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.
– Featured above is the latest edition of WWE’s “This Week In WWE History” YouTube show. This week, hosts Corey Graves and Kyle Edwards look back at the episode of WWE SmackDown in 1999 where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Triple H had their big altercation.
– At the WWE live event in Brighton, England on Wednesday, Hulk Hogan fans were reportedly handing out flyers outside of the arena for Hogan’s upcoming one-man show in Sheffield, England on November 14th.
– For the first time since his podcast debuted back in May, WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has no guest on his latest show. Instead, the show is called “Ask Naitch!,” and like it suggests, the show features Flair answering questions submitted from fans. You can download Ric Flair’s latest “Woooo! Nation” podcast at Play.it.
Ric Flair shared some details on his upcoming ESPN 30 For 30 special on a recent episode of his WOOOOO! Nation podcast. ESPN will be following Flair around at Survivor Series later this month to speak with other WWE wrestlers about Flair’s career. Here’s what Flair had to say:
“Well, it’s my whole life. It [has] a little bit to do with my airplane crash, of course, and then coming back from that. And then the titles and the championships and it touches a lot on my personal life, which has been up and down. Right now, it’s perfect, but I had a couple rough years there. And it talks about my son, Reid. [ESPN] wanted to talk about him, how special he was to me. And then, a lot about Ashley, Charlotte, who is now the champion in WWE, the Divas division. And about my other two children, Megan and David. So, it was very nice. And then, it talked about where I am today”.
Flair also explained that getting WWE to agree that ESPN could use their video footage was no easy task. The WWE Hall of Famer said the process took over a year and a half.
“The WWE is very, very protective of their intellectual property,” Flair claimed. “[The project] is mutually beneficial for all of us, but it just took a while to get everybody on the same page and to work on it diligently for, I guess, it has been a year and a half now. And all of a sudden, it’s coming to fruition.”
“We shot the first six hours, and we’ll shoot another six or seven hours, which [WOOOOO! Nation co-host, Conrad Thompson] will be a part of, at [WWE] Survivor Series. And then, there will be another six-hour shoot. And then, of course, all of the stuff [ESPN] will pull from the library in Stamford, Connecticut with the WWE to put together the whole film. So it’ll be exciting!”
– ESPN is said to be happy thus far with the viewership numbers they have been getting for the Tuesday night at 9pm SportsCenter on ESPN News, which has recently included the WWE interview. The numbers are actually up compared to what the hour had been doing before the addition of the WWE segment.
– Speaking of ESPN, WWE and Vince McMahon have signed off on allowing ESPN to use archival footage of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair for the upcoming 30 For 30 special they are working on. The special is scheduled to cover Flair’s entire career, including the plane crash, his personal life, financial issues and his son’s death. Flair was interviewed for the special this past week for four hours.
An ESPN camera crew will be following Ric Flair backstage at WWE Survivor Series later this month. As previously reported, ESPN has begun work on a 30 For 30 special on the 16-time World Champion. In addition to Flair, they’ll be getting footage of active WWE wrestlers discussing The Nature Boy’s accomplishments in the wrestling business.
According to Ric Flair’s agent, ESPN began shooting for the documentary project last week.
ESPN has done 30 For 30 specials on NXT, The Von Erichs, Scott Hall, WWE, Vince McMahon, and many other wrestling personalities. As of press time, there’s no word on when Flair’s episode will air.
Survivor Series 2015 will take place on November 22 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte recently spoke with The Reno Gazette-Journal to promote her Wizard World Reno appearance on November 20th. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the shadow and legacy of her dad Ric Flair: “If I didn’t acknowledge the fact that my father is Ric Flair, people will ask why. If I do, well, either way someone is going be negative because of what my dad has meant to the industry, and I take that (legacy) very seriously.”
“I feel the pressure to continue to get better to fulfill my own legacy but also continue my dad’s. I want to make an impact in the industry like my father did but in my own way, whether it be refining the (Divas) division or reinventing a major pay per view.”
On her Figure Eight submission: “My coach Sarah (Del Rey) and a couple other people in the ring were like, ‘Oh, you can bridge out of that, that’s cool!’ Then (NXT wrestler) Simon Gotch said, ‘You should call it the Figure 8 because it’s twice as good as your dad’s.'”
– WWE posted a new preview for the latest edition of “Culture Shock” that features Corey Graves visiting the New York Comic Con. You can check out the video preview above.
– The booking agency that represents WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair announced via social media that he will be featured in an upcoming ESPN “30 For 30” special. They wrote the following on their official Facebook page:
“We named this company Legacy Talent because it’s our mission to help preserve the legacies that our clients have worked a lifetime to build. Yesterday we took a huge step in documenting Ric Flair’s legacy by starting to shoot his 30 for 30 ESPN Film. We are honored to work with such a prestigious group on a project we are so passionate about! ?#?Flair30for30? ?#?ComingSoon?”
– The Thursday, October 29th Halloween edition of WWE SmackDown drew 2.171 million viewers, down from the previous week’s 2.204 million viewers.
– On this week’s edition of NXT TV it was announced that on next Wednesday’s show on the WWE Network, Samoa Joe and Tyler Breeze will compete against each other in one-on-one competition.
– WWE Divas Champion Charlotte was recently given a Rolex watch to match the pair of watches that both Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels have. Charlotte wrote the following about receiving the watch on Instagram, along with the photo below.
“Family Tradition: When Shawn Michaels wrestled my Dad at WrestleMania 24 he surprised him after with a matching Rolex….. It was his “Retirement” match & Hall of Fame Induction weekend. My Dad says this match was a highlight & one of the most special moments in his career…. HBK said he grew up idolizing him…. Last night, I was given a matching one ?? to carry on the tradition. By no means is my career ending anytime soon but to carry on the tradition in our family for my first WWE Divas Championship!”
Tyler Breeze and Erick Rowan were spotted by fans arriving at the Dallas airport last night. There’s no word yet if they’ll be appearing on camera, but they’ll both be at least backstage at Raw tonight.
We reported earlier today that Breeze is expected to be brought up to the main roster this week, so tonight could be the night. Rowan has been on the injured list since June with a torn bicep.
We’ll have coverage of tonight’s Raw on SEScoops.com and on our iOS app.
Ric Flair and The Undertaker, who are both advertised to appear on the show, were also spotted at the Dallas airport:
– A fan received a response via Twitter from Dolph Ziggler after he questioned the WWE Superstar on his reasoning for using a weapon during his title match with WWE United States Champion John Cena. Ziggler used a rake to the eye of Cena during the match, trying to win the match at any cost:
– Tonight’s new episode of WWE Rivalries, which premieres on the WWE Network live stream at 5pm EST., features a detailed look at the legendary Flair-Steamboat rivalry, one that is widely considered among the best of all-time. Below is a preview of the show.
– For whatever reason, WWE has pulled the NXT Takeover: Respect “Fallout” video from their official YouTube channel. The video featured Bayley and Sasha Banks reacting to their 30-minute “Iron Woman Match” on the show.
– The next episode of WWE Rivalries will premiere on the WWE Network on Tuesday at 5pm and will look at the legendary Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat rivalry. The official preview reads as follows:
“Opposite personalities with equal in-ring talent, Flair and Steamboat would battle in some of the greatest matches in history.”
– It appears as though former on-air RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis is the agent in charge of WWE’s current tour of Saudi Arabia. Below is a tweet that Laurinaitis posted during the event.
When Hulk Hogan appeared on Ric Flair’s “WOOOOO! Nation” podcast, The Hulkster spoke candidly about his current WWE Hall of Fame status.
You can listen to the full podcast here.
When Hogan was asked to name his most prized possessions in his career, he says the WWE Hall of Fame ring as being the most important to him. He also mentions several championship belts including the belt he used for the filming of Rocky 3.
“That Hall of Fame ring is my life,” Hogan said. “It’s just so sad that I’ve been taken out of the Hall of Fame and I don’t have a presence anymore in the wrestling business. But I’m going to cherish that Hall of Fame ring.”
Hulk Hogan was recently interviewed by “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair for Ric’s WOOOOO! Nation podcast. The two Hall of Famers discussed their time in both WWE and TNA. You can stream or download the podcast here.
Hogan reiterated his stance on WWE firing him over his leaked racist rant, saying they did what they had to do. He said the loyalty of the fans is something that WWE can’t take away from him and he won’t take for granted. He has nothing bad to say about Vince or WWE, and says he knows he created some great memories there.
The two ring icons also got into the subject of TNA, where they both worked at the same time. Hogan was a member of the creative team during their runs in the company, and recalled the time he convinced Ric to take a clothesline from him while Ric was rolling down the ramp in a wheelchair. Flair was glad the crowd popped huge for the clothesline, because he says it’s hard to make the old Impact Zone pop as there are a lot of non-wrestling fans in attendance.
Dixie Carter is another person Hulk says he has nothing bad to say about, because she supported him through some tough surgeries. He did concede that being in TNA was a “tough gig.”
Flair put over James Storm and Bobby Roode as great talents. Flair also said that the decline for the company is due to “inconsistent booking” and having, “too many cooks in the kitchen.”
The Nature Boy revealed that TNA had him and Hulk delivered to and from the arena each night, and that most of their time in Orlando was spent at the hotel bar across the street.
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte recently talked to Busted Open Radio about her life in wrestling and being the Divas champ. Here are the highlights.
Charlotte on being Ric Flair’s daughter in the wrestling business:
I’m going to be honest – mixed blessing. First of all, having my dad there, following in his footsteps, winning the Divas Championship, him saying that this was probably the biggest thing that’s ever happened in his wrestling career knowing everything that he’s accomplished, knowing what we’ve been through as a family the last three years and winning – oh, I’m getting teary-eyed now. So it was a really big deal for us as a family and a huge moment for me that I will absolutely never forget. But I think too, it’s hard – mixed blessing, when I say that – is just because it’s like, dang, my Dad’s always around. So you kind of feel that, you feel the whole ‘Ric Flair’s daughter’ thing a lot. That’s what I mean by a mixed blessing. But in terms of ‘Seriously, I wish someone would pinch me and be like is this real?’ because I seriously can remember my first day in Tampa at FCW and when I stepped in the ring with Norman Smiley, I was legitimately shaking. I was so nervous. I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest. So I was like, ‘Oh my god, what did I decide to do?’ and then being Divas Champion three years later, I’m so blessed.
On being part of the NXT movement:
Honestly, it’s – I don’t know. I want to say destiny because, honestly, I never grew up wanting to be a wrestler. Watching both my brothers struggle in the wrestling business, being Flair’s kid. It wasn’t something that I ever was like, ‘I want to be the next Trish Stratus or I want to be the next Lita’. Triple H started NXT and then me being a part of it and then being there. A couple months later, Sasha [Banks] comes in and then Bayley comes in and then Becky Lynch and then the Four Horsewomen. It’s just something that must’ve been part of my plan, my bigger picture, but being able to see the growth of NXT and being able to look back in ten years and say, yeah, I was a part of – Paige was the first, I was the second, and then debuting and being on the first live event outside of Florida. Then, being on – I didn’t necessarily wrestle on that first special where it was Paige and Emma. But I had a backstage segment leading up to – I was going to feud with Paige, but then she became dual champion and then vacating the NXT title. I’m honored to be a part of that process and to watch it. Actually, I told someone the other day, I’m kind of jealous that NXT gets to go overseas and I’m not on NXT anymore. But being the Divas Champion, nothing tops that. I am beyond proud of what NXT has accomplished. It’s amazing.
Being the Divas Champion:
It’s been two weeks now since the pay-per-view. I’m actually looking forward to all of the duties because I want to empower women. I want and I know, collectively, all the girls want to say we’re just not Divas. We are athletic, strong, intelligent athletes. Yeah, we’re Divas, but we’re also WWE Superstars and that we have the capability to main-event just like Sasha and Bayley are in NXT this week. They deserve to main-event. That will be a match of the year candidate. To be able to be on the main roster now as Divas Champion, I know when I was in NXT watching us slowly – Sasha and I Main Evented Philly, then them Main Eventing a special, me being Divas Champion up here. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that I have lofty goals and that I just want to open the doors for women in terms of Main Eventing on a bigger scale, the main roster, and what we’ve been able to do at NXT and gain the respect like we did at NXT on the main roster.
Busted Open airs Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 2-4PM EST on Sirius XM Channel 93 and on the SiriusXM App.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently commented on widely-spread reports of him possibly boycotting Wrestlemania 32 if Michael Hayes wasn’t inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Hayes was recently on Ric Flair’s WOOOOO! Nation podcast, and Flair said that Austin had told him would not attend Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas if Hayes didn’t go in this year.
Austin addressed the issue with this tweet, saying it was a misquote, in not so many words:
The reports of me boycotting #WM32 are once again, pure bullshit. The End.
On a recent edition of Ric Flair’s podcast with Michael “PS” Hayes, Flair had this to say about Steve Austin potentially boycotting WrestleMania 32 if Hayes is not inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that weekend:
“If he’s [Hayes] not inducted this year into the Hall of Fame, as a single, which he should have been in 2011 [at WrestleMania 27 from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta], but in Dallas [Texas], with so much that be brought to the Von Erich family with the Freebirds, Steve Austin quoted, I’m quoting Steve Austin, will not attend WrestleMania.”
Hayes is rumored to be inducted in to the Hall of Fame as a member of The Freebirds during WrestleMania 32 weekend. WM 32 takes place April 3rd, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX.
– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be heading overseas for the upcoming European tour in early November. According to Digital Spy, Flair will serve as General Manager for the shows. As noted earlier, Daniel Bryan will also be part of the tour while John Cena is no longer scheduled to appear.
– Earlier this week, WWE announced that SummerSlam will be returning to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2016 and 2017. Prior to striking a deal with the venue, WWE was also considering holding next year’s SummerSlam at the Staples Center in Los Angeles or the new MGM Arena in Las Vegas.
– Here are this week’s SmackDown Fallout videos featuring The Dudley Boyz hyping their match with New Day at MSG this Saturday night and Ryback telling Keivn Owens he won’t be IC Champion for long.
– Diamond Dallas Page is the special guest on the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Chris Jericho reviews Sunday’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which he was a part of, and interviews the Insane Clown Possee (I.C.P.) on the latest edition of his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which is also available at PodcastOne.com.
– Finally, part two of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair’s interview with former WCW executive producer Eric Bischoff is now available on the latest edition of Flair’s “Wooo Nation” podcast. You can download that one at Play.it.
In addition to former NXT World Champion Kevin Owens defeating Ryback to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion, former NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella to become the new WWE Divas Champion, ending Bella’s 301-day record-setting reign as champion.
Charlotte’s father, WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair joined Paige and Becky Lynch in the ring to celebrate the victory, as both Charlotte and Flair had tears in their eyes during what was a very emotional moment for the Flair family.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair recently appeared on WrestleZone Daily and stated once again that he’d love the chance to get back in the ring and he’s ready to go at a moment’s notice. Flair said:
“If I wanted to wrestle I can wrestle. If they wanted me to get slammed off the top rope by Sting next week, I can do it. I’m ready to go.“
The Nature Boy also talked about his longtime rival Sting finally making it to the big time in WWE. Flair called Sting the nicest guy in the world and talks about Sting joining the WWE Hall of Fame when his current run is up.
“I love Sting, he’s a great guy. He’s a wonderful person and a big part of my life. I’m not surprised he’s in the WWE. I encouraged him to go years ago. He deserves it for all his hard work. Let me tell you something, there is not a nicer person in the world than Sting. Steve Borden is the nicest kid in the world. Whatever he is getting he deserves. You know, everybody, kinda like me, you don’t want to make the move, you’re in a good place, making money… but there is nothing like working for the WWE. He wants to have a couple more matches and be in the Hall of Fame, which he deserves. He’s a great kid, a great father and just a wonderful person.”
– WWE talent, including those who are from previous eras and are no longer wrestling but are still affiliated with company through Legends deals or other ways, were told to not have any contact with Hulk Hogan.
There are those who have talked about the situation as a double standard, as WWE has immortalized Ultimate Warrior now, cleaned up his past, given him a statue, all the while the feeling is he said things as bad, if not worse and was public with his comments as opposed to private.
– Former WCW president Eric Bischoff is the guest on the latest edition of Ric Flair’s “Woo Nation” podcast. As Bischoff and Flair have been involved in lawsuits and heated battles over the years, part one of Flair’s two-part conversation with Bischoff should be a fun episode for fans. You can download the show at Play.it.
On Monday’s RAW, Charlotte had the rug pulled out from under her after her Divas Championship win was reversed by Stephanie McMahon, who broke the news that Charlotte had actually pinned Brie, not Nikki. Stephanie announced that this Sunday at Night of Champions, Nikki will defend her title against Charlotte once again – and the title can change hands if Nikki is disqualified or counted out.
Ric Flair tweeted out the following about the finish of the match and the Divas title match set for this Sunday:
WWE is pulling out a lot more stops than usual for their upcoming tour of Mexico, which has shows on October 16th in Merida, October 17th at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City and October 19th at Arena Monterrey.
WWE is building the tour around the fact that The Undertaker is working all three events, billing it as Undertaker’s return to Mexico after five years.
Additionally, WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair will be working the shows as the guest General Manager, and part-time WWE performer Chris Jericho is scheduled as well.
The reason they are building the shows up so strong is partially due to concerns of insinuations of racism against Mexicans related to the departure of Alberto Del Rio, as well as no longer having Rey Mysterio on the roster.
– Former WWE star Mantaur will be bringing back that gimmick for only the second time since leaving WWE nearly 20 years ago. His first match was in 2013 against Tito Santana for the Pro Wrestling Syndicate promotion. His second post-WWE match will take place at St. Patrick’s CYO Sports in Brooklyn, New York, also for the PWS promotion, on Saturday, September 12th. For ticket information, visit ProWrestlingSyndicate.com.
– Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts will be the guest on the next edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which drops on Tuesday evening, September 8th at PodcastOne.com.
– Former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo is the guest on the latest edition of Ric Flair’s “WOOOOO! Nation” podcast, which you can download right now at Play.it.
– WWE taped the following matches on Tuesday night in Miami, Florida for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
* The Dudleyz vs. The Prime Time Players
* Stardust vs. Neville
* Sheamus vs. Cesaro
* Bo Dallas vs. R-Truth
* Charlotte vs. Tamina Snuka
* Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Big E and Kofi Kingston