Ric Flair Reveals What Charlotte Asked When WWE Hired Eric Bischoff

Wrestling Inc's Raj Giri sat down with WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair on The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast where the two talked SummerSlam and other topics in Flair's illustrious career. Flair also gave a few family updates as well. In June, Flair's wife Wendy was battling COVID-19. Flair provided an update on his wife's health.

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"She's fine. She was really sick," Flair stated. "She got pneumonia, and she has a pre-existing condition as well and I'm not going to get into her if's and's or but's about that. She was very sick. Two trips to the hospital. Like I said, the anxiety of the pre-existing condition, which we won't discuss the name of, but she's back strong, and she's bossing me around."

Flair also discussed his daughter Charlotte and revealed a conversation he had with her regarding Eric Bischoff's hiring as SmackDown Executive Director. Ric and Bischoff had a long-standing beef for many years in WCW and WWE, and Flair revealed that Charlotte asked him if Bischoff would treat her the same way he treated her father.

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"So when Eric got hired by the WWE, and these are the kinds of things that really sit deep with me, my daughter called me, who is, arguably, the biggest female star in the history of business," Flair revealed. "She called me and said, 'dad, you think it's going to affect my career that he's come to work here?' My daughter, I hope she didn't remember those days that I had to go through, but it's the first thing that came to her mind. 'Is he going to treat me like he did you dad?' How about that?

"That's powerful, and that's where I get into that mode. I wasn't even sure she was aware of all that because she wasn't a day-to-day wrestling fan. That's where you get into that fine line between forgiving and forgetting. I never thought about it, but it wouldn't be unlike him. For some reason, he didn't like me. A thousand different ways tried to figure it out and like I said, I forgive, but you can't forget something like that."

Also in June, Charlotte was written off WWE so she could have surgery that will take her out for at least the rest of the year. Ric provided an update as to how Charlotte is recovering, and he talked about the rise of many in the women's division that will provide exciting feuds for Charlotte once she has taken the time to recover from her injuries.

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"She's fine, but this time she knows, and her personal physician and the company doctors have reinforced it, that she can't hurry the process," Flair said. "Otherwise, we're going to be right back. With the stuff that she does, the moonsaults and the way she lands and taking knees and everything, she's got to be a 100%. And she will be, but boy, I mean, I'm looking at the landscape now, and the other girls that have gotten the opportunity like Mandy [Rose] and Sonya [Deville] and Asuka [and] of course Sasha and Bayley. A number of them have gotten more opportunities, and Shayna is up and running now.

"I think she looks and says, 'my God, there's so many great great opportunities in terms of matches going forward.' So when she gets back, the roster will be will be thick. It'll be deep, and you could sit there right now and write down three matches that you'd want to see with her. I can write down five because I actually think about it. So she'll be fine just has to be patient and heal. The rotator cuffs, you got to let those heal. You gotta let the knees [heal], and I got to reminder her sometimes like Seth was off for a year. She's likely [not] out for a year. It's not the end. You'll come back."

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Ric's recent RAW appearances have sometimes been the highlight of the show. He was asked to speak on his current relationship with Vince McMahon, and he credited McMahon and Triple H for helping him through his personal issues. He revealed that McMahon Facetimed his wife Wendy while he was in a coma four times a week. Flair talked about what that meant to him and how much his relationship with McMahon means to him.

"Well, I don't know about stealing the show. My relationship with him has been the best it's been," Flair stated. "It's a whole different conversation if I tried to explain what he's done for me on an individual basis because basically, it's him and of course, Hunter has been there through all my problems with insecurity and lack of confidence. Stephanie, the little bit that that she knows about it because I don't talk a lot much with her as I have with Hunter, but Vince, with me he refuses to see anything but greatness. And he has reminded me several times in a very stern voice that I need to grow up. I needed to be the person that looked at wrestling as a job and not just fun.

"I used to have a hard time separating the two, the Ric Flair to Richard Fliehr, and he's reminded me of that. He's pulled me aside. I would just say that I can text him and tell him, 'hey, you're the greatest,' and he'll [say], 'thanks Ric.' I can I pretty much relay to him on how I feel about him, about things, and the thing that will make me upset now, but he Facetimed Wendy at least four times a week when I was in the hospital with Mark Cardona checking on me. I don't remember because I was in a coma really really sick, but he never left my side through the whole deal.

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"I think to myself sometimes, yeah, I know which is business, but as busy as he is and with all he has on his plate, he takes 20 or 30 minutes every day to check on me. Not knowing about it but hearing about it when I woke up and could finally comprehend what had gone on, I can't put into words what that meant to me. I'd say my relationship with him, on my behalf, my feeling towards him are very special."

Flair's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.

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