Ric Flair On WCW Wanting To Repackage Him, Turning Down WWE In 1988

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair caught up with Chris Jericho for an episode of Talk is Jericho. The two sat down with each other during Chris Jericho’s Rock’ N’ Rager At Sea: Part Deux cruise. One of the topics that were broached during their conversation was Flair’s decision to leave WCW for the the-WWF in 1991. 

Flair shared how WCW had plans in place to repackage him. This gimmick change would have included a hair cut and a name change to ‘Spartacus’, an idea he attributed to Jim Herd.

“He wanted me to… the worst thing I ever did was cut my hair. Like, I remember walking through the airport. Nobody knew me,” Flair divulged. “I mean, I was frightened because he wanted to call me ‘Spartacus’. They wanted me to change my name and put in an earring. You know that story, Chris. They wanted to call me ‘Spartacus’. You saw that haircut. What other explanation could there be? I looked like a 12 year old kid with a surfboard shoved up my butt. It was that bad.”

Ric Flair On Turning Down WWE In 1988

Ric Flair also talked about turning down the chance to compete against the late ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage at SummerSlam 1988. He shared how WWE wanted him to come in for the match, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave his friends, including Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and Arn Anderson. They were “selling out everywhere” and Flair couldn’t have been happier, so had no real interest in dropping that to wrestle Savage.

“I just had a deposit on the belt and I was with Arn [Anderson] and Tully [Blanchard] and Barry [Windham] and we were selling out everywhere and I was happy. It was never about not going up there [to WWE] and having fun,” he said. “A lot of guys that I was friends with were there. I just couldn’t bring myself to leave that circle of friends that I was with.”

He continued, “And then, we had talks again and that didn’t do anything, so when I quit, I just called them and I said, ‘I’m here and by the way, I’ve got the belt.’ I tried to give it back. [WCW] said they wouldn’t take it. That’s the truth. I said, ‘take it’ and he said, ‘shove it up your ass.’”

H/T to Talk is Jericho for the transcription.