Ric Flair Says WWE Tried To Take His Name While He Was Dying

Ric Flair has survived a lot in his life—but according to him, nearly dying in 2017 revealed who was really in his corner.

During a recent interview on Games with Names, the wrestling legend shared that not only did WWE try to take back the rights to his name while he was on life support, but his own agent stole $150,000, assuming Flair wouldn’t survive. Flair claimed he and The Rock are the only two people in WWE history who actually own their intellectual property.

“There’s only two people that own their intellectual property in the history of WWE — me and The Rock.”

He added that Hulk Hogan once had ownership but lost it due to personal family conflicts:

“Hogan owned his, but now he’s in a terrible mess with his family fighting over his money.”

Flair then detailed how he secured the rights to his own persona—by suing WWE. He explained that while he was hospitalized and on life support for 14 days in 2017, people around him saw an opportunity to cash in.

“Because I sued WWE. Yeah. Well, because when I was dying — I was on life support for 14 days — everybody cashed in. My agent stole 150 grand, because if I was dead, then it would all go to court, right? Whatever my will was at that time. Estate planning is very important, by the way. But everybody cashed in because they thought I was going to die.”

Once he recovered, Flair found out that WWE had sent him legal letters while he was still in recovery, trying to get him to sign over his name.

“And then when I lived, I found out what was going on. I read the letters — WWE was writing me letters, wanting me to sign them while I was assigning my intellectual property back to them. So I didn’t sue at first. I just said, ‘I’m going public with this. Give me my s** back.’”*

In 2017, Flair’s health took a drastic turn. He suffered a ruptured intestine, kidney failure, sepsis, respiratory heart failure, and pneumonia. Doctors didn’t expect him to make it—but The Nature Boy fought through it all.

Despite surviving one of the worst health scares imaginable, Flair says what hurt most wasn’t the physical recovery—it was finding out the people and company he trusted were ready to capitalize on his death.

This story shows just how cutthroat the industry can be, even for legends like Ric Flair. When money and rights are on the table, loyalty can disappear fast.

Are you surprised that Flair had to fight for his own name—while fighting for his life? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know what you think about WWE and his agent’s actions.

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