Steve Carrier on April 22, 2026
Ric Flair isn’t staying quiet anymore — because just weeks after cooling things down over the Roots of Fight fallout, he’s back calling WWE out again.
After previously stepping back and saying he understood the business side of being dropped from Roots of Fight, Flair has now changed his tone again. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show on April 22, 2026, he reopened the issue and made it clear he’s still not happy with how everything went down. This time, Flair zeroed in on how he found out he was out — saying it didn’t come directly from the company, which didn’t sit right with him at all.
“Roots of Fight—ten people called me that Roots of Fight dropped me. Then I got a long text from Jesse saying, ‘I apologize—they bought the company and I have nothing to do with it.’ That pissed me off! Not even a call!”
From there, the Nature Boy made it clear the problem wasn’t about money — it was about what he feels he’s earned over decades in the business and how that should’ve been handled.
“And sometimes I think—and I believe this in my heart—there are exceptions for some people that have done so much, to help so many people and influence so many personalities, that I could get cut a break.”
He also brought up the prestige tied to the brand, putting his own standing into context alongside one of the biggest names ever associated with it.
“It’s not a financial deal—you don’t make a lot of money with Roots of Fight—it’s prestige. It’s Muhammad Ali, it’s Ric Flair. I was the #2 seller behind Ali, so…why not just say, ‘Hey Ric, we can’t use you?’ A simple phone call.”
Flair didn’t stop there. He expanded the frustration to WWE’s broader influence, suggesting the company now has a tighter grip on who gets opportunities and who doesn’t.
“Now they just add on who they want to. Now the WWE wants to control everybody—that’s just what they want to do.”
He wrapped it up by making his main point clear — this wasn’t about holding a grudge, it was about basic respect he feels he didn’t get.
“I try not to have any animosity with anyone, but, you know…how do you not have enough respect to tell me, ‘I’m sorry, Ric, we can’t use you’? That’s what I call a lack of respect.”
Bottom line — Flair may have tried to cool things down earlier, but this latest appearance shows the issue clearly isn’t settled. The tone has flipped again, and he’s back calling it out publicly.
After going from calm to calling it out again, do you think Ric Flair has a valid point here, or is this just how the business works now? Let us know.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
1 hour ago
Disqus Comments Loading...