15 MORE Incredible WWE Ruthless Aggression Era Moments Nobody Ever Talks About
3. Ric Flair Works A TLC Match
The first TLC match happened at SummerSlam 2000. Around the same time, Ric Flair was floundering around on WCW TV winning World Titles in his "street clothes", feuding with Vince Russo and was generally lacking confidence that he still had it. Nobody could've guessed then that the 'Nature Boy' would be working one of those stunt show bouts less than 6 years later.
Hell, hardly anyone thought Ric would still be wrestling by 2006 let alone starring in TLC matches. His first crack at the match type came on the 16 January 2006 Raw. Flair battled Edge for the WWE Title in a stirring showdown that existed to put sympathy on the war-weary veteran and make the Edge/Lita combo look like the most vibrant heels in the industry.
Also, Charlotte Flair was at ringside looking on with some buddies.
It's so weird to see Ric in this kind of setting. He only went to the top turnbuckle to get thrown across the ring throughout his career, after all, so the thought of Flair flopping around in a TLC match or doing his best impressions of Jeff Hardy was borderline hilarious. It was must see television, and yet...hardly anyone talks about it.
Ric was ticking off some career firsts towards the end of his second WWE run. The aging star was visibly having the time of his life and loved the attention, but this TLC match with Edge has been overlooked for a long, long time. Maybe that's down to Flair avoiding some potentially career (or life!) ending bumps from atop the ladder.