Wrestlers Who Can't Stand Ric Flair

Ric Flair may be a 16-time World Champion in professional wrestling, but he's also one of the most polarizing figures in the industry. This stems from his well-documented bad behavior involving a flight attendant on "the plane ride from hell" to backstage heat in companies from WCW to TNA. Flair has had a career spanning over 50 years, starting out in the American Wrestling Association in 1972 and finally retiring in a highly criticized retirement match in July 2022, where he actually suffered a heart attack he didn't know about.

The stylin', profilin', limousine-riding, jet-flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun has suffered from numerous health issues, like the heart attack, from his hard-living ways. Flair is a man known to like his alcohol, revealing earlier this year that he drank a staggering 20 drinks a day at the height of his career. Flair is a partner with Mike Tyson in the cannabis industry, and credits marijuana for helping him get off prescription sleep aids like Ambien and Xanax. He's even gone so far as to detail a "cannabis coma" he went through while getting high with Tyson back in 2017.

It's these hard-living ways, in addition to his attitude in WCW and WWE, that caused backstage heat. Flair has had many issues with other WWE Hall of Famers and wrestlers of the modern era, rubbing people the wrong way for years. With documentaries like "Who Killed WCW?" and "Dark Side of the Ring" revealing more about Flair's ways and the industry as a whole, fans are learning more about just the people who hated Flair behind-the-scenes in his heyday. Let's find out who they are.

Ric Flair was a well-respected talent by the time he jumped to WCW, but "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner was not one to call "The Nature Boy" a friend. Steiner and Flair fought in a World Title match in January 1991 – one that Steiner wasn't too proud of. He felt that Flair made him look bad on purpose, prompting Arn Anderson to comment on the heat between them. Flair brushed off the allegation when asked about it after Steiner started burying him in interviews.

In 2000, Steiner, then a bigger star in WCW, buried Flair in a promo live on TV. He started by berating Flair for how he looked at his age, then 52, and even went after his own company. Steiner said Flair stole the original "Nature Boy" Buddy Rodger's gimmick, and that his career was dead. Steiner called Flair a "jealous old b******" and a backstabber. He ended the promo by saying Flair and WCW "sucked." Steiner was suspended for two weeks after cutting the promo, though it was said Flair tried to get him fired.

Despite Flair seemingly not knowing why Steiner hates him, it doesn't appear like the two will ever bury the hatchet. "Big Poppa Pump" and his brother, Rick, were interviewed on a podcast before Flair's retirement bout in 2022, and Steiner once again went off on "The Nature Boy," saying that he would destroy him in a match.

Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff were bitter on-screen rivals during their time in WCW, and their ongoing heat goes back to 1998. It started when Bischoff, an executive for the promotion at the time, suspended Flair for missing a "WCW Thunder" event due to attending his son's amateur wrestling championship finals. Flair responded by considering jumping to WWE, but instead sued the company.

Both men later ended up in WWE and things had yet to cool off, despite Bischoff recalling hanging out with Flair and other stars for drinks on a few occasions. There was an incident backstage where Flair attacked Bischoff before an episode of "WWE Raw" in 2003. Bischoff explained he was on the phone with his wife and his attorney about closing on a piece of real estate, when the door flew open and Flair, Arn Anderson, and Jonathan Coachman came in. Flair threatened to pull Bischoff's eye out and hit him, albeit allegedly lightly, three times. Bischoff said he thought it was a joke at the time.

Following the docuseries release "Who Killed WCW?," Flair went on a tirade on Twitter (now known as X), going off on Bischoff. Flair wasn't invited to be on the series, and blamed Bischoff, Vince Russo, and Jim Herd for WCW's death. The pair continued to trade shots on social media, with Bischoff mostly plugging his podcasts. Flair apologized for his initial posts about the three men and the series, and he and Bischoff have seemingly patched things up.

Another wrestling old timer who isn't a big fan of Ric Flair is Dutch Mantell. He was critical of Flair's last match on a podcast, and also penned an open letter to Flair on his Facebook page. Mantell said it "was a bad showing" and "everybody damn near universally agreed it was an abortion." He also said that if you can't look good fighting Jeff Jarrett, who was on the opposing team of Flair and his son-in-law, Andrade, in the match, then the issue is you. The veteran wrestler chastised Flair for "faking a heart attack" in the match, before it was known Flair did suffer from one.

"But, of course, you said you'd been drinking, partying, had no sleep and you looked like hell. And that's being generous," Mantell continued. He also implied anyone could get in Flair shape with "just one bottle of liquor."

Flair didn't take too kindly to Mantell's criticism, responding by accusing him of being miserable. Flair implied Mantell wasn't a legend of the business and he never had a legacy to begin with. Mantell continued to troll Flair following the posts, and said he was upset Flair didn't tag him. Mantell said he would debate "The Nature Boy" any time, anywhere, and that 90% of fans agreed with his statement about Flair's final match.

Ric Flair and Bret Hart were rivals both in the ring and behind-the-scenes throughout their careers. Hart won his first WWE World Title in 1992 from Flair, but "The Hitman" felt like "The Nature Boy" gave a lackluster performance, and injured Hart's hand in the process. 

Hart, like many others at the time, criticized Flair for having routine matches, putting on the same bout over and over for fans on separate nights. Flair would fire back at Hart in interviews, as well as in his autobiography, "To Be The Man," published in 2004, and said Hart was never a successful draw. Their relationship only soured further when Flair became closer with Shawn Michaels and Triple H, one being Hart's archnemesis in the business since the Montreal Screwjob.

Flair and Hart have since buried the hatchet, and "The Nature Boy" said that he now considers them to be close friends. At one point throughout their reconciliation, old quotes of Hart's about Flair resurfaced, but he was quick to shoot them down and chock it up to his thoughts in the past. Flair responded on his own social media, and said things were water under the bridge.

Ric Flair and Vince Russo worked together in WCW, and "The Nature Boy" developed a distaste for the former executive due to his oftentimes questionable booking decisions. However, their feud was reignited after the release of "Who Killed WCW?" As previously mentioned, Flair wasn't contacted to be in the docuseries and was seemingly bitter about it, and fired shots at Eric Bischoff, Russo, and Jim Herd.

"There's No Individual Wrestler Or Faction That Caused Anything To Kill WCW. It Was The People In Charge That Created Dysfunction, Animosity, And Tried To Divide And Conquer By Lying To Everyone And Involving Themselves In The Promotion Which Was The Ultimate Failure!" Flair wrote on X. "God, I Could Give You A Thousand More Examples. I Am One To Live Through All Three Nightmares And To Be Saved By The @WWE! Thank You To The WWE For Bringing Someone Who Was Dead In The Water As A Result Of These Three People Back To Life!"

Russo fired back on Flair's initial post, and accused "The Nature Boy" of being drunk. He thanked Flair for giving him that much credit, sarcastically noting that he must have been a special writer to have had that much of an effect on a multi-million dollar promotion. 

Flair said he'd give the men $20,000 each to show up to a venue and hash things out. Russo finally replied that there were no hard feelings, and that he gave Flair's son, David, a push in WCW because he thought he deserved it. He wrote that he sincerely apologized for making Flair's life a living hell, and that he didn't realize that until his posts.

Mick Foley's relationship with Ric Flair is another great example of beef that's been squashed, but they did not like each other when they were both still wrestling. It seems to have started when Flair wrote in his autobiography that Foley was nothing but a "glorified stuntman" and had to do crazy things to get over in front of fans. Foley had also taken shots at Flair in his own autobiography, and said while "The Nature Boy" was a great worker, that didn't translate to his booking skills.

The bad blood came to a head during a backstage incident in 2004. Reports said at the time that Foley wanted Flair to sign something for a charity auction. Flair wanted to shake Foley's hand before he signed it, but the hardcore legend refused. That irritated Flair enough that he threw a punch, and the pair had to be separated.

The pair set aside their differences and worked a program together in 2006, and again in 2010 in TNA, where Foley emerged victorious. Following the in-ring programs, the pair made amends, as Foley was one of the legends in attendance at Flair's last match.

ECW legend, and nephew of "The Sheik" Ed Farhat, Sabu, is yet another wrestler who can't stand Ric Flair. The hardcore legend spoke on the "Wrestling Shoot Interviews" podcast back in 2022 and said that Flair wouldn't shake his hand on purpose backstage. 

Sabu said that Flair cut a promo at one point in his career in which he claimed he never liked Sabu and his uncle. This prompted Sabu to think, "Why the f*** you gotta say that for?" Sabu said The Sheik never really knew who Flair was, and would call him "the fat guy."

Sabu explained when he was in WCW, he'd always shake everyone's hands backstage, no matter if he liked them personally or not, per the original Sheik's teachings. He said that when he'd be a few guys away from Flair, he'd turn his back from him, so it wasn't so blatantly obvious. One day, Sabu said that he got to Flair, and he turned his back on him, blatantly this time, and he never attempted to shake his hand again. Sabu said on Wrestling Shoot Interviews that Flair is a "very jealous person" and even called him a "sex offender."

"The Franchise" Shane Douglas is no fan of Ric Flair's — at least not anymore. Douglas has explained that Flair was one of his heroes after he had watched him in the NWA. Once Douglas starting working in WCW, however, Flair brushed him off. 

Douglas said he let the guys he admired from the NWA know how much of an influence they were on him, and he asked Flair for feedback if he ever watched any of his matches. He said over the next few weeks, he got very general feedback from "The Nature Boy." Douglas said one night, he did not do a move he usually did in the ring on purpose, and went to Flair, who said the non-existent move was "perfect." This let Douglas know he wasn't ever watching, and he lost all respect for him.

Douglas went on to tear down Flair in segments on ECW, as well as in multiple shoot interviews. Flair most recently shot back at Douglas in 2022, saying that "The Franchise" can't get over him.

Bruno Sammartino is arguably the first legendary wrestler to become a household name, and one who left a mark on the industry with historic, years-long WWE Championship reigns. The pair would often work the same shows at Madison Square Garden when "The Nature Boy" was up-and-coming, but it was Flair making his lack of respect for Sammartino's in-ring abilities known in "To Be The Man" that was the catalyst for the feud. 

In the book, Flair said that he was unimpressed by Sammartino's performances and doubted his ability to draw audiences and revenue outside of his home territory. Sammartino acknowledged Flair's comments in an interview with RF Video. He lauded Flair for his hard work, but doubted his versatility as a performer. 

The pair found themselves backstage together at a WWE show and had an argument over who snubbed who first. The animosity continued to grow between them throughout the years, until they reconciled later in life, before Sammartino's passing in 2018. The pair set aside their issues and even appeared on an episode of "Table for 3" on the WWE Network alongside Randy Orton.

Legendary formeer "WWE SmackDown" general manger Teddy Long was reportedly not treated well behind-the-scenes by Ric Flair. Long has admitted that Flair didn't like him at all and the late Texan wrestler Gary Hart even gave him a knife to carry around in his pocket for that reason.

"I swear to God, I have no reason to lie," Long explained to "Wrestling Shoot Interviews." "He handed me a blade and told me that if Ric bothered me, I would have to slit his throat with that." Long said he never had to use the knife, but it's probably still somewhere in his house.

Long also said that Flair was openly racist toward him, even using the "n" word at some point while he was still officiating. The Hall of Famer told a story about a time where some girls were trying to get through the back door of an arena, and he didn't know who they were. They asked Long if they could come in, and then he heard Flair say the racial slur. The rivals often had heated arguments backstage, and Flair hated the idea of Long being a manager.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts never had a program with Ric Flair, only a few matches, and there aren't any public reports of them getting in to any sort of backstage spat. That said, Roberts has thrown shade at Flair throughout the years, notably when he and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase slammed Flair's working style while looking back on his career.

DiBiase said if you watch Flair work enough, it's almost like he has the same match every night. Roberts added that he took the same bumps and everything. The pair went on to dissect Flair's final match the year prior, and said they would have chosen to call it in the ring based off crowd reaction. Roberts also questioned Flair's second WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2012, as he was initially inducted in 2008 for his individual career, and then again in as a member of The Four Horsemen. 

Fortunately, it seems that the pair have buried the hatchet, Roberts wished Flair well when he signed with AEW and entered a storyline with the retiring Sting. Roberts said he was happy for "The Nature Boy," though he would give him a DDT if he could.