Dangerous Incorporated
10-19-2006, 03:44 AM
DETAILED RECAP OF RIC FLAIR-KANYON CONFRONTATION ON HOWARD STERN
Ric Flair called in to dispute Chris Kanyon's claims that he was fired from WWE because he was gay. Basically Flair called on behalf of Vince because Producer Gary Dell'Abate (Baba Booey) said he called for Vince but most of WWE was in Japan, so they had Ric call in. Plus Ric was supposedly a friend of Kanyon and they always got along.
Kanyon gave Ric the utmost respect, called him the greatest wrestler ever, but totally disagreed with Ric. The Nature Boy had said that Kanyon was a good wrestler, but didn't have "it" anymore and that is why he lost his job. By "it" he meant the whole package, character, charisma, etc, and Flair also said WWE really had nothing for him anymore. Howard had stated that Ric was in management, but Ric said he was just a worker. Flair said he shows up each Monday and brings his all, and he doesn't know how he has made it this long in the business, year in and year out.
Kanyon kept pressing Flair as to why he was really fired, and Flair insisted it had nothing to do with his personal life. But he did say Kanyon made it a point to talk about his personal life, and the choices he made in his "lifestyle." Kanyon quickly said it wasn't a choice and they moved on, but I was shocked they didn't press this statement more. Stern has always exposed "ignorant" people like bigots, KKK members, anyone politically incorrect, and in this case Flair was pretty much implying that Kanyon chose his gay lifestyle and was suffering for it now since he doesn't work for them. This made it seem like they did fire him for being gay, or at least talking about it too much.
He claimed Flair knew he was gay, and that he had told his buddy Arn Anderson back in Atlanta, but Flair said he had no idea. Kanyon said he really liked Ric, but you couldn't expect real answers since Vince still pays him, which is kind of true. Basically the segment ended with them saying we really need Vince McMahon to come in and settle this with Chris, but I am sure that will not happen.
Flair quickly took a shot at Howard wanting to know why he didn't want him on during his book tour but Howard didn't really hear him as it got lost in a bunch of people talking at the same time. At the end of the interview, Ric had changed his tune a bit, saying Kanyon wasn't any good anymore, to which Chris said Flair had not seen him in 4 years so he couldn't know what he did in the ring.
Flair also denied Kanyon's claim that Ric wanted Chris to train his son David, to which Ric laughed and said it never happened...Flair said "work out" with his son and "training him to wrestle" are 2 completely different things.
Basically, that was it, nice to hear Ric calling in, I'd love for him to come in, probably has some wild road stories to tell with all the women and partying, perfect for Howard's show!
EDIT: I listened to the whole Flair/Kanyon deal on Stern this morning. Flair never said he was paid to go on Stern. He said that he always wanted to be on the show, even asking Howard how come he had Hogan, but not Flair on etc. Gary stated that he called the WWE asking for someone to come on to the show, but Vince and HHH were in Japan, "so how about Flair?" Flair called in. As for the Kanyon gimmick, Flair basically said that Kanyon didn’t have “IT” anymore and he shouldn’t use "coming out of the closet" as an excuse for his professional problems. Kanyon asked Ric if Ric asked him to Train David Flair, and Flair said no. Kanyon said that was a lie. Mind you, this was all done calmly with respect between both men and no real animosity. Flair just really always said that Kanyon didn’t have “IT” anymore - take that for what it’s worth.
Ric Flair called in to dispute Chris Kanyon's claims that he was fired from WWE because he was gay. Basically Flair called on behalf of Vince because Producer Gary Dell'Abate (Baba Booey) said he called for Vince but most of WWE was in Japan, so they had Ric call in. Plus Ric was supposedly a friend of Kanyon and they always got along.
Kanyon gave Ric the utmost respect, called him the greatest wrestler ever, but totally disagreed with Ric. The Nature Boy had said that Kanyon was a good wrestler, but didn't have "it" anymore and that is why he lost his job. By "it" he meant the whole package, character, charisma, etc, and Flair also said WWE really had nothing for him anymore. Howard had stated that Ric was in management, but Ric said he was just a worker. Flair said he shows up each Monday and brings his all, and he doesn't know how he has made it this long in the business, year in and year out.
Kanyon kept pressing Flair as to why he was really fired, and Flair insisted it had nothing to do with his personal life. But he did say Kanyon made it a point to talk about his personal life, and the choices he made in his "lifestyle." Kanyon quickly said it wasn't a choice and they moved on, but I was shocked they didn't press this statement more. Stern has always exposed "ignorant" people like bigots, KKK members, anyone politically incorrect, and in this case Flair was pretty much implying that Kanyon chose his gay lifestyle and was suffering for it now since he doesn't work for them. This made it seem like they did fire him for being gay, or at least talking about it too much.
He claimed Flair knew he was gay, and that he had told his buddy Arn Anderson back in Atlanta, but Flair said he had no idea. Kanyon said he really liked Ric, but you couldn't expect real answers since Vince still pays him, which is kind of true. Basically the segment ended with them saying we really need Vince McMahon to come in and settle this with Chris, but I am sure that will not happen.
Flair quickly took a shot at Howard wanting to know why he didn't want him on during his book tour but Howard didn't really hear him as it got lost in a bunch of people talking at the same time. At the end of the interview, Ric had changed his tune a bit, saying Kanyon wasn't any good anymore, to which Chris said Flair had not seen him in 4 years so he couldn't know what he did in the ring.
Flair also denied Kanyon's claim that Ric wanted Chris to train his son David, to which Ric laughed and said it never happened...Flair said "work out" with his son and "training him to wrestle" are 2 completely different things.
Basically, that was it, nice to hear Ric calling in, I'd love for him to come in, probably has some wild road stories to tell with all the women and partying, perfect for Howard's show!
EDIT: I listened to the whole Flair/Kanyon deal on Stern this morning. Flair never said he was paid to go on Stern. He said that he always wanted to be on the show, even asking Howard how come he had Hogan, but not Flair on etc. Gary stated that he called the WWE asking for someone to come on to the show, but Vince and HHH were in Japan, "so how about Flair?" Flair called in. As for the Kanyon gimmick, Flair basically said that Kanyon didn’t have “IT” anymore and he shouldn’t use "coming out of the closet" as an excuse for his professional problems. Kanyon asked Ric if Ric asked him to Train David Flair, and Flair said no. Kanyon said that was a lie. Mind you, this was all done calmly with respect between both men and no real animosity. Flair just really always said that Kanyon didn’t have “IT” anymore - take that for what it’s worth.