Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has seemingly thrown his weight behind a union in wrestling and has called out WWE for blocking a union.
During a recent edition of the “Legally Golf” podcast, Flair addressed the discussion behind unionization in wrestling and how the business has changed. He said,
“You know, contracts just came around in the 90s. You didn’t go to work, you didn’t get paid. And that’s why it was such a hard business.
“We’re self-employed. I mean, they take care of you if you get hurt in the ring, but if you have an issue outside of the ring, you’ve got to buy your own health insurance and everything.
“There’s no union, which is unheard of for a billion-dollar company. I mean, they just sold WWE for billion to—who bought them? I can’t remember, Endeavor or somebody. But it’s a whole different world now.”
Jesse Ventura attempted to form a union in the 1980s until Hulk Hogan ratted to Vince McMahon, resulting in Ventura being fired from the WWF.
In 2020, Zelina Vega publicly expressed her support for unionization in professional wrestling and was released from her WWE contract minutes later.
WWE would rehire Vega the following year, and she has remained part of WWE to this day, and is a former Women’s United States Champion.