Ric Flair Out Of NWHOF Weekend – Details Inside

UPDATE: The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum has sent along word that Ric Flair will not be able to attend the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame weekend due to “a family commitment”. The event takes place on July 12th; Flair is part of the glass of 2013 along with “Cowboy” Bill Watts, Chris Taylor (posthumously), Edge (Lou Thesz Award), Jim Brunzell (Frank Gotch Award), Matt Hughes (George Tragos Award), and George Napolitano (Jim Melby Award).

National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum director Kyle Klingman said, “We regret that Ric cannot make this year’s hall of fame weekend. However, we are very excited about the weekend festivities. Edge and Matt Hughes are two of the biggest names in their respective professions. Museum namesake Dan Gable will also be in attendance. This will be a historic weekend for everyone involved.”

Tickets for the show run $20 for ringside and $15 for general admission. The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame banquet will run $50. You can get tickets here.

We have also now confirmed that Ric Flair was scheduled to appear on Monday’s RAW but it didn’t end up happening for one reason or another.

ORIGINAL: Ric Flair appeared prior to the House of Hardcore 2 event this past weekend to sign autographs. He was seated next to his girlfriend, Fifi the Maid from WCW, and JJ Dillon. Word is that Flair appeared more interested in talking to them than greeting fans. Flair was also not happy when he had to sign some mail order items, and left before the actual show started.

According to several people close to Ric, he’s been back to his “partying ways” ever since the death of his son Reid several months ago. Ric has taken the news very hard and has had a difficult time dealing with it for obvious reasons. One source we spoke to said, “He’s upset man. When things aren’t going his way or he gets depressed, he goes back to drinking heavily. It’s just Ric being Ric and there is nothing anyone in his inner-circle can do or tell him to make it stop.”

Despite these reports, Ric appeared to look “normal” at the House of Hardcore event Saturday night. Following the show, he was spotted at a local bar though. At the bar, he was drinking but was friendly to anyone who approached him. As noted, Ric left the House of Hardcore event before it began.

It should also be noted that Ric was telling friends over the weekend that he would be appearing on last night’s RAW. We saw two text messages that Ric sent – one to a bodyguard and another to a friend – where he said he had talked to Triple H last Thursday night at the NXT tapings (he was there to support his daughter Ashley “Charlotte” Flair) and was told the company wanted him to be at RAW last night for an angle. Flair’s name was mentioned several times on RAW last night, including twice during the John Cena and Mark Henry segments. We were able to confirm the texts were sent from Ric but were unable to confirm that he was at RAW. That is the reason we simply made mention that there were rumors Flair could be appearing on RAW but it was only to be taken as a rumor. It’s possible they have plans to have him get involved in the coming weeks and simply held off on having him appear last night. We’re working to confirm/deny that.

On the flip side to the above reports, Bobby sent the following in to us today:

Whoever reported earlier might have gotten there to meet Ric later than I did. I was there at 4:30 and expected doors to open at 5:00. The door was open for the line for Ric Flair and wasn’t a long wait. He showed up early at 4:45 and the line moved well. He spent time with each person talking about their items. When I got up to him he was seated next to Fifi but paid little attention to her except when an unusual or an item he hasn’t seen in a while came up to be signed he would turn to her and say remember this? He spent about 5 minutes with me and my son as I explained to him that I had missed his signings 2 times prior. Once at TNA and just this last Axxess. He said he was sorry we missed each other but glad he got to sign for me this time. He spoke to my son asking him questions and we left. We then had to wait to go in for the other wrestlers for the meet and greet. Those doors opened later about 5:30 when we got in we went straight to Terry Funk and to my surprise James J Dillion was next to him. I was surprised no one seemed to recognize him ( pretty sad ) but I did and took a picture of him at the table. He was there til about 6- 6:15 when he left. It was at that point when I believe he went out to sit with Ric but I believe he did so as no one wanted a pic or signature from him and he looked bored. Morrison had a decent line and spent at least 10 minutes with us talking about this and that but by far Terry had the longest line. Rick and Scott Steiner had a few people trickle up to them for pics and autographs. Carlito and MVP had about the same amount of people as Morrison.

100% DIRECT LINK (PHOTOS): Ric Flair & Daughter At NXT Tapings!!!