Ric Flair believes more wrestlers are worried about what fans say on social media instead of what experienced people tell them backstage.
Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was a recent guest on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet. When asked what’s missing from wrestling today, Flair said it’s not missing from everyone because people like Charlotte Flair and AJ Styles both get it, but it’s understanding when to put things into specific matches.
“Well, not with everybody,” Ric Flair said. “Because some of them like Charlotte, and I’m not gonna list the talent, but there’s a lot of talent that understand you have to be able to put things in at times in the match when they are more meaningful. She’s a master of that now; she can flip the gears; she can turn it around.
“There’s a couple other people like that now; AJ Styles is really good. I’m not gonna start the list because I’ll leave somebody out, and someone will get upset. But it’s being able to turn the audience where they’re reacting to what you want them to, instead of them telling you what to do. Does that make sense?”
Flair went on to say that wrestlers nowadays are more worried about listening to the audience instead of listening to the people who know what they’re talking about in gorilla. The Nature Boy believes that social media has ruined professional wrestling.
“A lot of guys listen to the audience,” Ric Flair continued. “And then instead of listening to what Vince [McMahon] says in gorilla or Michael Hayes, they run to the computer to see what the fans are saying. Social media has ruined it.
“Some of these kids would rather have someone that knows nothing about wrestling; nothing says God that was cool when it was a living shits. In other words, only care about what the guy says that’s sitting in that chair. Whether it be Hunter, Vince, Michael Hayes, those guys all have experience. Listen to what they’re saying.
“Don’t listen to what the fans are saying. When the fans own you and social media owns a lot of people. It upset me. But I’ve learned now I’ll be 70. That’s my new goal. Stay alive til I’m 75…I got five months left.”
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What do you make of Ric Flair’s comments? Do you think social media has hurt the world of professional wrestling? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
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