Flair's Last Match Might Be Tonight, But Fans Want More
Posted: Mar 30th 2008 By: CMBurnham
Nobody wants this to be the end for Ric Flair. Not even Ric Flair.
After a crowd of 10,000 gave him a long standing ovation at his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Amway Arena, fans started screaming for him to keep his career going. Taking a moment to collect himself, Flair had an answer.
"I'm not gonna retire!" he screamed. "I'll never retire!"
Then he belted out his trademark, "Wooooooooooo!" The crowd roared. On an emotional night featuring seven other inductees, fans waited until the end of the night to see their wheelin' and dealin' champ get his spot in the Hall.
Flair faces Shawn Michaels tonight at WrestleMania in a career-threatening match, one that many expect to be his last at Mania. But clearly the fans want more of Flair -- just like they want to see more of Dwayne " The Rock" Johnson.
When the former wrestler turned Hollywood superstar took the stage at the start of the festivities, he entered to chants of "Rocky! Rocky!" It was enough to think Johnson was getting the Hall honor.
But he was here to induct his father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia.
Johnson entertained the crowd, cracking jokes about former rival "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as fans chanted, "One more match!" Of course, Johnson delivered his famous phrase, "Can you smelllll what The Rock is cookinnnnnn' " and fans pleaded, "Please come back!" and "No More Movies!"
The former champion laughed. But after riling up the fans, he got serious, describing the profound influences his father and grandfather had on his wrestling career. High Chief Peter Maivia held different versions of the NWA Tag Team championship and trained Rocky Johnson.
Rocky Johnson became the first African-American World Tag Team Champion in 1983, known for his drop kicks.
"When I stepped into the ring for the first time the sole purpose was to make my family proud," Johnson said, pausing for a moment as tears welled in his eyes. He recalled saying to his dying grandfather, "I hope I've made you proud. Because I sure am so proud of you."
The others inducted Saturday were tag team brothers Gerald and Jack Brisco, wrestler and promoter Eddie Graham, announcer Gordon Solie, and former women's champ Mae Young.
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