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Ric Flair expressed frustration over being snubbed by WWE at WrestleMania 42, claiming he wasn't allowed to attend due to a past altercation. He criticized the organization for a lack of respect and excessive politics in wrestling.
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Ric Flair is not happy with WWE. The 77-year-old pro-wrestling legend vented on Wednesdayâs âThe Ariel Helwani Showâ after what he perceived to be a less-than-welcoming weekend in Las Vegas for this yearâs WrestleMania 42 spectacle.
Flair, a two-time WWE Hall of Famer, claimed that he âwasnât allowed to goâ to WWEâs annual two-night event this year due to an alleged altercation in 2025 with Ludwig Kaiser, the former boyfriend of WWE star Tiffany Stratton. Flair said he âthreatened to beat upâ Kaiser last year amid a dispute between Stratton and Flairâs daughter, 14-time WWE champion Charlotte Flair, ahead of their WrestleMania 41 title match.
Flairâs account of the situation:
âI didnât get invited to WrestleMania this year. I threatened to beat up Tiffany Strattonâs [boyfriend] last year and I wasnât allowed to go. A 24-year-old kid being threatened by a 76-year-old man, and I canât go to WrestleMania? Are you kidding me?
âI went OK, âI need your number,â and I got it â which, I can get any number that I want any minute of any day. And I called [Kaiser] and I said, âHey, when I see you, Iâm going to beat the s*** out of you.â So he went like a little b****, told Hunter [WWE CCO Paul Levesque], and I wasnât allowed to go.â
âEven though Iâm not there, I know everything because I know everybody. There should a red carpet for me â a red carpet to the front row. And I talked to them about it. With my contributions to this business and the work that Iâve put in, hours and hours and hours of trying to make wrestling something that it is today, and Iâve got to have problems with politics? Give me a break. Come on. Iâm not mad at anybody, I understand itâs politics now â itâs too much politics and not enough wrestling.â
Flair also claimed that Dennis Rodman personally requested him to give an induction speech for the former NBA starâs entry into the WWE Hall of Fame, however Flair was unable to do so after allegedly getting the cold shoulder from WWE officials.
âDennis Rodman called me and said, âWill you induct me in the Hall of Fame?â And I sent to the powers that be, âDennis wants me to induct him.â I never got a call back. ⊠I never even got a call back.â
âI think thereâs a lack of respect. And I think thereâs so many people under fire right now, theyâre all ducking and dodging.â
âI donât know. All I know is that it seems like people, they hate the fact that Iâm so relevant. They hate the fact that signed more autographs this weekend at WrestleCon than anybody. They hate the fact that I did a pool party with 3,000 beautiful women with Diplo.â
Ric Flair claims he wasn't invited due to a past altercation with Ludwig Kaiser, which involved a threat he made.
Flair criticized WWE for a lack of respect and stated there should be a red carpet for him given his contributions to wrestling.
Ludwig Kaiser is the former boyfriend of WWE star Tiffany Stratton, with whom Flair had a dispute that led to his exclusion from WrestleMania.
Dennis Rodman requested Flair to give an induction speech for his entry into the WWE Hall of Fame, but Flair was unable to attend due to WWE officials' cold shoulder.

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Flair also noted frustration with not being able to be there for the WWE Hall of Fame induction of Stephanie McMahon, who was part of the 2026 induction class as well.
However, his grievances with WWE didnât stop there. Earlier this month, a furious Flair admonished the pro-wrestling leader on social media, claiming that WWE nixed a merchandizing deal heâs long had with popular apparel brand Roots of Fight.
Indeed, Flair-branded apparel can no longer be found on Roots of Fightâs online store, however fellow WWE legends âStone Coldâ Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker all still have their merchandizing lines available to purchase.
In Flairâs eyes, the alleged halting of his deal â and the manner in which he claims it happened â was yet another example of WWEâs âlack of respectâ for him.
I Woke Up This Morning To Find Out That Iâm No Longer Allowed To Be With @rootsoffight Per @WWE. Let Me Think- Iâm The Only Wrestler To Ever Be On 30 For 30 & Ranked In The Top 25 Of All Time, An Emmy Nominated Documentary-Courtesy Of The WWE, Which I Should Have Won But l Lost⊠pic.twitter.com/1VP8cxSz4o
â Ric FlairÂź (@RicFlairNatrBoy) April 7, 2026
âI woke up that morning to find out â because 10 people called me â that Roots of Fight had to drop me. Then I got a very long, extended text from [Roots of Fight co-founder] Jesse [Katz] saying, âI apologize, they bought the company and I have nothing to do with it. Thank you.â And that pissed me off. Not even a call. And sometimes I think â and I believe this in my heart â there are exclusions, because some people that have done so much to help so many people and influence so many personalities, that I could get cut a break. Itâs not a financial deal with them, you donât make a lot of money with Roots of Fight. Itâs prestige. Itâs Muhammad Ali, right? Itâs Ric Flair, I could go down the list. And I was the No. 2 seller behind Muhammad Ali. So why not just say, âHey Ric, we canât use you,â a simple phone call?â
âNow they just add on who they want to. Not that those guys donât deserve it. Make no mistake, Taker, Steve, all those guys. But now the WWE wants to control everybody, just does want they do. ⊠I try not to have any animosity with anybody, but just to be quite honest with you, how do you not have respect enough for me to call me and say, âIâm sorry Ric, we do you anymore.â Thatâs what I call a lack of respect.â