On the latest episode of his “WOOOOO! Nation” podcast, Ric Flair addressed the controversial angle at the conclusion of Monday’s RAW, with Paige telling Charlotte that her brother Reid didn’t have enough “fight in him” prior to his overdose death in 2013. Flair did not know anything about the angle in advance and says he cried when he heard about it.
“Here’s the problem. Obviously I have an opinion, but I’m afraid to voice it because I don’t want anything to affect Ashley’s career. I would just say that I know that Hunter and Stephanie and Michael Hayes have her back. I think…if anything I don’t think that she feels she’s comfortable enough to say ‘no’ to anything yet. She’s only been up there three months. It’s a pressure cooker and a tough spot to be in. Even though she’s the champion doesn’t mean that she goes ‘hey, this is what I wanna do or what I’m not gonna do.’”
“If you’re asked to do something, that’s pretty much the way things operate up there.” He added, “Everybody walks on pins and needles and just because you’re the champion doesn’t mean you have the right to say no and if somebody writes it down…one person approves everything. So I really don’t have an opinion.”
“I was very sensitive to it obviously because it’s a very sensitive issue and it’s very new. I know her mom is on fire. I’m not going out on a limb to say what I think.”
Flair said he thought the segment was intense and Charlotte cut a great promo, but he doesn’t think WWE fans would like Reid being referenced the way he was.
“It’s still new…it’s not even three years old. It’s something we deal with in the family on a daily basis.”
“I never heard a word about it. I started crying when I was watching it. Nobody called me and no one’s called me today. That would indicate that they just assume that it’s good. I don’t have an answer for that.”
Flair said he wouldn’t have felt any differently if WWE would have given him a heads up in advance. They tell you what to say and for the most part, you’ve gotta keep the show rolling. He noted that WWE writers have scripted things for him before that he disagreed with, but nothing like what happened on RAW.
Flair said that he knows that Charlotte is a team player and will do whatever is asked of her.
You can listen to Flair’s “WOOOOO! Nation” podcast at Play.it.
