Summary

Ric Flair spoke warmly about Vince McMahon during an interview with Ariel Helwani, saying wrestling fans should be grateful for McMahon's impact on the business.

Flair also pushed back on past criticism tied to the money McMahon once lent him. According to Flair, the $800,000 loan was meant to help him through three divorces, not tax trouble, and he eventually paid back the full amount after his WrestleMania 24 retirement match with Shawn Michaels in 2008.

The comments added another recent moment where Vince McMahon's name has resurfaced in wrestling discussion, following Stephanie McMahon thanking Vince McMahon during her WWE Hall of Fame speech.

Quote from Ric Flair

**Ric Flair:** "Everybody in the world that likes wrestling should be thanking Vince McMahon."

**Ariel Helwani:** "Have you talked to him in recent months?"

**Ric Flair:** "No, I have not. I feel like there's so much going on that I would be wasting his time. He knows how I feel about him."

**Ric Flair:** "He lent me $800 grand, and unlike what people portray, it was not for the IRS. It was to help me get through three divorces at one time."

**Ric Flair:** "The thing of it is, they hate hearing this, I paid him back every dime. When he called me and said, 'I can write this off.' I paid him back because I didn't want to let him down. But they used that against me when we, when I would negotiate a contract, I'd go, 'Ric, that's old news.' Well, it ain't old news."

**Ric Flair:** "You know how hard it is to pay taxes on $800 grand in phantom income tax and phantom income? It took me five years to get out of that hole. All because I paid him back. Took my WrestleMania check, gave it to me. I signed it and gave it back to him."

**Ric Flair:** "He said, 'You don't have to do that.' I said, 'I told you I'd pay you back. I'm paying you back.'"

**Ariel Helwani:** "How long ago was this?"

**Ric Flair:** "After I wrestled Shawn [Michaels] in 2008."

Ric Flair's Vince McMahon comments keep an old WWE relationship in focus

Ric Flair's remarks put one of wrestling's most talked-about relationships back in the spotlight, because he framed Vince McMahon not just as a former boss but as someone he still feels indebted to personally. That matters because Flair was discussing both McMahon's influence on the industry and a private financial favor that he said shaped years of his life after WrestleMania 24.

For wrestling fans, the clearest takeaway is that Flair still views McMahon as central to modern wrestling history despite everything surrounding McMahon in recent years. The comments do not change McMahon's current standing, but they do show how strongly some of the industry's biggest names still speak about his role and their history with him.

Sources

Ric Flair while speaking with Ariel Helwani