Ric Flair is a legend in the wrestling world and will undoubtedly go down as one of the all-time greats. His skills in the ring and on the mic are top tier and his place in history is undoubtedly cemented. However, just like a lot of the greats, Ric Flair has found it difficult to let go in recent years and move on from a pro-wrestling world that has evolved without him.
If you were a WWE fan who watched WrestleMania 24 in 2008, you were undoubtedly looking forward to seeing the "Nature Boy" take on "The Heartbreak Kid" in a possible career-ending match. Having witnessed that match's conclusion with HBK's iconic line of "I'm sorry, I love you," followed by Sweet Chin Music and a pin, you might be surprised to learn that Ric Flair didn't retire at all after walking back up that long WrestleMania ramp. In fact, he is still performing over 14 years later!
This is a trend in wrestling that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. Just like your favorite Marvel movie, the hero who seems gone is never REALLY gone. Definitive final matches almost never happen, and Ric Flair is a prime example. This is a shame because even re-watching it all these years later, it still holds up as an incredibly emotional match that told a fantastic story. It's unfortunate that Flair saw fit to undo its good work almost immediately.
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Just over a year after Flair's "retirement," he surprised wrestling fans and WWE executives alike by signing a one-year deal with TNA (Total Nonstop Action, now renamed IMPACT Wrestling) and appearing on their first show of that year. In TNA, Flair's match quality was universally looked at by wrestling fans as a far cry from his glory days. He bled profusely in almost every match, to a point where it served only as a source of comedy and jokes.
It was clear that TNA struggled to find things for Flair to do. At one point, he ended up acting as a manager for AJ Styles; a man who was already becoming a big star on his own and didn't really need any help. His feuds with Hulk Hogan failed to impress and only served to remind fans that both were well past their prime.
In the end, his most memorable moments were with Jay Lethal. His "wooo off" with the man who has recently found himself in Tony Kahn's AEW, is the most lingering memory that most fans have. Unfortunately, even this feud came with plenty of gimmicky moments that stood as a far cry from his emotional WWE ending. Moments like getting his pants pulled down in the ring for comedic effect.
Ric Flair has openly stated that he went to TNA for the money. This is obvious in every match and clip that you can find from this regrettable time in the legend's career. Thankfully, TNA released Flair and finally put the matter to bed.
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In the end, as all wrestlers seem to do, Ric Flair found his way back to WWE. His most recent appearances saw him in a cringe-worthy angle where he flaunted a relationship with Lacey Evans in front of his daughter, Charlotte Flair. The less said about this, the better.
He was also involved in semi-recent angles with his old Evolution stable mates. In a 2019 feud between Triple H and Batista, he was beaten up off camera as a means of getting into the head of "The Game." This culminated at WrestleMania 35 when he assisted Triple H in achieving a victory over "The Animal."
In 2020, he fell victim to Randy Orton's re-discovered legend killer phase. While trying to act as a mentor and father figure to the Viper, he was betrayed and assaulted. This run with Orton actually managed to carry a decent amount of emotional impact and was arguably the best way that Flair has been utilized in his post-WrestleMania "retirement" era.
Recent allegations made about Flair's behavior during the "Plane Ride From Hell" on VICE's "Dark Side of the Ring" documentary series cast Flair in an incredibly unsavory light. This prompted WWE to distance itself from him to this day.
After all these years, Ric Flair finally seems set to retire for real. On July 31, 2022, he is getting into one of his iconic robes for one last time to challenge the aforementioned Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett, alongside his son-in-law Andrade. All Ric Flair fans can do at this point is hope that the match somehow brings a better conclusion to his legendary (although admittedly tainted) career, than WrestleMania 24 did. The match certainly has its work cut out for it.