WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson recently delved into topics including his retirement and Ric Flair’s 1995 retirement storyline on his podcast “The ARN Show.”
During the show, Anderson questioned the permanence of retirements in wrestling. He asked, “What percentage actually are really a retirement? There are probably no concrete numbers on this. There is a degree of anticipation knowing that retirements might not be final which somehow detracts from the essence, doesn’t it?” He added that if a wrestler genuinely decides to retire, it should be definite.
Speaking about Ric Flair’s 1995 retirement storyline, Anderson stated that he always knew WWE wouldn’t let Flair stay off-screen for a year. He said, “The money’s the easy part, especially for Turner. But can you keep him off for a year? We didn’t have compelling enough storylines to draw viewership. Substituting Ric Flair is a tough task.”
Anderson also shed light on why his retirement segment was successful. He said, “Because it was genuine. My doctor had already warned me, ‘I’ll never clear you to wrestle again.’ Then, after a minor incident in the gym had a major impact on me, it confirmed my doctor’s words. I knew then I couldn’t take the hard physical toll of wrestling. The first thought in my mind was, if a tiny slap on the back had such a huge impact on me, how could I withstand being thrown around by these monsters?” He further revealed that it was on the same day that the gym incident happened when he decided to discuss his retirement with Eric Bischoff.