FormerWWEWorld Champion Ric Flair has been keeping busy in his retirement, allegedly making a tidy sum on the video-sharing website Cameo due to high demand for his personalized services by fans. This news comes after the legend had what is supposed to be his final ever match in July of 2022.
Making his professional wrestling debut for the American Wrestling Association in 1972, Flair spent the majority of his life since building the most storied and impressive professional wrestling career ever, spanning decades and playing a role in everything from the fall of the territories to the attitude era and even the more recent ruthless aggression period. Despite his advancing age, Flair maintained his awesome aura long enough to be retired from in-ring work by the legendary Shawn Michaels atWWE’s 2008 PPVWrestleMania 24.In the time since, no one has come close to matching any of his achievements, with the possible exception of John Cena, who has unfailinglyreturned to the WWEdespite a slew of other engagements.
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While his first retirement didn’t stick, with stints in TNA and independent promotions leading toanother retirement match at a PPV honoring him, Flair seems to have finally settled into hanging up his boots and looking to other things to occupy him. The living legend seems to have taken a particular interest in the video-sharing service Cameo, which lets fans request custom-made videos from celebrities of all stripes. He’s been so active that reports fromOutkicksuggest that he’s made somewhere in the neighborhood of $700,000 from the service, charging $500 for custom-made videos that last 2 minutes or less. These numbers make it clear that the fans are still very much enamored with the legendary star.
Despite this, when asked about a possible return to the WWE, Flair replied that WWE execs likely didn’t want him back “because I’m too good at what I do. Even at my age. Trust me, and I’m not talking about being a producer or a writer. I’m talking about if they give me a microphone and let me have at it, you tell me.” The wrestling audience has historically resented older, well-established stars outshining the current crop of talent, lending credence to Flair’s claims that the WWE, whichreleased Flair from his contract in 2021after his prior one-year contract extension ran out, might be hesitant to bring such a larger-than-life personality.
While Ric Flair is certainly comfortable in his retirement and has earned a break more so than anyone else in the industry, fans clearly still miss him. This makes the lack of his inclusion in the latestWWEvideo gameWWE2K23all the more painful, especially in light of the fact that he’s been in almost every game in the 2K series andWWE2K23 specifically boasting a whopping 178 confirmed characters on its roster.
