to WWE.”
At the time his contract was terminated, Fightful Select claimed however that Flair has been left frustrated with his booking since then and appealed directly to McMahon to release him.
He was involved in a relationship angle with Lacey Evans that was ultimately nixed after the Sassy Southern Belle got legitimately pregnant.
And the limousine riding, jet flyin’, stylin’ and profilin’, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ n’ dealin’ son of a gun publicly voiced his disdain for the angle.
He told Ariel Helwani: “In this instance, I didn’t [feel comfortable]. The one thing I’ve learned is you’re not going to win a war when someone’s got their mind made up.
“She most definitely didn’t like it, but the one thing that I can say about me is I always said yes. I didn’t want to be that guy that was always going, “Oh, that isn’t perfect for me.”
“When that was all over, I was mad but now I just look back and say it wasn’t it.
“This was something that when I got to TV, [Vince] McMahon wasn’t there to argue the point with and he had stuff going on, I don’t like to put the pressure on someone if I can’t talk to him.’”
This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.