It’s a moment that hangs over wrestling fans like a cold, hard, inevitable dagger. We pretend it’s not going to happen, we pray it can somehow be averted, but no, the reality is, some day in the distressingly near future, John Cena is going to match, and then inevitably break, Ric Flair’s record 16 world titles. Cena could tie things up as soon as this Sunday in his SummerSlam match with Seth Rollins.
Of course, most crusty old wrestling fans are at least somewhat depressed by the thought of John Cena, greatest world champion of all time, but what does Ric Flair himself think? Surprisingly, he was a lot more laid back about the whole thing on the latest edition of his podcast…
“I’d be thrilled if John Cena tied my record and surpassed it. I think the world of John and he has been the flagship for the company for a long time and if John were to catch that title again and then he can surpass the record, I would be very proud of him.”
Well, if Ric Flair’s cool with it, then I suppose I’ll try to be, too. Also, the thing Flair doesn’t mention, is that he actually considers himself a 21-time world champion. Some historians have put the number as high as 26. Yeah, it’s complicated. So, basically what Flair’s really saying is, “Hey, if WWE wants their guy to beat the arbitrary number of world championships they’ve assigned me, that’s cool.” You can bet I’ll be saying something along those lines if Cena wins on Sunday.
(Via SB Nation)
