Ric Flair is the stylin’ and profilin’, kiss stealing, jet flyin’, wheelin’ and dealin’ son of a gun and he is certainly someone you should listen to if you want advice on the pro wrestling business.
Back in the day, Kurt Angle was one of the hottest prospects in the world of wrestling. The Olympic Gold Medalist was looked at as a future blue chipper and Vince McMahon wasn’t the only one looking to bring Kurt Angle into the picture.
“Ric was the guy that I got advice from before I started in the business,” Kurt Angle said to Newsday. “He’s the one that redirected me from [World Championship Wrestling] to WWE, told me Vince McMahon would know what to do with me, and said not to go to WCW.”
Kurt Angle obviously took this amazing advice to heart and allowed it to determine the path of his career. He also revealed another thing The Nature Boy told him that he still carries with him to this day.
“But what I learned from Ric was how to give to the business and not take. He always made sure his opponent looked better than he did. What was important to him was the match, not himself, and I took that advice and made sure when I performed in the ring I made my opponent looked better than me, and I made sure it was the best match I could possibly make it. He was a very giving wrestler, and I did the same because of Ric Flair.”
Who knows what it would have been like if Kurt Angle would have ended up in WCW. Perhaps he would have just been another enhancement talent with insane ability on the roster. But you never know if his influence and credibility alone might have been enough to keep the fledgling company alive just a little bit longer.
