Ric Flair: Everybody That Likes Wrestling Should Be Thanking Vince McMahon

During the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, wrestling fans acknowledged Vince McMahon by chanting “Thank you, Vince” during Stephanie McMahon’s Hall of Fame speech after she thanked her father.

Vince resigned from his position with WWE and TKO in January 2024 after a lawsuit was filed against him by former employee Janel Grant, who accused Vince of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Ric Flair was asked about the fans thanking Vince.

“They should. They should all be saying, ‘Thank you, Vince.’ Everybody. Everybody in the world that likes wrestling should be thanking Vince McMahon,” said Flair.

Asked if he still speaks with Vince, Flair replied, “I have not. I feel like, there is so much going on that I would be wasting his time. He knows how I feel about him. He lent me 800 grand, and unlike what people portray, it was not for the IRS. It was to help me get through three divorces at the same time. They hate hearing this, but I paid him back every dime. When he called me he said, ‘I can write this off.’ I paid him back because I didn’t want to let him down. They used that against me. Do you know how hard it is to pay income tax on 800 grand? It took me five years to get out of that hole, all because I paid him back. Took my WrestleMania check, gave it to me, I signed it, gave it back to him. I said, ‘I told you I’d pay you back. I’m paying you back.'”

Flair confirmed that he gave his WrestleMania 24 check back to Vince.

Elsewhere during the interview, Flair claimed he wasn’t invited to WrestleMania 42 because he threatened to fight Ludwig Kaiser before WrestleMania 41. You can find his full comments here.

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