I realize that I have written a lot about Ric Flair in my short career as a pro-wrestling journalist. It’s hard for us writers to not take up the pen to applaud the matches and careers of those that we like the most. Because I wanted to be taken more seriously as a writer than just a Ric Flair fan, I had decided to stop writing about my childhood idol. However, I am breaking that vow because I realize this may be the last time I will be writing about him as an active wrestler.
Early in 2007, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin had a wonderful idea for how the “Nature Boy” should retire, when he decides to. The idea was to have him be put into an angle where he doesn’t want to retire, but will be forced by Vince McMahon to do so if he loses a single match. Quite obviously, this storyline has come into play.
I don’t go into every match assuming Flair will lose and have to retire. This angle is one of the better ones that the WWE has come up with in many years. To have it end anywhere other than wrestling’s biggest stage would be a huge miss by the creative team. So, I expect Flair to continue to win every one of his matches, with the end coming at Wrestlemania 24.
Because of a potential loss at Wrestlemania, it looks like the “17th” World Championship reign of the greatest wrestler of all time is something that we’ll never see. Ric Flair is not in line to challenge for either of the WWE’s World Titles. He also signed a new three year deal with the WWE that will prevent him from going after the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. This is a hard pill for me to swallow, because I was hoping against all hope that this man’s hard work for over thirty years would be rewarded with one more belt.
So, if Ric Flair is not going to end his three-decade run as a World Champion, the question becomes what is the best way for him to end it? There have been many ups and downs throughout these years, and even most Flair fans would not characterize his career since losing to Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach 1994 as being nearly as impressive of the dominance he demonstrated before that event. However, all of the years-including the non dominant ones- have entertained myself and millions of people for a long time. It is with no reservation that I believe that Ric Flair should go out in an entirely spectacular way.
On New Years Eve 2007, I almost believed that the end had finally come for the “Nature Boy.” It’s no news to all of us fans that Ric Flair and Triple H are extremely good friends not only on screen, but also in real life. Triple H is still the central player for the WWE, arguably the best wrestler of this generation and will most likely be remembered as the next Ric Flair. There may have been no better moment or man to end the career of Flair.
However, it didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong, I was routing for Ric through the entire match. It puts me on edge each time he steps into the ring, because although I expect him to last until Wrestlemania, I am not enough in the know to be one hundred percent positive that this will happen.
If Ric Flair will not lose his final match to Triple H (I don’t discount the possibility of a Wrestlemania match between the two, but feel it’s unlikely Triple H will keep himself too far away from the main event), then whom can he lose it to? It would be a shame if he were to have his final match against someone such as WWE Champion Randy Orton, Umaga, Batista or anyone else on either Smackdown or RAW other than Triple H.
Whatever happens, I hope that Vince McMahon and all of those on the creative team will take some time to think this over. The person who finally beats Ric Flair will be able to say throughout the rest of his career that he retired the greatest wrestler of all time. That is not a accolade to distribute lightly. The wrestler who wins this honor has to be someone who deserves it. Other than Triple H and possibly the Undertaker, I can think of no current WWE wrestler who does.
So, until it happens, I will sit back and await; all the time wondering if this interesting angle will end and be another great chapter in the career of Ric Flair, or if WWE will screw it up and most of us fans will forget.
Copyright © 2005; TheWrestlingVoice.com & Douglas Nunnally.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer & Privacy Statement
| What Did You Think About WWE Backlash 2008? |
|
|