Of all of the strange angles to have come out of the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal, one of the oddest has been the ongoing feud between professional wrestling legend Ric Flair and ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.
For the uninitiated, the feud began with Flair responding to Finebaum’s criticism of Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, who “The Nature Boy” has been friends with since the late-1980s. While the feud seemed to end with Finebaum’s response accusing Flair — a former Georgia fan — of “chasing the success of the SEC,” it picked back up following Michigan’s victory over rival Ohio State on Saturday.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) following the Wolverines’ 30-24 win, the “dirtiest player in the game” took aim at Finebaum.
“The Michigan Wolverines, Denied Your Coach, The Great @CoachJim4UM, You Still Prevailed! HaHa, Big 10, NCAA, And Especially You @finebaum!” Flair wrote. “Quit Being A Hater And Start Being A Believer! Quit Snubbing The Big 10! WOOOOO! @UMichFootball”
The Michigan Wolverines, Denied Your Coach, The Great @CoachJim4UM, You Still Prevailed! HaHa, Big 10, NCAA, And Especially You @finebaum! Quit Being A Hater And Start Being A Believer! Quit Snubbing The Big 10! WOOOOO! @UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/29KcEzYJK3
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) November 25, 2023
During his appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on the ESPN College Football YouTube page on Sunday, Finebaum responded in kind.
“Ric Flair, let’s be honest, is done. The guy used to be at the epicenter of his sport and now he’s in his 70s and washed up and basically scraping for dollars,” Finebaum said, before recalling having Flair on his show when he was still a Georgia fan.
“Ric Flair is trying to make a name for himself off of this,” Finebaum continued. “He’s trying to stay relevant. He’s trying to stay in that 15 minutes of relevancy and it’s sad. We all watch our heroes get older and fade away and show up at pro-ams and do things that they normally wouldn’t do — appear on Social Security advertisements at 3 a.m. in the morning. Unfortunately, that’s Ric Flair right now.”
Finebaum’s response clearly hit a nerve.
Returning to X, the the 74-year-old Flair launched into full on promo mode. Recalling one of the most famous rants of his career, the 16-time world heavyweight champion criticized — among other things — Finebaum’s social media following, before challenging him to show up at AEW Collision in his hometown of Charlotte in January.
“Hey @finebaum, I Spent More Money On Spilt Liquor From One Side Of The World To Another Than You Made Last Year,” Flair wrote. “Stop Kissing Georgia’s A**! I’ll See You On January 6th In Charlotte- FLAIR COUNTRY (Which You’re Lucky To Live In) For Collision & I’ll Reserve You 2 Front Row Tickets Because God Knows You Can’t Afford To Buy Them! When You Had Me On Your Show, I Was ‘The Great Ric Flair.’ I Still Am & I’m Bigger And Better Than Ever At 74! Let’s Compare W2s Sir! And Also, Your 800k Followers Is Nothing Compared To My 10 Million! FYI- Don’t Ever Joust With The Dirtiest Player In The Game! WOOOOO!”
Hey @finebaum, I Spent More Money On Spilt Liquor From One Side Of The World To Another Than You Made Last Year. Stop Kissing Georgia’s Ass! I’ll See You On January 6th In Charlotte- FLAIR COUNTRY (Which You’re Lucky To Live In) For Collision & I’ll Reserve You 2 Front Row… pic.twitter.com/thNS5VcAaJ
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) November 26, 2023
We’ll see if Finebaum answers Flair’s challenge. If he does, it should make for great television — especially considering that it will be in the days in between the College Football Playoff semifinals and the national title game.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.