Signs Point to Ric Flair Signing with TNA…and it Makes Me Sad

Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels

I just watched Ric Flair’s “retirement” match with Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 24. It wasn’t the most technically impressive match I’ve ever seen, but in terms of storytelling and playing with the crowd’s emotions, few can top it. More importantly, it was the perfect send-off to Flair’s wrestling career in North America. With rumors swirling that Flair will sign with TNA for a series of matches with Hulk Hogan, I’m totally bummed that “The Nature Boy” is even considering ruining his storybook ending.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s absolutely Flair’s right to make a living any way he sees fit, but he’s not “The Nature Boy” anymore. He hasn’t been for a long, long time. Although I haven’t followed all of his career, I’ve watched a great deal of it. From the NWA to WCW to WWF to WWE, I have no doubt that Flair is the best wrestler of all time. His matches with Harley Race, Kerry Von Erich, Sting, and (especially) Ricky Steamboat were brilliant. He was also able to carry limited wrestlers (Lex Luger) to excellent matches. In the ring and on the mic, nobody was better than Flair and I can’t imagine anyone topping him.

It makes me sad that there’s a whole generation of WWE fans that know Flair as this old guy with a fake tan and loose skin. They see him as this guy that hits his opponents in the balls and pokes their eyes. If Flair works for TNA, there are going to be even more fans that will see this watered-down version of Naitch.

When Yankee great Joe DiMaggio retired in 1951, his brother Tom said, “He quit because he couldn’t be Joe DiMaggio anymore.” Flair can’t be “The Nature Boy” anymore and I wish he’d take a cue from the Fuel song WWE used for his retirement run: “Leave the Memories Alone”.

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

11 thoughts on “Signs Point to Ric Flair Signing with TNA…and it Makes Me Sad”

  1. The only people Ric Flair should be signing up with is the Shady Acres retirement home. Time to throw in the towel with dignity, dude.

    -M

  3. flair was old 10 years ago…hes my dads age

    let it go ric, pass the torch to jericho

    sidenote* ive been a jericoholic for 15 years, dude has all the talent in the world, and hes the best ive ever seen on a mic…just my personal opinion, when jericho tells me that hes the best in the world, i just happen to believe him

    1. I agree that Jericho is currently the best in the world at what he does. In the ring, on the mic, and especially putting people/events over, he's tops at the moment.

  4. Flair should stick around the wrestling scene… in a purely non-wrestling capacity. If I were TNA, I would immediately move him into a Jerry Lawler-esque color commentary spot. Work him as what he is, the Wrestler's Wrestler, have him treat the sport seriously and deliver unique ring insights during his commentary. Every so often, have some young punk try and challenge him only to have an older wrestler come out and pull a "Don't you know who that guy is [Young Dude], that's the Nature Boy. Your sweat couldn't take him in the ring." Build him up as the legend he is, revere him for the matches he's done, and make sure that people know where he's come from.

  5. @Larcenous: That's absoultely a great idea. In fact, can we just get Vince to finally replace Lawler with someone who can talk about something other than breasts? I'm a man, I can see them. I don't need some old man screaming about them on TV like an adolescent with an overactive sex drive.

  6. @Nightshade386 Lawler's problem is that he stopped caring years ago. He doesn't follow other WWE products and barely remembers things that happened on previous RAW episodes. He misses an opportunity to provide context to matches, feuds, etc. because he can't be bothered to study the product.

  7. @Lawler – when they first brought him in, he was a real breath of fresh air as far as that position was concerned. Now he is just an old man yelling Puppies!

    That position needs someone with a great memory for feuds and matches, and an understanding of the wrestling community in the ring, behind the ring, and in the bleachers. Flair would be able to do this, as well as introducing people to a whole new side of him. He doesn't need to go out in character, he just needs to be himself.

  8. @Side Note – they could also take the oppotunity to point out that he has been on the scene for 40+ years and introduce a classics collection of old fights. The WWE loves marketing, so do a Flair's Fights set of disks, and have him do commentary on his favorite matches. It would be like a wrestling geeks wet dream. I would have him address it to the core audience. We know it's a business, we know it's a work, give us the behind the scenes.

  10. @Cut – and not a Flair/Hogan/Randy the Ram bladejob kind of cut either. I don't need Peyton Manning giving me a first-aid kit for christmas.

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