Professional wrestling has always held a special place for me. Some of my best memories and most fun times involved wrestling. In fact, I wanted to be a professional wrestler as a kid.
Sadly, the fact that I am only 6’0 foot and 175 pounds sort of limits my wrestling prowess, but make no mistake, I know how to put someone in a figure 4 leglock and get a submission.
As teenagers, and this is embarrassing, my friends and I created our own wrestling alliance. We made title belts, had rivalries, and wrestled at each other’s houses on the weekend. Now, we were pretty stupid, as teenagers are wont to be, so we generally did all the moves and stunts for real. It’s a miracle no one got killed, though I did mess my shoulder up for weeks once. Good times.
Most of the legends of my youth have left us. Rowdy Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Macho Man Randy Savage (my personal favorite), Owen Hart; either old age, drug use, or a lifetime of wear and tear on the body has taken guys out.
Not the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Hell no! The Nature Boy is a FREAK of nature. At 73 years old, Flair still wheels, deals and wrestles. At least for one last match. Recently Flair climbed into the squared circle for one last throwdown. Let’s check Outkick and see how it went down:
Ric Flair, 73, pinned Jeff Jarrett with his signature figure-four leglock during his final match.
Flair teamed up with Andrade El Idolo — his son-in-law — to defeat Jarrett and Jay Lethal. He arrived in his white robe to surprise fans with the classic “Big Gold Belt.”
Now of course, Flair isn’t as agile as he once was, but who is? I’m only 55 and I still work out and stay active, but I still sometimes limp for no reason. I can’t imagine being thrown around the ring for even a minute.
Fortunately for Flair, he was DOING the throwing.
The Best Thing Going Today! WOOOOO! @StarrcastEvents #RicFlairsLastMatch pic.twitter.com/QTs8Pvk8Yi
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) August 2, 2022
Of course, we all know wrestling is choreographed, and the punches are pulled, but the violence and the contact are real, as is the blood. Flair had to get medical clearance to do this last match and went to a number of doctors before he found one willing to put his reputation and likely license on the line to approve the Nature Boy for what could’ve been a deadly night.
Ric Flair takes a suplex from Jay Lethal. #RicFlairsLastMatch pic.twitter.com/huWUDkx4Ia
— NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW news (@nodqdotcom) August 1, 2022
That folks, is a 73-year-old man taking a suplex. I challenge anyone to take a suplex. I’ve been suplexed. It hurts. It’s no fun at all, and I was a teenager. Of course, I wasn’t trained to do it correctly, but I also wasn’t 73!
In the end, Flair emerged victorious. One last time a legend locked in his signature move. Even if he couldn’t sit up because of his back.
ric flair winning his last match with a figure four leg lock while laying on his back because he was unable to sit up pic.twitter.com/d1Sf6iHj5J
— forever botchamania (@Maffewgregg) August 1, 2022
The end of an era. Stone Cold, Vince McMahon and now Ric Flair all retiring in the same year. Wrestling will never be the same, but us fans of a certain age will always treasure the memories the Nature Boy Ric Flair provided.
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News
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