Ric Flair is widely regarded as one of the great professional wrestlers of all time, but his style wasn’t for everyone.
Although Flair still enjoys a lofty reputation for his in-ring work to this very day, there are critics who believe his matches were too formulaic. The veteran was known to rely on a number of tried and tested spots and rarely deviated from these as his career progressed.
During an appearance on Jake Roberts’ Snake Pit podcast, fellow Hall of Famer, Ted DiBiase gave his thoughts on Flair’s in-ring skills. DiBiase said that while he’s not using it as a point to criticise the 16-time World Champion, he felt he had the same match every night, something Roberts agreed with.
“I’m not knocking Ric at all,” DiBiase started. “But, a lot of times, if you watch Ric Flair work enough, it’s almost like he has the same match every night.”
The pair said that this style wasn’t something that they favoured during their own careers, instead preferring to call the action in the ring and work off the reaction of the crowd.
“It’s an acquired skill,” DiBiase said. “Listening to the crowd, it’s like you just know. And when you really got them and you know they’re there, you know when to go, and let’s take it home.”
‘Jake The Snake’ compared putting a match together to creating a soup, explaining that once you’ve got the basics, it’s about adding and building on that foundation.
“You got potato, you got the stock, you got the meat,” Roberts said. “All it needs is a little salt and pepper, you know? That might be a heat spot, or a comeback spot, whatever. And you just keep adding it and building it. Add it and build it. … [By] the time the soup’s f***ing ready, let’s get it out of the pot and into the bowls.”
Ted DiBiase Has No Love For A Different WWE Hall of Famer
While DiBiase might still be a Ric Flair fan, he was much less positive about the Ultimate Warrior on the same podcast. The Million Dollar Man slammed Warrior as a “selfish SOB” who couldn’t work. He added that the face-painted star didn’t care if he hurt his opponent in the ring, and didn’t “give a crap about anybody.”