WWE issued a brief statement on the company website regarding Ric Flair’s departure. “WWE and Hall of Famer Ric Flair have mutually agreed to contractually part ways,” reads the statement on WWE.com. “After an extraordinary career Ric has chosen to pursue opportunities outside of WWE.”
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Bruce Mitchell’s take from pwtorch.com:
Representatives of Ric Flair have announced that Flair has left WWE and that he is now a free agent.
Flair’s leaving WWE is said to have been amicable on both sides. He has had offers that he had to turn down due to his schedule making public appearances for WWE’s public relations department. Since Flair has never made a run on the wrestling nostalgia convention circuit, depending on his appearance fee, such a run could be very lucrative for promoters. At his previously scheduled NWA Fanfest appearance in Charlotte on August 15, fans are paying $100 apiece for photos and autographs.
Flair was not used in an on-air role during WWE’s recent television swing through his home state of North Carolina, despite bringing his family to both shows. Flair made an off-air appearance only on Smackdown in his hometown of Charlotte.
Flair, oddly enough, has made no TV appearances in the past month to plug WWE’s DVD release of “Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection” despite the success of his retirement match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. Flair’s last WWE TV appearance was previously on Raw, in the Vanna White role during one of Vince McMahon’s Million Dollar Giveaway segments.
Flair is now free to take a network TV offer, like the one from CBS TV’s short-lived “Secret Talents of The Stars”, without checking with WWE.