100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
12. HBK Retires Ric Flair (WrestleMania XXIV)
"I'm sorry, I love you".
That's what Shawn Michaels told Ric Flair right before putting him down for the count with one last superkick at 'Mania XXIV. In storyline, WWE's announcers acted like Shawn was putting a beloved family pet out of his misery. It was harrowing, but ultimately an act of kindness so everyone could remember the good times without a bitter end. Such narrative had played a part in the bout's build too, which was fab.
Ric initially said it'd be an honour to have Michaels retire him, but grew animated once everybody (including Shawn) agreed that was definitely going to happen. That old 'Nature Boy' spirit rushed to the surface, and it gave their match an extra bit of needle. Vince McMahon deciding on TV that Flair's next loss would be his last heightened WWE's drama too. What do the cool kids say now? This was cinema? It was.
Of course, Ric didn't stick to the whole retirement thing. He'd actually work his potentially fatal final match in 2022 (maybe!), but the company went all out to make 2008's final in-ring WWE curtain call a memorable occasion. They couldn't have handpicked anybody better than HBK to do the honours and make sure the show went off without a hitch.
Flair was crying as Shawn pinned him for the victory. In fact, he was weeping long before that. His call to wrestle further matches on a Hulk Hogan tour and in TNA/elsewhere definitely blunts the sharpness of this memory, but it doesn't outright shatter the moment.