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Ric Flair Released from WWE Contract; Legend Reportedly Requested Exit from Company
Ric Flair is no longer with WWE, the company confirmed on Tuesday.
Flair also provided a statement after WWE announced his release:
Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc. and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported on Monday that Flair asked for and was granted his release, effective Monday. The Fightful report says Flair was "frustrated" with recent booking decisions at the company and directly contacted Vince McMahon expressing his desire to leave the company.
The 72-year-old legend signed a new contract with WWE last year. He had been making occasional appearances on WWE programming in recent years and was involved in a storyline with his daughter, Charlotte, and Lacey Evans that was abandoned ahead of WrestleMania due to Evans' pregnancy.
Both Charlotte and Ric Flair publicly admitted they were unhappy with the storyline. Ric said he was uncomfortable with the seeming romantic angle with Evans, who is more than 40 years his junior and married in real life.
“In this instance, I didn’t [feel comfortable],” Flair said on the Ariel Helwani MMA Show. “The one thing I’ve learned is you’re not going to win a war when someone’s got their mind made up. She most definitely didn’t like it, but the one thing that I can say about me is I always said yes. I didn’t want to be that guy that was always going ‘Oh, that isn’t perfect for me.’"
It's unclear if the Evans storyline was the impetus for Flair's departure, though that seems unlikely given he stayed with the company for months after it ended.
Flair has been making occasional appearances in WWE since his in-ring retirement in 2012.
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