Ric Flair: “Everybody in the world that likes wrestling should be thanking Vince McMahon”

[Have you talked to him in recent months?] No, I have not. I feel like there’s so much going on that I would be wasting his time. He knows how I feel about him.

He lent me $800 grand, and unlike what people portray, it was not for the IRS. It was to help me get through three divorces at one time.

The thing of it is, they hate hearing this, I paid him back every dime. When he called me and said, ‘I can write this off.’ I paid him back because I didn’t want to let him down. But they used that against me when we— when I would negotiate a contract, I’d go, ‘Ric, that’s old news.’ Well, it ain’t old news.

You know how hard it is to pay taxes on $800 grand in phantom income tax and phantom income? It took me five years to get out of that hole. All because I paid him back. Took my WrestleMania check, gave it to me. I signed it and gave it back to him.

He said, ‘You don’t have to do that.’ I said, ‘I told you I’d pay you back. I’m paying you back.’ [How long ago was this?] After I wrestled Shawn [Michaels] in 2008.”