10 Wrestlers Who Ruined Their Own Legacy
3. Ric Flair
A lot of younger wrestling fans probably know Ric Flair as the man who assaults his suit jackets, enthusiastically yells out a single syllable and gets involved in awful pregnancy storylines that thankfully never resolve. But, for a time in the 1980s, Ric Flair represented the height of wrestling counterculture.
Flair’s 2008 retirement storyline, match with HBK and subsequent “farewell address” were the stuff that any wrestler would dream of. Flair went out on his own terms, in a Match of the Year winning bout, and was lauded for it.
18 months later he ruined it all by wrestling at an ROH show against Hulk Hogan. Most noticeably, Flair’s ensuing stint in TNA was a blemish on his previous swansong that ended in a second, far less impactful (pun unintended) retirement against long time rival Sting.
Despite him vowing to never return to the ring after Jerry Lawler’s terrifying on-air heart attack in 2012, here we are a whole decade later with Flair at 73 years old gearing up for one last match on the independent scene. His original retirement seems a world away now, tarnished by either Flair’s boredom or an unresolved need to prove himself.
There is no way, no matter who the opponent is, that a geriatric Flair will be able to put on a good match this summer. Since his perfect retirement is gone, the most we can hope for is something safe.