Ric Flair didn’t play a significant role at WWE‘s Raw is 30 show, but it sounds like what happened backstage with Becky Lynch was significantly more important than what happened in front of fans. The Nature Boy was given the opportunity to introduce his daughter, current SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, to the Philadelphia crowd. He seemed to enjoy the usual “woo” calls during his introduction before making way for a segment involving Charlotte, Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, and Sonya Deville. Deville, who usually wrestles on the blue brand, ended up in a match with Belair, with Flair stepping aside since Raw isn’t her show. Despite not playing a bigger part in the segment, Ric Flair took care of plenty of business behind the scenes, according to him.
Speaking on the most recent episode of his To Be The Man podcast, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer opened up about approaching Becky Lynch and apologizing to her. “I walked up to her and said, ‘May I speak with you for a minute,’ and I said, ‘I’m sorry that this got to where it is.’ I went over and shook Seth Rollins’ hand, and I said, ‘I’m going to apologize to your wife.'” The need for an apology stemmed from Flair taking umbrage with Lynch for calling herself The Man. Ric explained what made him want to say sorry in the first place. “I saw [Seth Rollins and Becky] with their child, and I thought, ‘My God, this is going to be Ashley someday.’ It’s not worth it. I am not The Man anymore. The Man is who the people think it is, and basically, we’ve turned it over to social media to decide who The Man is.” Ashley, of course, is Charlotte Flair’s real first name. (h/t and thanks to Michael Schrute of wrestlingnews.co for the transcription.
The Man Will Be Different People To Different Generations Of WWE Fans
If Ric Flair is leaving it up to WWE fans to decide who The Man truly is, then the (needless) debate may never be settled. That’s because the character means different things to different people based on when they grew up or watched professional wrestling. Members of the audience who recall the territory days or Flair wrestling for WCW will likely always remember him as The Man. There’s a good reason for that too. He’s one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business, according to nearly anyone worth a darn, and is responsible for an unfathomable number of memories for countless wrestling fans.
Lynch’s rise to true super stardom coincided with the conception of The Man character, though. Becky standing in the audience, nose broken and bloodied after leading a SmackDown raid on Raw ahead of Survivor Series in 2018 is iconic. One-third Ric Flair, one-third Connor McGregor, and one-third Lynch, this version of Becky evolved into a WrestleMania main eventer. She’s become one of WWE’s most bankable stars and is arguably the most popular of the four horsewomen.
As such, the phrase The Man will likely always mean something different to younger fans. That doesn’t mean there isn’t enough respect to go around for both Flair and Lynch, however. It seems like Ric realized that at Raw is 30, and it’s fantastic to hear that he mended fences with Becky and Seth Rollins. Sometimes pro wrestling personalities get a little out of hand, but that doesn’t mean grudges have to remain forever. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are set to wrestle at WWE Royal Rumble this weekend, while Charlotte Flair awaits her next competitor on SmackDown.
Sources: To Be The Man/AdFreeShows.com, wrestlingnews.co