Sports

Ric Flair, 73, handles ‘pressure’, author of classic performance to win his final wrestling match



NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ric Flair does his trademark strut. He led the crowd and chanted “Woo!” The legendary pro wrestler even had bleeding, red drenched face, and recognizable white hair that resembled the 1970s or 1980s.

And fittingly, Flair’s final wrestling match ended Sunday night here in a sold-out city auditorium with hit number four, the closing move synonymous with “The Nature Boy.” Of course, Flair, 73, was the winner of a team match alongside partner and son-in-law Andrade El Idolo against Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett’s team. Attendance was close to 10,000, per Fite TV broadcast provider.

Flair was clearly exhausted by the end of his first game since 2011, but he was finally fit enough to step out to his own strength and do an interview with the broadcaster. Longtime wrestler Tony Schiavone. After the match, Flair was helped out of the ring, and he greeted his family in the front row, as well as pro wrestling stars The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Mick Foley.

“I had one of the best fights of my career here with Ricky Steamboat,” Flair said. “All my family is here. We joked about me being married five times. All the kids are here. One wife, but all my nieces. My friends. They’re all here. I swear to God, guys. If I don’t have enough Pressure on me tonight, f — ing Kid Rock walks into the dressing room tonight.”

The intense bout lasted nearly 30 minutes and, clearly Flair wasn’t someone who overcame pro wrestling in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s and Andrade, Lethal and Jarrett did most of the hard work, Flair was able to hold his own weight. He lands and punches, his donkey kicks low and even takes a vertical smack from Lethal, whom he’s trained for this bout getting ready for the ring.

The ending is when Jarrett, a performance legend right in his hometown, lands his signature guitar on Lethal as Andrade pulls Flair away. Flair’s other son-in-law and card promoter, Conrad Thompson, threw Andrade a pair of brass knuckles from the front row, which Andrade handed to Flair. Flair landed a bronze knuckle on Jarrett and then brought him to a figure four deadlock to end the match.

“This match is the most important match of my career,” said Andrade, an AEW star who is married to Flair’s daughter and WWE celebrity Charlotte. “…This is unbelievable. I don’t even have words for this. [Flair] feel better than 20-year-old boys. He is an inspiration to me. “

Flair is a 16-time former World Champion and a WWE Hall of Famer. He’s one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the business and his stardom has made its way into the mainstream, even in the current era. Flair has been featured in several music videos by top hip-hop artists, including a song written about him called Offset’s “Ric Flair Drip” in 2017. He’s the leader of the faction. The Four Horsemen is influential in his wrestling, his matches, and his work. on the microphone is the icon. Many of his catchphrases – and of course, the classic “Woo!” – is still repeated to this day.

Flair’s style and swagger – complete with expensive suits, diamond-encrusted gowns, eye-catching jewelry and crocodile leather shoes – has been modeled far beyond the world of wrestling.

Flair wore an estimated nearly $40,000 cape to the ring on Sunday night. But that’s where the passing of time ends and things get worse and dirtier. In the middle of the fight, Flair slashed his forehead with a razor, causing bleeding, a pro wrestling technique to add intensity to the fight. Lethal said Flair doing that is his biggest concern, because it’s unpredictable how a baffled Flair will react to a cut.

Lethal, who also fights for AEW, said: “It’s the unknown variant. “I hate to give so much in wrestling, but Ric, he likes to do what’s called walking and talking. Not much is planned. But I can predict how much there will be. moves. The only thing I can’t predict is how much he’ll bleed, is it controllable? Is it too much? It’s out of our hands.”

Jarrett was emotional after the game, saying it was “overwhelming”.

“This is his last,” said Jarrett, 55, a WWE Hall of Famer who works as a WWE executive. “If anything goes wrong, it’s my fault. It’s someone else’s fault. I’m so happy for Ric, I don’t know what to say. … As a spectator, you all watched it and went home. tonight. When you’re getting in, it’s a whole different level of pressure that I’ve never been under.”

A bloody Flair was helped up the ramp by Andrade. Lethal, who was once the enemy in the story, appeared, and he and Flair fell into a long embrace. Flair was extremely appreciative – and trusted – of Lethal to prepare him a ring for his final duel.

“I said, ‘I… love you, you’re a great man, I’m trying to be like you when I’m growing up, because you’re amazing. You’re the greatest wrestler in the world. world f — ing’,” said Lethal. “He started crying and said, ‘Thank you. Thank you very much.'”



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