Ric Flair reacts to Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay comparisons
Posted: Sep 3rd 2026 By: Joseph Currier
Ric Flair is a fan of Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay but doesn’t want to see their AEW All In 2026 main event compared to the matches he used to have against Ricky Steamboat.
Those comparisons started when Darius Rucker, a country music star and huge old-school wrestling fan, responded to someone on social media who called Omega vs. Ospreay the greatest match of all time. In response, Rucker said this person must have never seen Flair vs. Steamboat. That kicked off a debate over whether Omega vs. Ospreay was better than the classic bouts Flair and Steamboat had over the years.
Flair himself weighed in and, while calling Omega and Ospreay “great young talent,” said they shouldn’t be in the conversation until they’ve worked the schedule he and Steamboat did and have their matches stand the test of time:
No One Has More Respect For @KennyOmegamanX And @WillOspreay Than Me! But To Compare Them To Steamboat And I Is Like Comparing The Mississippi River To The Pacific Ocean! When They Have A Great Match 300 Times A Year And 200 Hour Broadways, Get Back To Me! Until Then, There Is No Problem With Being Number Two. You Are Great Young Talent, But Let’s Get Serious Kids! You Should Only Hope That You Have People Talking About Your Matches 37 Years Later! WOOOOO!
The Flair vs. Steamboat rivalry is best known for its 1989 trilogy, though they worked many matches against each other both before and after that.
Ospreay, the new AEW World Champion, defeated Omega in the main event of All In and now has a 2-1 record over Omega in their own trilogy.
Rucker’s initial tweet did say that he loves what WWE, AEW, and everyone else in wrestling are doing right now, but he doesn’t think it can live up to the territory era.
Ric Flair’s status —
Flair, despite very rarely making appearances for the promotion, is still under contract with AEW. The 77-year-old legend was supposed to receive an award at the Cauliflower Alley Club’s reunion in Las Vegas last week but wasn’t able to travel to Vegas due to a blood clot in his leg, though he did make the shorter trip to Pennsylvania for a meet and greet/signing appearance over the weekend.
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