WWE News: Ric Flair Once Only Requested $50 At A Wrestling Show While World Champion

The sport of professional wrestling is not always a lucrative career choice. In fact, many competitors who start in the business earn pennies on the dollar and are well aware that they will not make a living off of competing every week for a small independent promotion. Even with these factors in place, the passion of the sport leaves pro wrestlers, both young and old, hungry for more matches and feeding off the energy of the crowd, regardless of the size.

Darin Childs, the owner of independent promotion Anarchy Championship Wrestling, explained on PayScale the tough path it takes to be a successful pro wrestler.

“The main thing is you have to travel extensively and be prepared to lose a lot of money early in your career to garner the exposure needed to get noticed by Vince McMahon, owner of WWE, who is the only promoter prepared to pay enough to really support a family in the United States.

“It is an extremely rough business both physically and mentally, and truth be told, not many have the toughness it takes to make it in the professional wrestling business.”

For names like the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, the pro wrestling business has allowed him to become a household name both in the industry and on mainstream television. His accomplishments in the ring have given him the ability to make millions of dollars in the business, as well as actually live out his “stylin and profilin” moniker.

Even famous celebrities have channeled their inner “Nature Boy.”

After a 2015 wild card playoff win by the Indianapolis Colts against the Cincinnati Bengals, then-Colts defensive back Sergio Brown gave the locker room a little pep talk, Ric Flair-style.

#ColtsNation Sergio Brown sums up the feeling in the locker room #CINvsINDhttps://t.co/FQR2upiJNC

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) January 4, 2015

When the bank account gets thicker, there are times when some pro wrestlers tend to forget their humble beginnings.

Former WWE tag team star JTG wrote in his e-book D–m! Why Did I Write This Book, Too? how he was utterly shocked after an encounter he had with one of his wrestling idols. He stated in the book that when approached by this legend, he received these harsh words.

“Hey you. Mr. Cryme Tyme. I want to talk you. You and your partner are a mockery to my business. I helped build this business with my own two hands. If it was up to me, you all wouldn’t be here. We should have never accepted your kind in the business to begin with. I can’t wait to get every last one of you out. You’re a mockery! You hear me? A d**m mockery!”

While unfortunate occurrences such as the JTG example happen in the pro wrestling business, there is a bright side. Sometimes, people who are on the top of the list do impress those who are vying to be where they are by showing kind gestures.

In a recent episode of the Pancakes and Powerslams show, former WCW star P.N. News shared an interesting story of how Flair once accepted only $50 while wrestling for a promotion as World Champion due to the attendance being low.

“I remember when I was out in the Pacific Northwest when it was still the NWA, it wasn’t WCW yet, and the NWA would go out to all the territories. He would have the title, and our top guy was The Grappler at the time. One time he wrestled Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship, and they would do the rounds to all the NWA affiliates. And Flair come in, he flew in, and it wasn’t much of a house [money that came in]. We actually drew more money a couple of weeks earlier without everybody else coming in.

“I was sitting in the office with Don Owens, sitting there talking to him and picking people’s brains, especially [Owens]. Flair comes in and he goes, ‘Don. I know what the house is like. Don’t worry about the percentage deal. Just give me 50 dollars out of the house and we’ll call it good.’ I was like, wow, dude, this is the World Heavyweight Champion and he just said just give me a 50 and we’ll call it good. He was even disappointed in himself. Don gave him the percentage anyway, but I thought that was real big of Flair.”

While there have been many reports of Ric Flair not being the best person to manage his money, including having to borrow nearly a million dollars from Vince McMahon at one point, stories like these does show that someone the likes of the 16-time world champion can leave an indelible mark on another wrestler based on a kind act while being a headliner.

[Featured Image by WWE]