• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Dan Wahlers Looks At Ric Flair's Send Off

Posted: Apr 3rd 2008 By: CMBurnham

Watching Raw this past Monday night I had a weird feeling that I haven?t had in a long time when watching wrestling. I had to go way back into the recesses of my mind to remind myself what the feeling was, because it had been so long. Watching the farewell ceremony for Ric Flair in the final segment of Raw made me proud to be a wrestling fan for the first time in I can?t even remember when. It was truly one of those moments you wish would never end. For all the bad things that have happened, this was one of those moments when being a wrestling fan was worth it. It was an unforgettable piece of history, and something I will never forget as long as I live.

I?ve been watching wrestling for 23 years, and the Ric Flair farewell on Raw was the best, most emotional segment I have ever seen in wrestling, period. I can?t remember anything that has ever been done as perfect and spot on as that segment was. It was a final validation for a man that wasn?t exactly portrayed in the best possible light by WWE in the last years of his career, when they had writers that had absolutely no clue who Ric Flair really was, or what he really meant to the sport of professional wrestling, writing scripted promos for him that sounded nothing like the Ric Flair everyone knew and love. On Monday, they finally got it. Those writers should have finally gotten it as they stood watching an arena of 15,000 people standing on their feet cheering the man, and an entire locker room of WWE wrestlers and staff standing and paying respect to the greatest wrestler of all-time. They couldn?t have scripted a better finale if they tried, and that?s probably what made this work so well. It wasn?t a convoluted, fake scripted moment. It was a real life genuine show of emotion and respect earned over the course of a 36 year career. You can?t script that.

In the years I?ve been watching wrestling there have only been a handful of moments that have caused me to cry. Unfortunately, usually it?s been when yet another favorite wrestler of mine has passed away. On Monday night, I had tears flowing down my face once again, but this time the tears were of happiness and joy at seeing Ric Flair finally being paid the respect he deserved by WWE and the wrestling community at large. I didn?t have a lot of faith in them to give Flair a proper send off after the way they royally screwed up the entire retirement storyline. There are so many ways that storyline could have been done better. But as Dave Meltzer wrote in last week?s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was the finale that people would remember most, and if they did that right then people would leave with an overall good feeling about the end of Ric Flair?s career. And for all the ways they messed up the retirement storyline, they couldn?t have given Ric Flair a better send off this last week. I often talk about WWE doing ?the right thing.? Well, this is a case where WWE did the right thing.

From the segment on last week?s Raw where they finally allowed Ric Flair to be the real Ric Flair in doing the final sell for Wrestlemania, and giving him the clean, tap out victory over Randy Orton in his final match on Raw, on his final appearance in the wrestling territory he put on the map, to the emotionally wonderful Hall of Fame Ceremony on Saturday night, to the Wrestlemania match with Shawn Michaels on Sunday that was everything I hoped it would be, and finally the last segment on Raw this week. WWE gave Ric Flair the send off he deserved. They did it the right way. And for all the things I?ve criticized them for over the years, especially in the last year, I have to acknowledge and thank them for Monday night. It was simply an awesome, awe inspiring scene.

And you want to talk about emotion, how could you not get emotional hearing the sound of galloping horses signaling the famous music and the arrival of The Four Horsemen? Seeing Ric Flair break down at the sound of the music, and Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and J.J. Dillon reunited together with Flair for the first time in 20 years. It doesn?t get any better than that. I?m so glad that those guys, especially Blanchard and Dillon were able to put whatever differences they may have with certain members of WWE aside for one night, to be able to join in the ceremony for Ric Flair. That was truly a monumental moment in wrestling history.

Admittedly, I was too young to really appreciate The Horsemen at the time when they were in their prime, and raising hell like no others. But I have seen a lot of tapes, and read a lot of stories written on them from great wrestling historians like Dave Meltzer and Bruce Mitchell, and the tremendous books written by Flair himself, J.J. Dillon, and so many others that lived through that incredible era in wrestling history. So I know how significant and rare it was that those five guys were reunited together on Raw. The Four Horsemen are truly wrestling royalty. This was one of those moments frozen in time that people will talk about and remember for years to come. Raise your hand and put up four fingers, because for one night only, and for probably the final time, The Horsemen rode again!

The reunion of The Four Horsemen was amazing enough. But we were also treated to a long list of former great opponents and partners of Ric Flair, guys like Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, Greg Valentine, and Dean Malenko that came down to the ring to pay their respect to the man. Harley Race is almost 65 years old, and more than 30 years of physical punishment on his body from a Hall of Fame career has taken a toll on him to the point that he has a hard time getting around these days. But that didn?t stop Harley from walking down the aisle on Monday night to pay tribute to the man that Race has called one his greatest opponents and an equally great friend. Current WWE stars like Batista, Chris Jericho, and John Cena came down to pay their respect and share a moment with the man that most of the wrestlers always loved and respected, even when the company they worked for didn?t always show that same courtesy.

Flair?s opponent at Wrestlemania the night before, Shawn Michaels, came down and the two shared an emotional embrace that signified the bond and link that they will both share for the rest of their lives. They both wore matching gold watches that Michaels had made to commemorate their Wrestlemania match. They both say Wrestlemania 24. On Flair?s watch is inscribed the line ?To be the man? and on Michaels? it says ?You got to beat the man.? Ric?s family came out to share in the festivities, and he broke down and wept again. Then the entire WWE locker room came out to show their respect, love, and admiration. They joined the fans in the arena in a ?Thank You Ric? chant, as guys like Big Show, Edge, and Randy Orton openly shed tears. I was sitting at home alone in my apartment shedding tears right along with them. You?d have to be an inhuman, heartless bastard to not be moved by what took place on Raw.

It was the greatest send off for the greatest wrestler that has ever lived. And some may disagree, and say I?m being over the top when I say this, and I could really care less. But I know I?m not alone when I say that farewell ceremony on Raw was the greatest thing I have ever seen in wrestling. Nothing I have ever seen before has moved me emotionally the way that did. Seeing everyone together, all the old stars from the past, the legendary Four Horseman back together again, all the WWE stars of today out there paying homage. It was quite simply and honestly the best thing WWE has ever done. And I feel privileged to have been able to witness a piece of wrestling history that will be remembered forever. That ceremony on Raw is going in my wrestling archives, and some day when my children and grand children want to know who Ric Flair was, I?m going to show them the final segment on the March 31, 2008 edition of Monday Night Raw. That will say more about who Ric Flair was, and what he meant to the sport of professional wrestling than I could ever express in words.

On another note, I want to make mention of the opinion piece written by Dale Henderson that was posted on this site yesterday. Mr. Henderson expressed that all the ?carry on? about Ric Flair was over the top, because while respecting what Flair did in his early career, he felt he had embarrassed himself and tarnished his legacy during his last tenure in WWE from 2001 to present. The feeling being that Flair should have retired when WCW shut its doors in 2001. That?s one man?s opinion.

I would agree there are times, especially in the last few years when Flair has had bad matches, and embarrassed himself in the ring. Those are moments I?ve readily acknowledged in this column, as recently as January 2006 when I wrote a column entitled ?Ric Flair: Tarnishing a Legacy.? So I understand where Henderson is coming from. But I would also not be as quick to discount Flair?s entire seven year final run in WWE. He also had quite a few good matches, and positive, memorable moments during that time as well. This past Sunday at Wrestlemania being the most recent example.

My question to Henderson would be this. Even if you want to discount the last seven years of his career, is it your opinion that Ric Flair didn?t deserve to be honored the way he was for the other 29 years of his career? Should his entire career be judged on the last few years rather than the entire body of work over the past 36 years? I think not. That?s not how you judge anyone?s career. That?s how you judge someone?s career when you want to cherry pick certain matches and moments to help make your case stronger, rather than being fair and looking at the entire picture. That would be like judging the career of Willie Mays on the last two years of his career with the New York Mets, rather than the previous 21 years of his Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco and New York Giants.

And contrary to what Henderson asserted in his piece, Ric Flair?s legacy is indeed in tact. If you need proof of that, then watch Monday?s farewell ceremony again, and see the level of respect shown by wrestlers past, present, and future. They weren?t out there because they were told to be out there. They were out there because they wanted to pay homage to Ric Flair not for his last few years in WWE, but for his entire 36 year Hall of Fame career. They don?t care that Flair doesn?t have, and never did have a chiseled physique. If you?re watching wrestling for that than you?re watching for the wrong reasons.

They don?t care that Ric Flair got tossed off the top turnbuckle in almost all of his matches, which was a trademark spot that he used, just like all the great wrestlers have their trademark spots. It?s really a pointless thing to criticize a professional wrestler for, where the object of being a wrestler is to create a persona and with that a style of performing including several trademark holds and moves that the fans react to when they happen, and in turn make you and your employer a lot of money. Flair got tossed off the turnbuckle, he did the ?Flair flop?, he did the flip into the corner spot, he got on his knees and begged off from the referee, he liked to be back dropped a lot, you know the routine. And that?s the point, you know the routine. That routine is a huge part of what made Ric Flair who he was, and why people paid a lot of money to see him perform over the years. So to criticize him for perfecting what the art of professional wrestling is all about is quite frankly just plain ignorant.

You know what else the people that paid respect to Flair on Monday night don?t care about? They don?t care that some people call Flair?s ?moveset? boring and predictable, which kind of ties in with my previous paragraph. The people that would say that need to remember that it?s not how many different moves you can do, because anyone can do a series of spots with no rhyme or reason, and no context in building a legitimate wrestling match. But it?s when and why you do the moves, and how the moves play into the story that?s being told in a given match. That?s the essence of professional wrestling. And Ric Flair is as big a part of that as anyone. All of these reasons that people throw out there for why Flair wasn?t as good as people say are essentially meaningless. It?s the same tired, worn out arguments that Flair detractors have been tossing out there for years, and the same arguments that have been debunked time and time again.

As for whether Flair?s retirement is legitimate or not, well time will tell on that. It is certainly hard to take anyone?s retirement seriously in a sport where no one ever really seems to stay retired. I know that this isn?t a storyline retirement like the 1994 Halloween Havoc scenario that Henderson referenced. I know Flair has a new business venture that he will be devoting his time and effort to. I know the money problems that plagued a lot of the end of his career are no longer an issue. I know he was remarried not too long ago, and has expressed a desire to make up for lost time with his children, and grand children. The man made a lot of mistakes where his family is concerned over the years, and he readily admits that. I know it?s not my place to stand in judgment of someone based on mistakes they?ve made in their own life, because I?m not perfect, nor is anyone else. The key is to recognize your mistakes, and take the steps to correct them. It seems like Ric is ready to do that with his family, and I applaud him for that.

I hope he stays retired. I hope he doesn?t ruin the memories I have of his farewell ceremony by cheapening himself out the way guys like Terry Funk and Mick Foley have by constantly coming out of retirement for the latest pay day. After the way everything went down in the last week, call me na?ve, but when Ric Flair says he?s wrestled his last match, I believe him this time. If he ends up proving me wrong, then I?ll be one of the first people in line to criticize him for doing so. I don?t foresee that happening. I think he finally realized that he?s 59 years old, he?s done all he can do in the wrestling ring, his legacy is safe, and that it?s time to move on with the next phase of his life.

In closing, let me say that obviously I wasn?t able to do my analysis of Wrestlemania today, which I originally planned on doing. I thought Wrestlemania 24 was a very good show, and worth every penny. But the topic of Ric Flair?s retirement, and the magic that occurred this past Monday night on Raw took precedence today. I will get back to business as usual next week. This week, we witnessed the end of an era. The true Babe Ruth of professional wrestling has taken his last bow. There will never be another like him. There will be some great ones that will come and go, but there will never be another like Ric Flair. He is truly in a class by himself. And there should be no doubt in anyone?s mind that he deserved every second of all the accolades he received this past week.

It?s not very often you get a chance to say goodbye to an all-time great while they?re still living, and thanks to Vince McMahon and WWE we got the chance to do that this week, in the most appropriate and classy way possible. Ric Flair couldn?t have gotten a better send off. And that?s how it should have been. The greatest send off for the greatest ever. Sounds about right to me.

Thank you to Ric Flair for all the lasting memories you left this wrestling fan with. It?s truly been an honor and privilege to watch you perform your craft better than anyone. Thank you for the sacrifices you made in entertaining me for the past 23 years. You have my utmost respect and admiration. I will never forget you. Diamonds are forever, and so is Ric Flair! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Tags: Ric Flair, WWE, Greg Valentine, Mick Foley