Ric Flair got his ‘a ** chewed’ by Vince McMahon ahead of famous Carlito rant as The Nature Boy opens up on self-confidence issues

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will return to our screens for “Legends Night” next month – and Legends aren’t much taller than him.

During a 40-year career, The Nature Boy is considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

The 71-year-old, whose last game was in 2011, was the first person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame twice, first as a solo artist and then for his work with The Four Horsemen.

From the outside, Flair has looked on top of the world, with plenty of reason to be, but in an exclusive interview with talkWRESTLING, the icon reveals he has struggled with self-confidence issues for decades.

“I wasn’t even ready,” he says. “They kept putting me in these situations. It wasn’t to embarrass me, but he didn’t want me to be less than I could be.

“I had so many self-confidence issues back then, I could give you 100 examples. Once you lose it, especially when you get older, it is so hard to bring it back.

“If it was a no-pressure situation I had no problem, but if it was a main event – I put so much pressure on myself that the confidence issues started.

“You listen to me talk and you think, ‘How could that be possible for Ric Flair?’

“Well, it was hard for me. When it was over it was so rewarding, I say thank you to everyone and then I walk away and wonder why I can’t be just me.

“I just couldn’t spin the mental wheels as fast as my body.”

One of the fan favorite Flair moments was this confrontation with Carlito in 2007, when The Nature Boy has just enlightened him.

Looking back, Flair reveals that none of this was scripted and that it just came from the back of a massive thrill from WWE Chief Vince McMahon.

“What happened was I just got my ass chewed by Vince McMahon, literally ten minutes before that,” Flair added.

“Vince chewed my ass and told me I had to lead by example, not to worry about what I was doing, that if he was worried he would take care of me.”

“But he had just exhausted my ass. I went back to the locker room and Bruce Prichard was there and he said, “We need you to do this promo.”

“I said, ‘No problem!’ That’s the truth, there was no script. And I gave him everything Vince gave me and more!

Carlito got into an attack, but Flair said Carribean Cool resisted the urge to say anything after the cameras were triggered.
“He said nothing! He didn’t want to tell me, his dad and I are best friends!

Flair is now on his self-confidence issues and reflects on his career with a sense of humility, having found happiness as a family man.

He continued, “I was average at best, but if you think it was great, I can live with that. I didn’t think it was great, the emotion was at a very high level because it was real.

“All the things that I went through, where I was so demoralized, I’m done with it all now and I couldn’t be happier.

“I’m just happy, married to a beautiful woman who supports me through everything, my life couldn’t be better.”

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