Woooooooo! The Man is back! He has returned to WWE, hopefully leaving his days at TNA / iMPACT Wrestling firmly behind him. It goes without saying that The Nature Boy Ric Flair is ICONIC; he is wrestling history and wrestling performance personified. For those of you relatively new to the world of WWE or professional wrestling in general (say over the past 10 years), do your homework if you don't know the Nature Boy. Names like John Cena, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, or even The Rock are not in existence today if not for what Ric Flair has given to the sport over the past four decades. Now that he has returned to WWE, we here at WhatCulture take a look at several ways they can make the most of what is likely to be his final run in the very business he helped shape, now that he has returned to the big WWE stage.
1. Do Use Ric Flair Sparingly on Television
Flair is best in these, his latter years, when given to us in small doses. He was great at The Slammy's this year, with his verbal confrontation against CM Punk. He was also good in the Miz TV segment at the RAW 20th anniversary show, as he tried to save that segment of the live tv broadcast that was failing miserably. Flair has a knack for being able to work with and "put over" even the newest talent, making the Cesaro altercation on the MizTV segment somewhat interesting. Passing on his Figure Four Leglock to Miz is questionable, but I think again in the long term, if The Miz can pull it together and actually execute the hold (go back and watch the tape), Flair's involvement could lead to putting The Miz over far more than he has been able to get over on his own in recent months. Keeping Flair off TV, but involved in key moments with whomever he is working with, is critical in not wasting this opportunity.
Don't Form Another Stable / Faction Around Flair
The days of Flair spear-heading another wrestling faction should be long gone. The WWE must not place him in the role of being the leader of yet another stable of wrestlers. This idea, particularly as it relates to Flair's involvement in WWE in recent years, is overplayed but it's also expected by most fans. Long gone are the days of The Four Horsemen or Evolution. Flair would be better used by mentoring one single wrestler, such as they are seemingly trying to do with him now by pairing him with The Miz. Flair no longer needs to be involved with or be the head of any type of group of wrestlers, old or new. We as viewers are expecting it, and both Flair and the fans deserve better, more creative plans for The Nature Boy. Click "next" below to carry on reading...