Flair leaving the WWF
 

Why did Ric Flair leave the WWF and return to WCW in 1993?

He wasn't being used as a main event guy in the WWF and Vince told him before he signed he could leave if he wasn't happy with his position. Flair asked to go back to WCW and Vince just let him.

$$

So he wasn't on a contract then?

Surprised Vince let him go so easily

After Flair left WCW, shows were dominated by "WE WANT FLAIR" chants. Flair had a guaranteed main event if he went back, while in WWF he was feuding with Perfect in the midcard.

He wanted to be present when The Shockmaster was unleashed.

1. WCW made a much better offer, evening offering Flair the EVP role that Bischoff eventually got and in the World Title picture.

2. WWF wanted to go with a new generation and Flair was in the mid-card and Vince wanted him to job to all kinds of talent cleanly like Razor and Bam Bam for them to get over

3. Much lighter schedule and back with friends such as Arn

YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME, SID?!?!

He had a contract. 18 months left on it.

Vince didn't want him no more, so he was more than happy to let him go.

Glad he did go back.

Or we would've gotten this watered down, jobber version of Flair 14 years ago.

We could have done with it 14 years ago instead of now.

Yeah Vince would have done that to Flair back in 93 if he had stayed.

If Flair had stayed, he would have been back in main events within a year. Remember some of the competition Bret was facing for the title in '94? A still-midcard Diesel. A jobbed out Jerry Lawler. Washed up Bob Backlund. Glorified jobber Jim Neidhart.

As good as the quality of his matches with Owen, the feud went about four months too long, too, and Owen was never accepted by the audience as a threat.

Flair would have been a Godsend for Vince in 1994.

As the story goes, Flair made a "handshake agreement" with Vince... this was back in the day when contracts were virtually non-existant, until WCW forced Vince's hand in the matter. Part of the agreement was that when Vince felt Flair could no longer fit into the main event picture, he would be free to leave. Flair gave notice in the latter months of 1992 that he wanted back to WCW (it was around the time Bill Watts took charge, I believe). Vince agreed.

Flair himself has confirmed the "handshake agreement", although I always figured the reason he fucked about with the "Flair For The Gold" shit was because he was not allowed to wrestle until his contract expired. Oh well. I guess maybe he was rehabbing an injury.

One thing I've never been able to understand is why the "Loser Leaves The WWF" match between Ric Flair and Mr Perfect was rushed onto Raw, rather than added to WrestleMania IX. It would have been a real highlight at a much-slated show, and Flair continued to work dates with the WWF for months after the Raw match anyway. In fact, I personally saw him face Bret Hart for the WWF title in London over a month later.