WWE has announced that Ric Flair has been released in a blunt statement.
The company has officially ended its contract with the legendary Nature Boy wishing the departing star ‘the best in all his future endeavours.
On WWE.com, Vince McMahon’s wrestling juggernaut said: ‘We have come to terms on the release of Ric Flair as of today, 8/03/2021.’
By way of example, Bray Wyatt’s statement over the weekend read: ‘WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt. We wish him the best in all his future endeavours.’
There’s no official information on the details surrounding the exit, however, it had already been reported earlier last week.
And according to Fightful Select, sources claim Flair was frustrated with certain creative decisions by WWE, which he voiced directly to Vince while asking for his release.
Although his issues are believed to have been about recent booking decisions, he was recently seen on-screen with Charlotte and her then-rival Lacey Evans.
The 16-time world champion discussed openly his disdain for that particular storyline when it was massively implied he was romantically involved with Evans before the Sassy Southern Bell announced her real-life pregnancy.
He previously said: ‘In this instance, I didn’t [feel comfortable]. The one thing I’ve learned is you’re not going to win a war when someone’s got their mind made up.
‘She most definitely didn’t like it, but the one thing that I can say about me is I always said yes. I didn’t want to be that guy that was always going, “Oh, that isn’t perfect for me.”
‘When that was all over, I was mad but now I just look back and say it wasn’t it. This was something that when I got to TV, [Vince] McMahon wasn’t there to argue the point with and he had stuff going on, I don’t like to put the pressure on someone if I can’t talk to him.’
The Nature Boy is one of the favourite fan names in wrestling history, he was a legend of both NWA and WCW before jumping to WWE twenty years ago in 2001, including a fantastic run with Randy Orton Triple H and Batista in Evolution.
He ended his career after an all-time classic clash with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, although he spent time in TNA Wrestling after and hadn’t made a return to the ring.
Now, Flair’s career with WWE appears to be closed, and AEW would seem like a perfect fit for him at the moment.
