RVD has weighed in on Ric Flair continuing to drink and party despite the growing concerns surrounding his health. And rather than piling on the Nature Boy, RVD is wondering whether Flair has simply earned the right to live however the hell he wants at this point.
Speaking on the latest episode of One of a Kind with RVD, Van Dam discussed Flair’s recent fall and the photos of him back at a bar afterwards wearing an eye patch. RVD acknowledged that Flair knows the lifestyle comes with risks, but questioned whether there’s actually something to respect about a 77-year-old deciding he would rather enjoy his life than change everything just to potentially squeeze out a few more years.
“You know, I asked Katie this when we were talking about that the other day, and I asked you also, chat room, Van Dam fam — isn’t there something to be respected about the guy just living the way he wants to live? I mean, he knows he’s killing himself, and he’s saying, ‘Look, you know, I’d rather f****** live the way I want to live and die when it’s my time than possibly get another couple of years but not enjoying life, not doing what I want to do, or, you know, getting shot by a cop anyway or hit by a bus. So it doesn’t f****** matter in the long run.’ But I mean, it’s the movie The Wrestler all over again. You know, the guy going out, or staying in and going out on his own terms, knowing family and everybody is experiencing pain seeing him do it. But yet, it’s his life. And doesn’t he, if anybody, deserve that?”
The conversation then turned to Flair’s age and the people around him who have to watch everything play out. Katie Forbes specifically brought up Charlotte Flair and how difficult it must be for her to see her father continuing to party despite everything he’s been through.
RVD said age makes a huge difference in how he looks at something like this. He admitted he would consider it incredibly selfish if he started taking serious risks now while he still has young children depending on him, but he doesn’t necessarily apply that same standard to someone in their late 70s who has already lived that lifestyle for decades.
“I was reading the comments in the chat room here, and Ry Dog says, ‘At a certain age, yeah, you know, he does kind of deserve to do what he wants to do.’ I feel like if right now I was to start doing heroin or doing f****** coke with all the fentanyl on the street or something, and taking a chance that I might not be around for my babies, I think that would be extremely selfish of me at this age. But if I’m 76, 77, and I’ve lived the expectancy of a mortal human male, and all I want to do is drink or smoke, and my argument is, ‘Look, I’ve been doing this for f****** 60 years, and here I am.’ You know, if anything, it’s proven to me. You know what I mean? Good luck, and have at it.”
RVD also brought up his late friend Sabu while explaining why he doesn’t believe constantly confronting someone over their choices necessarily helps. His experience taught him that there can eventually be a point where repeatedly fighting with someone over addiction only pushes them away, leaving the people who care about them with a choice between constantly arguing or simply trying to be there for them.
“And I mean, I learned, you know, when it comes to addicts, through Sabu mostly. And it was like I could be a pain in his ass every time he wanted to, you know, kill his pain. I could be an asshole every single time to where it would separate us or he would hate me. Or after a while, I could just be a friend and just do my best to watch over him as much as he would let me, but also enjoy my time with him.”
The conversation comes after Flair suffered a bloody fall outside a Florida establishment on October 23 and spent the night at Tampa General Hospital. The situation raised even more concern because Flair had recently revealed that he was dealing with a serious blood clot in his leg.
Flair didn’t stay away from his usual lifestyle for long. He was back at the same establishment on October 24, the same day he was released from the hospital, and was later seen wearing an eye patch following the accident.
RVD isn’t pretending Flair’s choices are risk-free, and he openly acknowledged the pain those choices can cause the people who care about him. His argument is simply that at 77 years old, Flair understands what he’s doing, understands the possible consequences and may have decided that living life on his own terms matters more to him than changing everything now.
Do you agree with Rob Van Dam’s take that someone at Ric Flair’s age should be allowed to live life on their own terms despite the risks? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
