Booker T Thinks Ric Flair Is Looking To Wrestle Again

Booker T believes that Ric Flair is looking for one last in-ring run in professional wrestling.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker stated that he didn't see the 72-year-old slotting into a managerial role following his WWE departure (h/t Fightful for the transcriptions):-

"My thing is this, and I’m going to let you take this into the break, Ric Flair is not the managerial type of guy. It’s just not his role. As well as, Ric Flair is not one of your guys that wants to be in the office, coming to work every day, wearing a suit and going into the office. That’s not Ric Flair. Ric Flair’s a party guy. That’s just his nature. You saw him on Triller, he’s all about having some fun."

In Booker's eyes, "having some fun" might mean Ric stepping back between the ropes, despite the legend's advancing years and well-documented health issues:-

"Now my thing is this, I talk to Ric Flair on a regular — usually on a regular occasion, I don’t know how often I’m going to see him now, but Ric Flair told me, he said, ‘Book, I’m never going to retire.’ He said, ‘If I could be in that ring right now, that’s where I’d be.’ So I think Ric Flair may be looking at one last run."

Flair departed WWE last week, making him a free agent for the first time since returning to the market-leading promotion in December 2012. Reports on the circumstances that led to his release vary, though Flair has denied talk of him complaining about his daughter Charlotte's booking on Raw, saying that he and WWE simply had different visions for his future.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, Flair has been heavily linked to All Elite Wrestling since leaving WWE. A 67-year-old Tully Blanchard wrestled a comeback match under Tony Khan's banner this March, but Blanchard doesn't have Ric's laundry list of health problems, particularly in recent years.

Flair's last match was a September 2011 singles loss to Sting in TNA. He was 62 years old at the time.