Ric Flair Blames WWE Star for WrestleMania 42 Absence

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has never been one to shy away from sharing his opinions about the current state of WWE, and he’s speaking out again. This time, he’s targeting a current WWE and AAA Superstar.

Flair, 77, hasn’t been with WWE since 2021, but his daughter Charlotte Flair remains one of the company’s biggest stars. At least last year’s WrestleMania, she found herself in a controversial feud with then-WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, one that saw personal lives spill into the realm of kayfabe.

A comment by Stratton about Charlotte’s marriage history initially cast doubt on the match even happening, and it appears the elder Flair attempted to get involved.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Flair claimed that he was uninvited from attending WrestleMania 42 this year because he attempted to confront Stratton’s then-boyfriend, Ludwig Kaiser, about the situation in 2025.

“I didn’t get invited to WrestleMania this year,” Flair said on Helwani’s show on Wednesday. “I threatened to beat up Tiffany Stratton’s [boyfriend] last year. I wasn’t allowed to go. A 24-year-old kid being threatened by a 76-year-old man, and I can’t go to WrestleMania. Are you kidding me? That English kid. He’s gonna go as far in wrestling as a gnat. He’ll be a fly on the wall in a year.”

Kaiser, in actuality, would have been 34 years old at the time of the alleged confrontation, and is currently one of AAA’s top stars under the El Grande Americano moniker.

Flair threatens Kaiser and gets banned

The 16-time world champion took personal issue with the comments Stratton made about Charlotte’s marriage failures in their controversial promo exchange, though he believed a WWE writer came up with the line. He then aimed his ire at Kaiser, whom Charlotte had claimed in the segment was in her messages.

“And then [Kaiser] implied, I’m just going based on social media once again, which is a lot, that he was implying that he wouldn’t bum one off [Charlotte], and I went, ‘Okay, I need your number.’ Which I can get anybody’s number I want any minute of any day. And I called him and said, ‘Hey, when I see you, I’m gonna beat the sh*t out of you,’” Flair said.

He then claimed that WWE chief content officer Paul Levesque became personally involved in the situation, leading to his banishment.

“So he went like a little b*tch and told Hunter, and I wasn’t allowed to go,” Flair said. “He’s gonna really go far in the business. A 76-year-old man tells a 24-year-old kid he’s gonna kick his ass, and where is he now? Is he even on the roster?”

Notably, Flair has been under contract with AEW since 2023, as he was brought in to be a part of Sting’s retirement run. He has been sparingly used on television since. Kaiser and Stratton, meanwhile, are no longer dating.