Ric Flair & Vince McMahon's Forgotten Street Fight At The Royal Rumble, Explained
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In 2001, WWE was consumed by the Invasion angle. This was supposed to be the biggest storyline in all pro wrestling history, but is universally considered an abject failure in all aspects besides match quality. The blame is pointed at many reasons, but one of the biggest issues was the lack of top stars the Alliance side had. It was so bad, they had to send Stone Cold, WWE's biggest star, over to their side to make it look like they had a chance.
There was no Sting, Goldberg, nWo, or Ric Flair. With the exception of Sting, all of those names would debut in WWE within a year and a half, with Ric Flair debuting a day after the Invasion ended. Flair came out at the end of Raw to announce that Shane and Stephanie sold their stock to him. Flair was not only back in WWE, but in storyline, he also owned it. It wouldn't be too long before he took his business shoes off and his wrestling boots back on in a match at the Royal Rumble, but when he did, he was The Nature Boy, once again.
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Vince McMahon Had To Talk Ric Flair Into Wrestling Again
The difference in how this match came to be on TV and behind the scenes is quite large. On TV, it was fairly straightforward. Obviously, Vince McMahon wasn't too keen on the idea of sharing his power with anyone, let alone Ric Flair. They squabbled a bit until Flair dropped Vince on episode of SmackDown, and informed him of the match. Vince would return the favor, but with a steel pipe instead of a fist. This prompted Flair to actually be the one to change the match to a Street Fight.
Behind the scenes though wasn't anything like what was shown on TV. In reality, Ric Flair had no intention of stepping foot into a wrestling ring ever again because his last few years in WCW completely destroyed his confidence due to WCW's ineptitude at, well, everything. It was Vince who practically begged Ric Flair for a match against him. Flair would admit to Vince about his severe confidence issues, but Vince told Flair, with a tear in his eye, that it was going to be one of the coolest moments of his life. This did wonders to his confidence, along with The Undertaker requesting a match against him, and his stance on never wrestling again ended about two months into his WWE return.
The Street Fight With Vince McMahon Made Ric Flair Look Like A Star Again
The vast majority of Vince McMahon matches are no disqualification, but this was also for Flair. His confidence was still fragile, but since it was Ric Flair, people might have had some expectations that he couldn't reasonably fulfill. Regardless, the match itself was a fun brawl. It wasn't the greatest street fight of all time, but it did what it needed to do. It also helped that the event was in Atlanta which was always a pro Flair city.
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The structure of the match was simple. Mr. McMahon would dominate Flair to start the match while Jim Ross was trying his absolute hardest to convince viewers that these two were equal competitors. Vince played the grimy heel to perfection. He stole Flair's moves, showboated a bit, and even beat up Flair in front of his children. This would lead up to a classic Ric Flair low blow to turn the tide. Flair, who had been on the defensive for the entire match up to this point, would start his comeback. He hit Vince with nasty chops, TV monitors, and Vince's steel pipe to bring the match full circle. Flair then did his own showboating, and locked in a beautiful Figure Four Leg Lock. Vince put on his goofy facial expressions and tapped out to make Flair look like a million bucks.
The Royal Rumble Match Reignited Ric Flair's Career
After their bloody encounter, the issues between the two didn't subside. Vince McMahon went a bit looney tunes, and said that WWE would die under Ric Flair's leadership. He then proclaimed that he would be the one to kill the WWE by famously saying he would inject the WWE with a lethal does of poison. Of course that poison was referring to the debut of the nWo in WWE. However, as WrestleMania loomed, Flair would start to drift off into a feud with The Undertaker, and later on, Stone Cold. It wouldn't be until an episode of Raw in June 2002 where Vince would beat Flair to regain full ownership of the WWE.
For Ric Flair's first match in the WWE in almost a decade, it was exactly what it should've been; put him in a match with an opponent and a stipulation that would lead to no expectations, no seriousness, and no fuss. Vince got to live out a dream of his, Flair got to regain some confidence, and the fans got fifteen minutes of excitement. There are certainly better McMahon street fights, but there were certainly worse ones as well. It was fun match that fans were lucky to get in the first place considering Flair's mental health at this point. All that blood in his beach blonde hair must've done something because he would go to continue to wrestle for many more years.
