Update On Ric Flair & WWE's Legal Battle Over 'The Man'
Are WWE and 'The Nature Boy' still at legal loggerheads?
This week's WWE Raw saw Ric Flair return to the company in a crowd-popping Miz TV segment to set up his and Hulk Hogan's 10-man tag team match for Crown Jewel on 31 October, but this doesn't mean an end to his and the promotion's ongoing legal battle.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, 'The Nature Boy' is still embroiled in a dispute over WWE's continued use of 'The Man' as Becky Lynch's nickname, having previously claimed that the IP belongs to him per his legendary "to be the man, you gotta beat the man" catchphrase.
Meltzer notes that Saudi Arabia wanted Flair to be a part of the 31 October card. This led to FOX pushing for him to show up on this week's Raw season premiere, which paid off, as Flair and Hogan's confrontation drew Raw's biggest segment-by-segment viewership in a long, long time.
Speculation points to Flair not having a leg to stand on in this battle, however, though WWE want to keep him happy so that he doesn't walk away from the company and go to AEW instead. Thus, it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.