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A Flair for the spotlight

Posted: Mar 28th 2008 By: mikeiles

'Nature Boy' gears up for 'Wrestlemania 24,' Hall of Fame induction

Thursday, March 27, 2008

For all of you 30- or 40-something couch potatoes who think a half hour on the elliptical machine is a big exertion of energy, 59-year-old "Nature Boy" Ric Flair ought to put you to shame.
Flair's training regimen often involves a deck of cards in which the type of exercise he undergoes depends on the luck of the draw. For instance, a face card or the joker might result in more repetitions on a particular exercise. This lasts for 40 minutes.

Then Flair rides a stationary bicycle. He'll do free squat, step ups and weight lifting.

The entire program is two hours every day.

"It's a whole different world than just running around the track and riding the bike," Flair said. "Wrestling is a whole new level of condition."

Flair will need all of that conditioning and more when he faces "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels on Sunday at World Wrestling Entertainment's "Wrestlemania 24" at Orlando's Amway Arena. According to pre-match stipulations, if Flair loses this match, his career - which spans all the way back to the 1970s and includes 16 world championship title reigns - ends.

Cue had a chance to chat with this WWE legend about his match with Michaels, his favorite era of his career and an induction Saturday into the WWE's Hall of Fame.

- John Sharp

Your gut feeling, champ - is this the end of your career?

My gut feeling? No. (Laughs). I'm not really as overwhelmed about it as I thought I would be. I've trained as hard as I've ever trained in my life. Training like it's (a match against Ricky "The Dragon") Steamboat from '89. The factor for me is the training effort. I get up early in the morning, and my wife is a personal trainer.

You've had a countless number of great memories in your career. Of all the eras you've wrestled in, which one was your favorite and why?

It would be in the 1980s or now. I couldn't pick between the two. It's hard to say this isn't the best time of my life. In the '80s, I was at my best. I clearly enjoy the notoriety I have now. It's a tough question to answer.

You are the first active competitor to receive WWE Hall of Fame honors. What does that mean to you?

I think it's one of the greatest things to happen to me. I can't think of anything that has been bigger. I'm a big sports fan, as you may or may not know. I see these guys, primarily in the NFL, get inducted in different years as their teammates do. Lynn Swann was (inducted) eight to nine years after Joe Greene. He was on the list for five, six, seven years. He was talking to an audience with a class of inductees he didn't even play with. For me, to be inducted when I'm still active in the locker room with all three brands and to be able to have this happen to me while I'm in front of my peers is a big deal.

The catchphrases ... I gotta know, where did you first come up with the limousine riding, jet flying son of a gun thing?

That's all stuff I used to ride down the road at night drinking a couple of beers with my friends in the '70s and put it together. I was so intent on being different and being the best of whatever was put in front of me back then.

With the reality TV craze these days, could we see Ric Flair on "Dancing With the Stars" or facing Donald Trump in the boardroom? Or, perhaps, a "Flair Knows Best"?

I have a lot of opportunities in the future if I need to fall back on them. Right now, I'm thinking of winning the match. I have an awesome opponent and someone I respect so much it's unbelievable.

(Editor's note: At this point, Flair asks to send a shout-out to a recognizable local name.)

I went to high school with Frank Velde from Pekin. I always like to say hi to the Velde family.

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Ric Flair faces Shawn Michaels as part of "Wrestlemania 24," available on pay-per-view television Sunday. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which also includes Flair, airs at 10 p.m. Saturday on the USA Network.

Tags: Ric Flair, WWE