Ric Flair and Mike Tyson first met in the 1980s.
"It was as cool as meeting Muhammad Ali," Flair said. "We've been friends for years. When [Tyson] was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2012, I was again with The Four Horsemen. It was a great honor for all of us to be with Mike."
Fast forward thirty years and the two are now working together in celebration of their mutual passion: cannabis.
Their new partnership for Tyson 2.0, Tyson’s cannabis company, will consist of Ric Flair themed concentrates, flowers, and consumables (all tested by Chief Brand Officer Mike Tyson himself, of course).
I asked Flair about the origin of the new partnership.
"The common denominator is Chad," Flair said. Chad Bronstein is the co-founder and chairman of Tyson 2.0, who raised over $100M last year for his companies Fyllo, Wesana, and Tyson 2.0 (Bronstein is also the manager and agent of UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Julianna Pena, whom he met through his wife).
"I got to spend time with Rick in Tampa, seeing how he treats his fans, [it's] like how Mike treats his fans. Tyson was a fan of Rick, and I just saw an opportunity. So I sat down with Rick and said we should create a cannabis line," Chad said.
The admiration is mutual.
Speaking on the Tyson 2.0 partnership with Ric Flair, Tyson said it's "the coming together of two legends and our common passion for cannabis and its benefits."
Benefits the two likely relish, as they should. It's the kind of partnership between two champions we should celebrate.
Because beyond the excitement we felt watching them perform in past years, or the nostalgia we feel seeing them now, is something more profound.
Every fighter wanted to fight like Tyson and have Flair's swagger, confidence, and charisma. Headlines highlighted the house–flash, fame, fortune, and ferocity–but overlooked the bricks their legacies were built with: pain and their ability to endure it.
Subtract the toll their bodies have taken–Ric Flair wrestled 757 times over the past 40-years while Tyson boxed 225 rounds over his 20-year pro career–and spoken word is all that's left. But these two aren't just orators. They're both the real deal.
Flair accrued dozens of championship belts, while Tyson was the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion in history, and both endured real pain to get here. Had cannabis not entered the picture, who knows where they'd be?
Their Trauma, Our Nostalgia
"In my business, you experience hurts and pains. Sometimes it's hard to go to sleep at night. Even at my age, I'm wound tight. I have an extreme amount of energy, and they calm me down and keep me happy. And I think the whole world needs to be happy right now," Flair said.
Part of Flair's anecdotal experience aligns with the latest research.
According to Harvard Medical School, the most common use for medical marijuana in the United States is pain control.
Insomnia is another common reason, and cannabis is a "far safer alternative" to opioids, a class of drugs professional fighters and wrestlers are especially vulnerable to becoming addicted.
Flair and Tyson, both champions of their sports, would be considered especially high-risk, given their disproportionate time in the ring.
For context, during his 1989 fight against Frank Bruno, Tyson was staggered and saw "white lights" following a left hook–right-hand combination to the side of his head.
Three years before their match-up, researchers determined Bruno's real-life punch force was equivalent to 1,420 pounds. According to the study, Bruno's punch force was equal to a blow from a mallet with a mass of 13 pounds swung at 20mph.
And that's just one combination, in one fight, against one fighter.
When you multiply that by the number of punches Tyson has taken, the fact he's still here is miraculous. Meanwhile, Flair, who's likely been dropped on his head hundreds of times over dozens of years is still wrestling at age 73.
Phoenix Rising From The... Ashtray
I attribute part of Tyson and Flair's enduring legacies to the nostalgia the two figures provoke in us. I felt it when I saw Ric Flair in Offset, Metro Boomin, and 21 Savage's 2018 music video "Ric Flair Drip."
I felt it again when Tyson stepped in the ring after a 15-year hiatus to face Roy Jones Jr. for an exhibition match in 2020. But let’s not forget the foundation their legacies were built with.
Tyson has always loved birds—pigeons in particular. So it's only right we celebrate Tyson, who, like a phoenix, has risen from the ashes. Or, more like the ashtray. And Ric, who has overcome his fair share of struggles to get here.
Cheers to them both and let us toast–or toke–to many more years of Rolex wearing, diamond ring wearing, kiss stealing, wheeling and dealing from them both.
