Ric Flair reveals he had real-life heat with controversial backstage figure in WWE

Ric Flair recently appeared on Wrestling Inc to discuss a variety of things, including Roman Reigns' leukemia, Batista's Hall of Fame induction and more.

He revealed a very interesting tidbit when talking about Batista's recently-announced Hall of Fame induction for 2020. He was clear that he deserves it, unlike many superstars in recent years who weren't as deserving as many felt.

However, what was interesting was that during his time with Evolution, he struggled a bit and stated that his heat was with the recently-released Executive Director of SmackDown Eric Bischoff:

"Certainly Dave [Batista] made an impact, not only with us but as a singles and is a huge star in Hollywood. Kevin and Scott came along and revolutionized that thing. The guy who really kicked it off for them was when they got Sting. Everything ties together. I'm happy for all of these guys that were during my career that I had the pleasure to work with. Even though I struggled with some of the stuff, it wasn't with those guys. My problems were with Bischoff so I can't put heat on them."

It was well-documented that the two had heat but the reality is that in wrestling, there will always be a clash of egos. Moreover, their heat could have possibly transferred on from their WCW days as well.

It's just that in WWE, Bischoff didn't hold the same kind of power, although he was a well-respected General Manager and praised for his role as a heel - something he undoubtedly thrived at.

It's not clear whether they're on good terms now, but one would imagine that after all these years, they would let bygones be bygones. It's also a little surprising that he mentioned struggling during the Evolution run - one that was among the most important in the modern era of WWE.

You can read of Bischoff and Flair's backstage altercation in 2003 below: