“Guy That Did the Most for the Business”: Ric Flair Challenges John Cena’s Claim to the ‘Goat’ Title With His Own Choice

WWE is no short of big names throughout its illustrious history. So, whenever the discussion moves toward the greatest of all time there is always a debate. Recently, WWE themselves have been trying to settle this age-old discussion by referring to John Cena as the GOAT. However, Ric Flair has an answer of his own.

Ric Flair and John Cena stand at the top of the pro wrestling mountain, with 16 world title wins. While John Cena is the most recognizable face of WWE, Ric Flair doesn’t think he is the GOAT. Speaking in a recent podcast episode, the Nature Boy revealed who is the real GOAT and why he believes so.

Ric Flair mentions the star who “saved WWE”

Ric Flair has had a ravishing wrestling career of around five decades. The Nature Boy has seen the rise and fall of several wrestlers in his celebrated career, including his own. Thus, when it comes to being an authority on pro wrestling, his words hold weight.

In a recently recorded podcast episode, Ric Flair snubbed John Cena and revealed who is the real GOAT of WWE.

Answering the question of who’s the GOAT of WWE his host Chris Van Vliet, Flair gave a detailed response. He said, “Well I think to me the GOAT is the guy that did the most for the business. Not necessarily doesn’t mean he had to be the best wrestler. But the guy that did mean the most to our business and, the guy that saved WWE in my eyes, Steve Austin.” 

Flair noted that ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin did most of the work that has put WWE in its current spot. In fact, the Nature Boy said that he could’ve done a lot more had he not been forced to retire.

Steve Austin’s injury hampered his WWE run

Ric Flair also mentioned that Steve Austin would have scaled a lot of distance if not for his neck injury. Steve Austin was at the top of his game for several years and was rightfully the starter of the Attitude Era. However, his 1997 SummerSlam match against Owen Hart impacted his career.

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Austin already had nerve issues in his neck, which made a piledriver by Hart cause even greater damage. This greatly shortened his in-ring time, and he finally retired in 2003.

The Nature Boy spoke about his eventual exit at the age of 39, but he also praised his stellar career. Chris Van Vliet said that Austin more or less had a very short career at WWE. But Flair pointed out that his short career was enough to make him a multimillionaire whom fans worshipped. 

Moreover, his merchandise that says “Austin 3:16” is one of the highest-selling WWE merchandise to date. His dominating presence is still remembered by the WWE Universe, who constantly call out anybody who tries to copy him. What are your thoughts about this? Let them flow in the comments section.

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