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Flair not wrestling again ... in U.S.

Posted: May 31st 2009 By: mikeiles

?Nature Boy? Ric Flair may be back in WWE, but that doesn?t mean he?s going to wrestle.

Flair, 60, said he would never do anything to diminish last year?s glorious send-off at Wrestlemania 24.

Don?t worry about that ... I?m never going to wrestle again here. It?s not going to happen,? Flair said last week.

Flair does plan to wrestle later this year ? outside the country, with no ties to WWE, as part of a special overseas tour that will yield substantial payoffs to the 16-time world heavyweight champion.

?I don?t think anyone could begrudge me for throwing my gear on (overseas),? said Flair.

He said he?s still unsure what his responsibilities will be, but that his new WWE role likely will be similar to the goodwill ambassador position he assumed last year before parting ways with the company in August.

??It?s going to be in a promotional role,? said Flair, who added that he should be able to free up some of the current talent such as Triple H, who?s in Japan this week doing promotional work for an upcoming Smackdown tour of that country.

?He?s not even on the tour, but he?s promoting it since the other guys from Raw are in Mexico. He?s going to Australia with Raw.?

Flair said he will continue to fulfill his obligations regarding scheduled autograph sessions and personal appearances.

?I?ll still be able to do my stuff,? he said.

Flair, who recently had made appearances for Ring of Honor, ended his on-camera relationship prior to that company?s HDNet TV tapings Friday night in Philadelphia.

?I just can?t work for two people. It doesn?t make sense,? Flair said after the show.

Flair , who made the announcement during a dark segment prior to the taping, was gracious in his departure and said he enjoyed his time with ROH and working with the talent.

?The people received it very well. I just said goodbye, thanked them for all their respect, and told them that my loyalties and my family was with WWE. It worked out fine.?

Flair said it wouldn?t have made sense to try to work with both companies.

?It would be hypocritical if I tried to do both. I just told the truth. You can?t go wrong telling the truth. My loyalty is with WWE, and that?s where I?m at.?

Flair?s presence will add star power to a WWE product that has seen two of its biggest names, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, on the sidelines in recent months. Triple H has been on hiatus selling an injury, while Michaels is taking some much-needed time off and may not return until early next year. Former WWE champion Jeff Hardy reportedly also is looking at taking time off from the business.

Although most agree that Flair?s return will be a boost to the company and a welcome addition to the locker room, some WWE leaders have expressed mixed feelings.

?There?s a part of me that?s bittersweet,? Triple H told the ?Busted Open? show on Sirius XM radio last week. ?As much as I enjoy Ric on the show and I miss seeing Ric Flair on the show, I feel that he was given the ultimate send-off in the business.

?There have been so many guys in the past ... they retire and un-retire, then they retire and they un-retire. It?s almost a joke when they un-retire. He really wanted to be the guy who said it, meant it and did it. I don?t know if he misses the business or he needs the money. I?m not sure what it is, but if he?s thinking about coming back, there has to be a pretty good reason because he was pretty adamant about that never happening.?

Flair, however, said he has discussed the situation with Triple H and has assured him that he won?t be wrestling again in a WWE ring.

?He just didn?t want to see me wrestle,? said Flair. ?He?s happy I?m back.?

Jim Ross, saying he had no doubts in his mind that Flair hasn?t wrestled his last bout, also expressed cautious optimism regarding his return.

?I don?t think that his next in-ring wrestling outing will be for WWE, but internationally Ric has many lucrative offers that a 60-year-old man with somewhat staggering personal financial obligations likely cannot pass up,? Ross posted on his blog. ?The sums of money being purported surrounding these proposed bouts is serious money. These bouts could theoretically run into 2010.

?I am not generally in favor of Ric stepping back in the ring for multiple dates in other rings wrestling who knows who at this point, but I also can understand the financial obligations that Ric has and ?getting whole,? so to speak, at this stage of his game has credence.?

Flair compared his situation to that of Brett Favre in an interview with the Associated Press last week.

?If Brett Favre can come back once in a while, I certainly can,? said Flair.

Flair also reiterated that he could step back into the ring next week without missing a beat.

?I would like to, but I?m not going to do anything to rock the boat. I?m in the same kind of shape I was last year when I retired. It?s hard to stay away from something you like so well, especially when you still feel like you can do it. If I did wrestle, it would be overseas, it wouldn?t be here.??

- Although he wrestled just last week in the main event of Monday Night Raw, it comes as little surprise that Mr. Kennedy was released four days later by WWE.

Kennedy, who WWE once viewed as a performer destined for stardom, seemed snake-bitten from the get-go. A combination of injuries, suspensions and imprudent statements proved to be his ultimate downfall, as Kennedy never got the opportunity to stick around long enough to hit his stride.

The 33-year-old Minnesota native had just returned from an extended layoff.

Kennedy, whose real name is Ken Anderson, joined WWE in 2005. Once one of Vince McMahon?s pet projects, Kennedy?s stock consistently dropped with the WWE owner.

- The professional wrestling world bid farewell to one of its legendary figures with the passing of ?The Golden Greek? John Tolos on Thursday. Tolos, 78, had suffered a series of strokes and heart attacks over the past few years.

Tolos earned accolades throughout the world as one of the game?s most effective performers and talkers, but I?ll always remember him as one half of the ?Greek-Canadian Wrecking Crew? composed of John and his brother Chris. The Tolos boys wreaked havoc in numerous territories around the country, including the Carolinas, where they battled the likes of a fellow brother team from Hamilton, Ontario, The Flying Scotts, George and Sandy.

Chris Tolos, who wrestled until 1980, died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 75.

John Tolos? biggest run was with Fred Blassie during the ?70s in southern California. It is regarded as one of pro wrestling?s all-time greatest feuds. An angle in which Tolos ?blinded? Blassie when he threw a medicated powder into Blassie?s eyes led to a record crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Tolos enjoyed a stint as a character called The Coach during the early ?90s in WWE where he managed Curt Hennig and The Beverly Brothers (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom). He also briefly worked as an announcer and manager for the late Herb Abrams? ill-fated UWF promotion during the latter part of his career.

He also was well known for ending his interviews with the phrase: ?The only way to spell wrestling is T-O-L-O-S!?

?John was ? in the true sense of the word ?a gentleman. He was aces,? Dutch Savage (Frank Stewart) said Friday night from his farm in the mountains of southwest Washington state. ?If he said he was going to do something, he would do something. John was a super nice guy who would do anything for you. In the ring he could work with a broom and make it look good.?

Savage held the NWA Canadian tag-team title with Tolos during the early ?70s. The two were later paired in a program that sold out arenas throughout the Vancouver-based territory.

?We went all over British Columbia and Washington and Oregon together ? through the flying snow and sleet and everything else. We made a lot of money for (promoters) (Rod) Fenton, for (Sandor) Kovacs and for (Gene) Kiniski.?

A distance runner, Tolos was well known for his conditioning, but had slowed down in recent years due to a near-fatal stroke in 2006.

?John was a jock,? said Savage. ?John was also a shooter. He could wrestle, but he was quite a fighter. He could really use his dukes. And he was always, always in top condition. He?d have your tongue hanging out the back of your head after 45 minutes. He?d make you work. He hated somebody who laid around the ring. He?d beat the snot out of you if you started laying around.

?He tried it on me one time when I first met him. I?m working him, and I?m using psychology and timing to try to sell the match. And John?s a goer who used athletic ability. So I surprised him and leg-hooked him and took him down. I said, ?Would you slow down a little bit, Greek,? I?m trying to sell this hold for you.? He never bothered me again after that.?

Savage said he called Tolos a couple of years ago, but his old partner didn?t remember him due to his stroke.

?He didn?t even know me. He had a severe speech impediment from the stroke, and he could barely talk. It?s good that he went silently in his sleep. That?s the way I would like to go out.?

Savage said that Tolos will leave a lasting legacy in the wrestling business.

?The world?s going to be a much smaller and much hungrier place without John in it.?

- It wasn?t much of a battle between WWE and the NBA. WWE?s much-publicized Monday Night Raw spoof of the NBA did a disappointing 3.2 rating, while the NBA playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets came in at 6.9.

- Former WWE champ Brock Lesnar took some more shots at his former employer in the current issue of Maxim magazine.

?You get so brainwashed,? the current UFC standout said. ?You?re on the road 300 days a year, and that?s why guys get so messed up. This life just becomes a part of them. It?s not real, but some guys who are still in the business think it is. You look at Mickey Rourke in ?The Wrestler? ? he just couldn?t let it go. You live a double life. I was tired of trying to be who I was in the ring and then coming home for two days to be normal. They didn?t allow you to be. The guys who get out are the smart ones, really and truly.?

- Rob Van Dam said in a recent WWE Universe blog that he?s on ?indefinite break? from WWE.

?After wrestling for many years, I got tired of never being home with my wife in California,? said Van Dam ?Traveling almost every day, every week, every month, every year was eventually something I no longer wanted to do. Finishing my contract in 2007, I opted to take a necessary break, and am still on that indefinite break.?

RVD said he?s scheduled to film more movies later this year. He recently completed ?Wrong Side of Town? in Louisiana.

- Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE?s developmental program, will hold a ?Father?s Day Salute? event June 19 in Kissimmee, Fla. The Father?s Day-themed show will feature a special autograph session with former WWE stars and their sons.

Scheduled to appear are Jerry Brisco with son Wes, Mike ?IRS? Rotundo with sons Bo and Duke, Haku with son Tevita and ?Million Dollar Man? Ted DiBiase with son Brett.

- Good news and bad news for local mat fans.

The good news is that WWE is returning to the Lowcountry on July 18.

The bad news is that it?s another Smackdown house show instead of a Monday Night Raw or Smackdown TV taping. It?s also listed as the final WWE show here for 2009.

Tentative top bouts include Jeff Hardy for the WWE world title, and a Fatal Four-Way with Christian, Finlay, Jack Swagger and Tommy Dreamer for the ECW crown.

Others on the bill include C.M. Punk, Great Khali, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Vladimir Kozlov, Evan Bourne and WWE divas Gail Kim, Melina, Natalya and Maria.

- Old School Championship Wrestling returns with a show June 7 at Weekend?s Pub, 428 Red Bank Road, Goose Creek.

The show will feature former WWE performer Gangrel, also known as The Vampire Warrior, who will be part of a five-man Monsters Match main event with Sixx, Asylum, Darkness and Hexxon. Johnny Blaze also will defend his Universal title against 515-pound Bigg Hoss. Bell time is 6 p.m.

Adult admission is $10; kids 12 and under $5. For more information, visit www.oscwonline.com or call 743-4800.