10 Greatest Long Term WWE Storylines Ever

4. Ric Flair's Enforced Retirement

Flair Michaels
WWE

By 2008, even Ric Flair's most ardent supporters were quietly urging him to hang up his boots. Though his matches hadn't quite become depressing, as they would in TNA, he was evidently a shadow of his former, best-in-the-world self.

Never the most muscled, Flair's lean physique had gathered some unsightly flab. He wasn't the Shar Pei puppy Scott Steiner hilariously proclaimed him as in the dying days of WCW, but he was an old man. His time had passed.

Vince McMahon decided to take Old Yeller 'round back and shoot him - but not before booking him in a rewarding forced retirement angle, one which underscored the importance of storytelling craft. Those matches were nowhere near the technical masterclasses he had assembled with Ricky Steamboat in 1989, but they retained a degree of the emotion, as a result of their heartbreaking and dramatic stakes. Those stakes - and the preternatural, all-time-great gifts of Shawn Michaels - rendered his WWE sendoff at WrestleMania XXIV a masterpiece, one which excused its oft-sloppy execution.

That the storyline is remembered fondly, despite Flair's quick and predictable renege, is a testament to its brilliance.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!