At the beginning of Impact Tna like to say "Tna, we are wrestling." Well after watching the Hall Of Fame, Wrestlemania and the farewell segment, I think it's safe to say the living legend Ric Flair is categorically the one true icon in pro wrestling.
A wee under a year ago when Ric Flair was jobbing to Carlito and floundering in the lower ranks of the Wwe I wrote a very negative piece entitled "Ric Flair From Designer to Desperate," calling for the Wwe to put him out of his misery. wee did I know that just a few months later the firm would ultimately learn what Ric Flair is about and give him the kind of send off only Flair can live up to.
Leading up to his five star match against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania there was a distinct degree of panic and worry about how it would all pan out. There were rumors that Wwe had turned down an initially great angle for Flair's relinquishment from Steve Austin and then Naitch had a falling out with the company, foremost to him taking time off camera. Hell even the Tna loyalists plan he might jump ship (in hindsight how awful would that have been!)
They at last worked through all the kinks in their association and Wwe and Flair were back on the same page - although the "lose a match and get fired" storyline left wee to be desired. Facing jobbers, being kept off Raw for 2 weeks and then losing but still retention your work on Smackdown doesn't make it work threatening and led many to believe Wwe were not putting their full force behind it. We barely even got any excellent Flair mic work. Maybe it's because Vince still saw Ric as a Wcw guy (heaven forbid pushing a talent you didn't create) or possibly the writers being mini Vince clones from Hollywood didn't "get" what Ric Flair was. Why should they? He was never a major player in the firm so they would probably not know any better, I mean part of what Vince looks for in new creative employees is that they aren't die hard fans.
Then came the single most foremost factor in this relinquishment angle - Shawn Michaels. Poor booking and creative failure, no matter how bad can never stop somebody like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair shining through and production it their own. Cream rises to the top in any scenario. Some may argue that Flair needed to pass the torch, but in this case he was. Flair was the biggest thing in the 70s-80s and still dominated in the 90's, Hbk was the biggest thing in the 90s-00s and will still dominate in to the 2010's.
Were they friends, weren't they friends? Did they truly respect each other or not? Was their any jealousy? Would Hbk superkick Flair? Old Yella! All of these factors came together to set the wheels for a excellent wrestling story. But one which was ultimately told in the ring like it should be.
The Hall Of Fame is something I look transmit to each year, despite being too young to have seen any of the inductees in their prime (not to say I haven't got the tapes). But this year was special, not just because Ric is the only active performer to be inducted, but because there was extra heart jumping climate that said, this is the end of an era. Every year you get those heart felt messages and acceptance speeches, but you can tell on the face of every single person at this years ceremony that Flair is the man and that whatever said about the guy wasn't fluff. It was true. I am 17 years old and I dropped a tear - what the hell was happening to the citizen that grew up idolizing Flair?
To me most Wrestlemania's are like all Ppvs. They have a few good matches I want to catch and the rest I just listen to or watch with a part of my attention. This one was different, purely because of Ric Flair. Something while that Hall Of Fame rekindled my passion and I sat and watched every single bit of Wrestlemania from start to end without a break and I loved it. Watching the recap videos still sends shivers. The sheer enormity of it all was breathtaking and if non fans can't sit there and be inspired by this event then they aren't human.
The match itself was 5 stars, possibly Flair's most match in the past 20 years. I fear it was the last "old school" match we'll ever see - where a story starts, grows and ends in the ring. When Flair stood up teary with fists raised and Michaels said "I'm sorry, I love you" I was proud to be a wrestling fan. If the nay sayers wonder why we watch wrestling and not Ufc then this is why. Ufc could ever and will never pull heart strings like this match did, period. The outcome was just as good as the match itself - we all wanted to see Flair win but in the context of the story, like th ending of a movie, the logical and most realistic conclusion occurred. If the saga ended there I'd have died a happy man, but the real tissues were yet to be reached for.
The following night on Raw was Ric Flair's farewell speech. What makes this even more extra was the fact that Flair had no idea what was going to happen, it was like a surprise birthday party. Flair went out to the ring and cut a rather generic thank you and goodbye promo, he went to put the mic down and "boooom" Triple H's music hit. Flair did not know this was going to happen so he looked confused. Hunter gave him a hug and Flair burst in to tears "I was doing great until you came out here." Helmsley said "if you think these citizen and I'm the only person that want to thank you Ric, then your wrong...my fingers are beginning to cramp up." He did the finger sign and out came the Horsemen! Followed by a whole host of foremost legends in Ric Flair's career, along with the younger stars and in the end the whole lockeroom.
Every single wrestler under contract, fan in the arena and viewer at home (at least I did) chanted "thank you Ric." What an breathtaking feeling - it made me feel part of one huge wrestling family. We don't need anyone else. This for us, the citizen that understand and respect the firm and we want to thank the man that made the firm what it is!
Thank You Ric Flair - Dusty called you a national treasure, well I'm from the Uk and call you an International treasure. Your legacy will live on in all the stars you helped and in all the Dvd collections of the fans.
What's next for Flair? Well he won't be in the ring again, unless it's with his son Reid, who is currently in development. He is still under covenant for a number of years, so there is the inherent that he'll be an on air character although I don't think he will cheapen his departure by doing that. As of now I have heard that he'll be going in to social Relations and promotion for the company, as well as helping his son train and running his own firm Ric Flair finance.
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