Ric Flair Refuses To Be Compared To Former World Heavyweight Champion

Five-time WWF World Champion Bret Hart had strong thoughts on Gunther's style of wrestling. Hart specifically said he told Gunther to his face that his style of wrestling was painful and unsafe.

Hart cited that Gunther was a nice man when he met him, but that he absolutely hates when wrestlers try to hurt other wrestlers in the ring. The Excellence of Execution called Gunther's wrestling style "lazy" and "unprofessional".

“I have no respect for guys that hurt each other all the time. It’s just to me, lazy, shit wrestling when guys like Gunther…I’ve told him this to his face, it’s bullshit. When you’re hurting somebody for real, you’re unprofessional. I wrestled guys and never hurt anybody.”
Bret Hart on Gunther's chops

Ric Flair spoke with Escapist Magazine last Tuesday and was asked about Hart's comments on Gunther. Flair was famous for his signature chops.

The 16-time world champion became so synonymous with the wicked slap that fans still routinely roar a signature "wooo" whenever any superstar executes a vintage knife-edged chop.

Ric Flair is also someone who worked with Bret Hart plenty. Their last one-on-one match against each other took place in 1998 while they were both signed to WCW. As a chop enthusiast, Flair provided a different perspective on Gunther's style of wrestling and Hart's opinions on them.

"Oh, I agree with Bret as far as being one of the greatest technical performers of all time. That goes without saying. But Bret never liked to get smacked, and that’s the way I worked. We laugh about it now, but he just hated getting chopped. But for me with someone like Ricky Steamboat, you must have seen our matches. I hit Steamboat as hard as I could."
Ric Flair to Escapist Magazine

Hart understood how hard Flair hit. Hart likely spoke for hundreds of pro wrestlers across 40 years of history when he expressed his strong hatred for Flair's chops.

"It hurts to put a shirt on. I used to wrestle Ric Flair and wake up going, ‘Why am I hurting so much? Doesn’t Ric Flair know it’s a show?’ It’s not supposed to be real. I’m not supposed to wake up with a really sore chest."
Bret Hart on taking Flair's chops

Flair cited that pro wrestling is a painful business. The Nature Boy emphasized that he chopped everyone he ever faced very hard and that the crowd felt his chops every time.

With a pro wrestling career as long and illustrious as Flair's, he's wrestled against multiple generations of pro wrestling greatness. Flair explained that he chopped Ricky Steamboat, Sting, and even The Rock just as hard as he'd chop anyone else.

People didn't care, according to Flair. The Nature Boy claimed his opponents didn't vocalize any disdain for the chops and he assumed wrestlers accepted that this business is a painful one.

About Gunther

Gunther has received a lot of positive feedback from fans for his brutal wrestling style since bursting onto the WWE scene as a part of NXT's United Kingdom division. Fan support and praise is part of what's led to a record-breaking Intercontinental Championship reign and two World Heavyweight Championship reigns.

Bret Hart himself has worked with Gunther on WWE TV. Gunther vocally hit Hart where it hurts on an episode of WWE Raw by saying Goldberg was his favorite wrestler. Hart historically expresses disdain for Goldberg and the legacy he left on pro wrestling.

Flair seems to understand the hype. He used his interview with Escapist Magazine to applaud Gunther on his work.

"For Gunther, I haven’t watched him enough, but what they find fascinating about Gunther is his look. He has a tremendous look. Because when he wrestled Pat McAfee. Pat McAfee was 10 times the athlete that he is. But Gunther has a great look. His facials are great and all that."
Ric Flair

Despite the praise, Flair found it ridiculous to be compared to modern-day master of the chop. He stated that there are levels to this game of pro wrestling and that Gunther is not on the same one as him.

"But if you’re comparing him [Gunther] to me, come on, there’s levels to the game.”
Ric Flair

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