Ric Flair has claimed that one particular WWE Hall of Famer shouldn’t be included alongside the likes of himself, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.
The WWE Hall of Fame is a weird and wonderful place. The honour of ‘Hall of Famer’ has been bestowed on many of the great and the good of wrestling history, including those who hold a chequered with WWE. While there have been other inductions which have caused consternation among fans as they feel more deserving names are being ignored.
One of the most polarising names in the WWE Hall of Fame is the Ultimate Warrior. The face-painted star was one of WWE’s biggest attractions in the early 1990’s, but often found himself falling out with the company. He left under acrimonious circumstances in 1992 and 1996 and remained at odds with the company until his own induction in 2014.
Outside of the ring Warrior also drew criticism for comments he made regarding his views on homosexuality.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, To Be The Man, two-time WWE Hall of Fame Ric Flair explained that he believes Warrior shouldn’t have been inducted.
“I mean, here’s the deal, you hold up the company, then you sue them – which he [The Ultimate Warrior] did, and then you end up in the Hall of Fame… There’s a lot of people in the Hall of Fame that are there for – I can’t figure out any rhyme or reason why they would be other than political stuff is gone awry politically and they’re always wanting to heal damaged situations, which I admire them for.”
“But, it certainly doesn’t mean that someone needs to be in the Hall of Fame. To me that should be based on skill, ability and what you’ve done in the business,”
During his first run with the WWF in 1991, Flair wrestled Warrior on more than one occasion but the pair failed to create magic in the ring. Flair recalled Pat Patterson telling him one of their bouts was the worst championship match he had ever seen.
“We were in Winnipeg, Canada, I wrestled the Warrior and we came back. Pat Patterson said, ‘I have to tell you, that was the worst championship match I’ve ever seen.’ I said, ‘Pat, you don’t have to tell me. I was in it,’
Ric Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, before being inducted as a member of the Four Horsemen in 2012.
H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.