To be the man, you have to pay the man.
In a new interview with TMZ, Ric Flair goes off on WWE. Flair claims the company blew him off when he asked to be paid for use of the catchphrase ‘The Man’.
Used by Becky Lynch since 2018, Flair makes it clear he has no beef with The Irish Lass Kicker, but feels disrespected by WWE.
“I’m glad that I’m having this opportunity to clear the air. When I first saw this go down in August 2018, I thought, Cool, ‘The Man’, my gimmick versus my daughter. 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 since 1981. So I got my worded statement, I sent them 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, then 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.”
I told Hunter, ‘Hunter, I’m going to file.’ I mean, the reason they don’t have it, it’s my understanding is that it’s because it’s too close to mine.”
After explaining how he already owns the trademark and wrote a book including ‘The Man’ phrase as well as producing his own ‘The Man’ merchandise, Flair continued.
“It’s funny, my daughter is so mad at me because I filed, not even understanding that it’s not with Becky. I have no beef with Becky. But here’s the deal: when I almost died two years ago, one person, one person stayed by me the whole time for 31 days in ICU, 12 days while I was dying on a respirator, and I’m going to take care of her and her family, and my family that has taken care of me, no matter what. I don’t care what the WWE thinks of me personally; I know they love me, but obviously they have lost respect for me.”
Flair would end by saying he’s more than happy to let Becky Lynch have the phrase, as long as WWE pays him and his family.
Over weekend, reports surfaced of Flair filing for trademarks, with both Lynch and the 16-time world champion taking to social media with reactions.
Now that it’s out in the open, this is a very ugly situation between The Nature Boy and WWE. Hopefully it ends with Flair, Lynch, and the WWE all being happy with the outcome.
When it comes to using the phrase ‘The Man’, who is in the right here?