Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff have always had a rocky relationship but Ric Flair will always respect Bischoff for reaching out to him during one of his greatest times of need.
Ric Flair has undoubtedly had one of the greatest wrestling careers in the history of the industry. However, behind the scenes, Ric Flair has had his fair share of personal tragedy.
One of Ric Flair's most difficult moments came in March of 2013 when his son, Reid Flair passed away.
Speaking with WrestlingInc, Ric Flair stated that while he and Eric Bischoff will never be best friends, he always appreciated that Eric Bischoff extended his condolences and reached out to Ric Flair following the passing.
“When my son died… I don’t think we’re ever going to be best friends, but when something like that happens, or when I get sick like I did or something that really upsets your life, those are the people that show up,” Ric noted. “I can remember driving across town about three days after he died. Eric called on the phone because I was crushed. I was absolutely devastated.
“I can remember the people that called and the people that didn’t. If they couldn’t come, they called or texted me. Those are the people that count, or likewise, when I was sick, you really find out who your friends are. It took me six months to return them all, but I had over 170 texts on my phone, and Wendy counted each one of them. You wake up and you don’t know where you are.
“That’s who you know who your friends are because there’s people that I was very close to that did not show up for his (Reid’s) funeral and did not text me. Simple as that but there are people that I spent a lot of time with and put a lot of faith in, and we’re very close. I didn’t hear a word from them, and those are the things that are more hurtful than anything I experienced in wrestling. It’s just a very personal feeling.”
On the flip side, Ric Flair says that none of the original Four Horsemen reached out to him and it is one of the reasons that he is no longer close with Arn Anderson, someone he once considered to be his best friend.
“That’s one of the reasons Arn and I aren’t close,” Flair revealed. “How do you not text? We don’t do anything anymore. We don’t talk. When it’s close to his (Reid’s) birthday, I get emotional. Like I said, one of the greatest. It’s got nothing to do with business. You just struggle with the people who you think will be there for you, and the people that you don’t think will be there are. Nothing’s bigger than the love of your children.
“I wasn’t just saying it about Arn. I didn’t hear a word from Tully, didn’t hear a word from Barry. I didn’t hear anything from Ole. He’s mad at the world. Arn just comes to mind because he was so close to the family. Then when I was sick, not a word. You spend 10 years being so close with these people, and you just wonder what really matters at the end of the day. It means nothing apparently.”
Despite this, Ric Flair says he is happy for all of their personal successes but he does not feel that a Four Horsemen reunion will happen again.
One of the original Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard, will be coming out of retirement on the March 3 episode of Dynamite. Learn more here.
