Ric Flair Still Doing Big Business Despite Controversy

Professional wrestling places its legends on a pedestal more so than perhaps any other major sport. Stories of wrestlers who were less than savory people but are still venerated by fans are very common. The Ultimate Warrior was able to rehabilitate his public image after making a series of offensive comments. Many others have been “cancelled” only to re-emerge more popular than ever. It appears that Ric Flair is above cancelling as well.

This year’s Dark Side of the Ring episode about “The Plane Ride from Hell” brought to late horrific accusations against several wrestlers that would get most people blackballed from any other industry. Tommy Dreamer nearly lost his entire career over the comments he made on the show. Even the legendary “Nature Boy” Ric Flair lost several endorsement deals and appeared to be done for.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that is hardly the case. Flair recently launched a new podcast that has been very successful. He’s also still bringing in big money for booking and working on new sponsorship deals.

“For a time it appeared that Ric Flair was done as far as marketing goes from the fallout of the Plane Ride from Hell show on Vice. He apparently was filming an energy drink commercial this past week and has been back doing autograph signings. One promoter who Flair canceled out of this past week noted that the advance orders for him were over $10,000 when he pulled out.”

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Flair appears to be the kind of wrestling legend who can get away with anything. He was accused of extremely inappropriate behavior by flight attendants who worked on the fateful plane trip. Many fans don’t seem to be holding that against him.

Ric Flair is still a draw. The huge public backlash he faced appears to be fading. Time will tell if he ever appears for a major promotion again, but fans are willing to pay big bucks to interact with The Nature Boy. If he has his way he might even wrestle one more match.

Do you think Ric Flair deserves a second chance? Let us know in the comments!