Ric Flair's "Last" Wrestling Match Confirmed, Legendary Opponent Lined Up?
The latest on 73-year-old Ric Flair's final wrestling match, planned opponents & more.
It looks like pro wrestling legend Ric Flair will get his final match after all.
ESPN's Marc Raimondi confirmed yesterday that the 73-year-old 'Nature Boy' will return to the ring over SummerSlam 2022 weekend, competing at a Nashville Fairgrounds live event to be streamed live on FITE TV.
It will be the first time Flair has competed since facing Sting on TNA's 15 September 2011 episode of IMPACT Wrestling. Currently, it is being billed as the final bout of his lengthy pro wrestling career.
Ric has issued the following comment on the bout, which takes place the day after SummerSlam 2022 and the weekend's Starrcast V convention:-
"I'm going to walk that aisle one last time to prove once and for all that to be the Man, you've got to beat the Man."
While Flair's opponent(s) is yet to be confirmed. Fightful Select reports that the match could involve one of Ric's most famous opponents, Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat.
Steamboat, 69, hasn't wrestled since June 2010 himself. It is unlikely that any bout with Flair would be a straight-up one-on-one, however, as the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer has previously suggested that Flair and AEW's FTR may team to face the Rock 'N' Roll Express and an unconfirmed partner.
The bout has not yet been confirmed, though planning has gotten to the stage that Steamboat has personally met with Starrcast organiser Conrad Thompson to discuss it. AEW owner Tony Khan hasn't signed off on FTR's participation yet either.
Flair and Steamboat were frequent opponents throughout their prime years, with their legendary 1989 series considered amongst the greatest wrestling of all time.