Ric Flair retired last week at Wrestlemania 24, in which he fought his last fight against another legend, Shawn Michaels. It was a great fight and be terrific week for Ric flair to end his 36 year career. It really was a fitting end to a great career by one of the legendary wrestlers.
Now Ric Flair was by no means what my favorite wrestlers to watch a match. He was very repetitive in his moves but most wrestlers are that way, like Hulk Hogan. Even though I thought he was not the most interesting wrestler, I still respected him for what he did in and out of the ring. It is obvious that most wrestlers really liked him a lot and respected him. Not many wrestlers get such a big sendoff, which is a testament to how Ric Flair affected many pro wrestlers.
I did not think that his last match would affect me like you did but, in the last minutes of the fight, right before Michaels gives him the last Sweet Chin music, I did get a little teary-eyed. What Michaels said right before he did the kick really got to me. It is probably a guy thing but most of us are really affected by having to say goodbye and stop doing something that we have been doing for a long time. It really is sad in a way.
Ric Flair looked good in his match at the veteran age of 59. He was a bit slower than he was when he was in his 30s but he still put up a better show than many of the wrestlers half his age. He was getting slower and he knew his time was up. Unlike Hogan, who comes out of retirement every few months just to show off his ego, I believe that Ric Flair knows when it is time to hang his boot up. I think that he means it when he says that he will never step into the ring ever again. I hope that he still has a role with the wrestlers in the back room.
I liked the sendoff that the WWE gave Ric Flair on RAW, the day after Wrestlemania. I gained a little more respect for Triple H this is heartfelt comments to Ric Flair and all the people, wrestlers and family, that came out to say thank you before he leaves the ring for the last time. I cannot think of a better way for a legendary wrestler to retire. Ric Flair deserved it and I will miss him, as will most wrestling fans and wrestlers alike.
I really do not like the storyline that the WWE is using now based on Ric Flair’s retirement. They are making Shawn Michaels look as if he put Ric flair into retirement by defeating him. Batista is saying that Shawn Michael should not have beaten Ric Flair at Wrestlemania and is starting a big thing with Shawn Michaels. I just do not like the storyline because, regardless of the outcome of the match, it is obvious that this would be Flair’s last match and everything all year long with Flair was meant to lead up to an end at Wrestlemania. This is a fitting end to a long and illustrious career.
For one thing, it seems unrealistic for wrestlers to act as if Michaels really took Flair’s career away. Everything that Flair has said after his final match shows that he is admitting that it was his last match. We all know that wrestling’s matches are pretty much rigged as to their outcome, so this new storyline between Batista and Michaels just seems too unrealistic that it is almost laughable to see Batista with such a serious look on his face.
I hope that this Batista at Michael’s storyline is not drawn out too much because it just feels like Ric Flair should be left to retire on a positive note, unlike what was done to Eddie Guerrero. Of course, he died and Ric Flair did not but it still feels just as disrespectful.
