By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA's Ric Flair says he believes TNA will have as much awareness as WWE within six months. Flair made the audacious comment during an interview with The Mirror in the U.K. promoting TNA's U.K. tour in January 2011.

Flair, who said he will be wrestling on the U.K. Tour, was asked why he thinks TNA will be successful and what his thoughts are on the brief Monday night run opposite WWE Raw.

"It's going to be successful; it's just a question of awareness. When they (TNA) went to Monday nights, what hurt them was the awareness of the fact they went," Flair said. "It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising. It wasn't just on Spike. You have to go into Vince McMahon's USA Network. Awareness is very hard to make happen overnight. ... Six months from now, TNA will have as much awareness as WWE."

Flair was asked about TNA's booking, which is often-times criticized, and the short-term direction of the product. Flair chose to answer the question by looking at TNA having a potential competitive advantage over WWE with their talent roster.

"WWE is in the same situation (booking short-term) because talent comes and goes, people get hurt, and programs change overnight," Flair said. "The reason that we're going to be so successful is the roster right now in WWE is really, really thin. The top guys - the guys who really draw the money. Shawn's gone. Taker's working part-time. Hunter's making movies."

Earlier in the interview, Flair said he's the happiest he's been in the wrestling business since 1986 because TNA is "letting me be Ric Flair."

Link: Part 1 of Flair's video interview with Rob Leigh of The Mirror can be watched at this link.

Caldwell's Analysis: Flair also admitted in the interview that he didn't know who some of the younger stars in TNA are before he joined the promotion in January. It was also interesting how he used "they" in reference to TNA early in the interview, then switched to "we" later on. Flair also deftly avoided the question on TNA's booking by looking at WWE's depth issues. The problem is that TNA could have the greatest talent roster in the world, but if the booking can't put the talent in the right places to be successful, then TNA won't be successful. Flair's interview is a classic example of him coming across eternally optimistic about whichever project he's currently involved in.

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