Carlito wasn't the only unhappy camper in the WWE ranks in 2007. There were a lot of disgruntled or disillusioned wrestlers on the roster at that time: Rob Van Dam decided not to renew his contract in May because he was so burned out and disappointed with the handling of the ECW relaunch. Several others weren't happy with their position in the company, either. One man who felt he was being given a raw deal (so to speak) was Ric Flair, who was drafted over to Smackdown in June. Clearly a demotion, Flair wasn't happy with this since he felt that he was still a main-event calibre talent and should be given a big push. Flair handed in his notice to WWE sometime in August. He was sick and tired of the way he was used, especially since he was openly talking about retiring in early 2008. He wanted one last big run but Vince and the writers were against the idea, taking into account Flair's age and in-ring limitations. The Nature Boy met with Vince on September 20th and the meeting was not a smooth one. Flair turned up with his lawyer (which didn't sit well with Vince) and began making demands about the direction of his character and how he wanted to be portrayed on television. McMahon reminded Flair that he still owed him a lot of money (Vince had loaned Flair a considerable sum to pay off an IRS debt) and that he should watch what he was saying. Of course Flair did eventually return, after a three month hiatus, to begin his retirement storyline. But he very nearly didn't make it there and was seriously close to leaving the company, by all accounts. He was even referred to as a 'retired WWE wrestler' when he was spotted at a football game while on hiatus.
