As we've seen in the past, Ric Flair is a company guy. Even when it came down to WWE scripting lines which painted a less-than-flattering picture of his deceased son, the Nature Boy supported the decision (eventually).
So it's not surprising that he'd publicly state TNA is done as far as having a chance to really compete with WWE. I mean, for one thing, he's right. And for another, Flair at least openly discusses Dixie Carter's promotion, where he worked from 2010-12, which is more than Vince McMahon, Triple H or their announcers will do when discussing performers who used to wrestle on Impact.
But it has to burn a little, especially for talents he worked with on Impact like Bobby Roode, James Storm or Eric Young, to hear his take on TNA from the Feb. 19 edition of his WOOOO! Nation podcast:
They've had their opportunity. It's not going to be there again, in my opinion.
Sting is gone. Kurt Angle is gone. AJ Styles is gone. I mean, I'm not by any means demeaning the talent that's there, but I don't even know who's there anymore.
Naitch and his guest Bruce Prichard go on to explain the huge financial investment anyone would need to make to compete with WWE in 2016, and make a pretty good case that even Vince McMahon's fellow billionaires couldn't do it.
It still has to sting (no pun intended) a little for the personnel still on Dixie's payroll to hear a Legend like Flair assess their promotion this way.
Thoughts, Cagesiders?