Ric Flair Crushed Dwight Howard's Pro Wrestling Career Before It Began

Dariel Figueroa | Sep 11, 2024

Dwight Howard Says Ric Flair Talked Him Out Of Wrestling Career | TMZ Sports / TMZSports

Former NBA all-star Dwight Howard turned heads when he showed up for a WWE tryout at SummerSlam 2022 with a promo inspired by the cult classic The Last Dragon.

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Howard, who was last seen in the NBA at the end of the 2021-2022 season, said in an interview following the WWE tryout that he wanted to transition into a pro wrestling career.

Enter "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

TMZ Sports spoke with Howard this week, and the former L.A. Laker said that Flair convinced him his knees would make it difficult to become an in-ring competitor.

"My knees feel good, it's just wrestling," Howard told TMZ Sports. "You're talking about picking up 300-pound dudes and all that stuff. Nobody wants to do that for their whole life!"

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Keiji Muto, Mick Foley, and thousands of pro wrestlers could easily attest to the dangers of in-ring action on the joints. At 38 years old and with a lengthy NBA career behind him, Flair likely saved Howard a lot of anguish by revealing the vicious toll a wrestling career can wreak on the body.

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Howard is getting back to competition, but it's on the dance floor instead of the basketball court. He'll be featured in the next season of Dancing With The Stars. As for perhaps appearing in some capacity for WWE in the future, the former pro baller doesn't seem hurried to get in the squared circle.

"I'd rather be with my kids, man," Howard said.