Update On Ric Flair's Status With WWE
Even with legal issues between WWE and Ric Flair, "The Nature Boy" may be back for WWE-related programming. According to PWInsider, Flair and his daughter Charlotte are being advertised for a Q&A with Crickett Wireless, a WWE sponsor, prior to Smackdown Live this week in Atlanta, Georgia. The Q&A will be streaming live on Crickett's Facebook page and other media platforms around 12 p.m. ET.
The report also states that Flair is advertised for that Tuesday's SmackDown taping. This comes after his decision to trademark "The Man", currently used by Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch.
Flair recently spoke to TMZ regarding the filing of the trademark and why he decided to lawyer up against WWE.
"I'm glad that I'm having this opportunity to clear the air. When I first saw this ['The Man' Becky Lynch] thing go down in August 2018, I thought, 'Cool, 'The Man' – my gimmick – versus my daughter, Charlotte.' Okay, that's the day it started, right after SummerSlam. I thought, cool. I said, 'I'm going to make some money; it's my trademark and they have it to use.' I've been saying it's [been mine] since 1981," Ric explained. "So I got my worded statement, I sent [WWE's lawyer] a text and the lawyer, who just has no respect for me whatsoever which is something I'm not going to deal with much longer, he said, 'You're wrong. It's not even close.' I said, 'It's not even close?' So, boom, I sent him another text, he didn't respond. So I had my lawyer call him and he blew off my lawyer. This is all in 2018 or in January of '19."
Ric working with his daughter Charlotte will be interesting considering how upset she has been by the situation. He has repeatedly stated he is looking to "reclaim" the name for his families sake.
Becky did eventually catch wind of Ric's trademark filing, and she commented on Twitter, "I am The Man." Flair has since responded, tweeting out, "To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat THE MAN! #AlreadyTrademarked."
The 16x World Champion was last seen on WWE at the RAW Reunion in August. He is currently being advertised for the 10/4 SmackDown debut on FOX, taking place in Los Angeles.