When looking back on Ric Flairs career, most think of his amazing finale, and what a tremendous send-off it was. What fans may not recall was that prior to that, he was wasted in the mid-card for years. Post-Evolution was a rough run for The Nature Boy. He was feuding with Carlito, then teaming with him, and jobbing to Shelton Benjamin, RVD, Umaga and The Great Khali. He deserved better. Flair was still a pretty damn good wrestler into his 50s, but near the end of his run, you couldn't help but cringe when he took big bumps. And the less said about his time in TNA, the better. It just didnt feel right getting such a great retirement match, then going out and losing to Abyss, Mick Foley and Sting in inconsequential matches. When He Should Have Hung Up The Tights: The match with Michaels was a phenomenal way to go out, but maybe they could have got to that a few years sooner.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
