The man himself lets fans inside his thoughts about his last match in the WWE.
At WrestleMania XXIV in 2008, fans inside of the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL bare-witnessed to former 16-time World Champion Ric Flair's last match in a WWE ring. Although Flair would go on to compete in a number of matches for Impact Wrestling, his last oorah in the WWE was capped off in storybook fashion. While speaking with SPORTBible, Flair shared that he hoped his last match in WWE would be with either of his good friends Triple H or Shawn Michaels.
"I had hoped it would be Hunter or Shawn." Flair revealed, "Either one worked for me. I was just really fortunate to be involved with either one of them. Shawn was probably the greatest performer of all time. It made it very special. I'd wrestled everybody that had any name recognition at that point. There wasn't another opponent that was my dream opponent. Being fortunate enough to wrestle Shawn Michaels was probably the first or second biggest moment of my WWE tenure."
At this point in time the "Nature Boy" was 59-years old and had already tallied up a great number of years in the pro wrestling business. His body had taken quite the punishment over his storied career and he was not shy in sharing that he doubted his in-ring ability heading into the match.
"Hunter knew that I was second-guessing my ability at that point in my life. I put a lot unnecessary pressure on myself when I look back on it. At that time I would have self-confidence issues. While Shawn prepared for the match he reassured me that this was going to be a great moment. Hunter walked me through the steps of getting myself ready to work. I had the luxury of the two best performers in the business. One I was wrestling and one was counseling me. One was my psychiatrist. People just took it for granted, all the other wrestlers didn't know I had these self-confidence issues. They just assumed 'that's Ric Flair that guy can do anything' when actually I was struggling, which Hunter refused to tolerate." Flair shared.
The moment that most remember about the match was the closing moments where a beaten and strong-willed Ric Flair locked eyes with his opponent and Michaels would tell Flair that he loves him and that he was sorry before delivering a "Superkick" for the three-count. Flair revealed that the moment was not planned at all and that was just an in-the-moment reaction from the legendary HBK.
"That wasn't planned at all. That is a moment I'll never forget. You can't plan something like that. I think it's how he felt. We're extremely close friends, I'm honored that he grew up admiring me, as did Triple H, and took me there with him in that moment. You can't rehearse something like that, and that's why I've always said; I don't care what sport it is, that might be the greatest retirement that any athlete has ever had the pleasure of being part of."
"Naitch" is not done fighting yet as he his set to undergo serious surgery this summer. To get caught up on the details regarding that, click here.
