WWE legend thinks Will Smith’s Oscars slap was ‘fake’

WWE legend Ric Flair has weighed into the Will Smith Oscars slap controversy, posing a conspiracy theory on the saga.

Ric Flair thought the kerfuffle of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock was a work.

That’s the term in Flair’s world of pro wrestling, when the violence is scripted.

Flair and his longtime friend Mike Tyson spoke to the New York Post to promote Tyson 2.0, the cannabis business they’re partnering in, and covered a wide range of other topics like his daughter Charlotte Flair’s success in WWE, Hulk Hogan’s proclamation that Flair was the greatest wrestler of all-time and the Oscars’ moment that will live in infamy.

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“I didn’t think it was real,” Flair said of the Smith slap.

Tyson chimed in: “If Ric says it’s a fake, then it’s a fake.”

Flair explained his rationale. “I can speak for myself, and I’m pretty sure I’m speaking for Mike: If I didn’t like a remark, for any reason whatsoever, that somebody said about my wife, I would be punching them — not slapping them,” Flair said.

Tyson concurred: “It would be more than one punch, too.”

“When you’re mad at someone, you don’t slap him, you punch him,” Flair reiterated.

Tyson, for his part, had some advice for Smith.

Ric Flair believes Will Smith’s Oscars slap was fake. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

“I think Will needs to eat some of these Mike Bites and just chill out. It’s okay,” he said, speaking of the line of Tyson 2.0 edibles that are shaped like Evander Holyfield’s bitten ear.

The conversation shifted to Flair’s daughter, Charlotte, who is the current WWE SmackDown women’s champion and defeated Ronda Rousey in a surprise upset at WrestleMania 38 on Sunday.

“I actually wasn’t real excited about her getting into the business,” Flair admits.

“She was (already in the business), but she was basically inspired by her little brother, Reid, who passed away.”

Flair praised how WWE is promoting and empowering women’s wrestling.

“But now that she’s in it — and the company has prioritised women’s wrestling big time, and it’s not just glamour and glitter; it’s real and they’re working their asses off — my daughter possesses incredible athleticism, as do so many of the girls.

“I think it’s tremendous that they’re finally getting the respect they deserve, because it’s a very tough physical sport.”

This article first appeared in the New York Post and was repurposed with permission.