Ric Flair apparently held a longtime grudge against Eric Bischoff over the decision to cut his signature hair during their days in WCW.
During an appearance on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon (see video below), Charlotte Flair discussed interviewing her father for her upcoming podcast and asking him about something he had struggled to overcome mentally.
“I asked him what was something that he couldn’t get past, mentally,” Charlotte said. “He said when they made him cut his hair, the first time he walked through the Charlotte airport, no one knew who he was.”
Charlotte explained that the experience deeply affected her father because of how closely his appearance was tied to his identity.
“To my dad, that’s like, ‘No one knew who I was?’” she continued. “Seeing the pain on his face and him saying my uncle Arn and mom got him through it, but him articulating that to me was…I won’t give away the whole thing.”
Stephanie McMahon then asked, “Did he tell you what he did to the person who made him do that?”
Charlotte confirmed that he did, prompting Stephanie to recall receiving word years later that Flair had confronted Bischoff.
“I think I’m in charge of talent relations at the time, I could’ve been,” Stephanie said. “At any rate, I get the call that your dad has punched Eric Bischoff in the face. I think we were in Kansas City for some reason.”
Stephanie added, “He held on to that…..He was ready to explode. It was like his identity.”
According to Charlotte, her father also told her that his hair never grew back the same after it was cut.
Flair and Bischoff had a famously contentious relationship during their time together in WCW, with their real-life issues occasionally spilling over onto television. The two later worked together again in WWE.
Also during the episode, Stephanie McMahon detailed personal struggles she dealt with after leaving WWE.
