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TNA/WWE: What Will "Nature Boy" Ric Flair's Legacy Be?

Posted: Dec 1st 2011 By: mikeiles

While Ric Flair should be brought up in every "greatest of all time" debate, his embarrassing later years may result in him being the punch line of jokes instead. How will he ultimately be remembered?

Will we remember him as the flabby grandpa plodding around the ring or the fantastic performer who packed arenas for decades?

We want our heroes to go out unblemished, on top. We wanted Jordan to go out after that shot versus the Jazz. Instead he came back for those lackluster years with the Wizards.

Flair has gone even further than that, continuing to wrestle in his 60s despite how much less dynamic he's become.

Even at WrestleMania, Flair was well past his prime, but that would have been a poetic and perfect moment to end his legendary career.

It's not our job to tell a man he should hang up his boots, but the more we see of a lesser Flair, the memory of his greatness becomes cloudier.

Once one of the biggest draws in the business, Flair was nearly as famous as Hogan and had an unparalleled career. What would Sting and Ricky Steamboat?s careers have been like without the Nature Boy?

What would WCW have looked like without his monumental presence?

Unfortunately, many of us, especially younger fans, don't remember any of that. We remember a man who can barely move, who blades far too often, and who continues to put on less than subpar matches because he can't let go.

Flair can't stay away from the game. The fame, the glory and the money have drawn him out of retirements and semi-retirements.

A large part of why he is still hanging around is his financial problems. The horrendous state of his personal life is detailed in this Grantland article.

It's sad that an icon like Flair is in a situation where his next paycheck is more important than his health or his legacy. Seeing him so frail, withered and pathetic is heartbreaking.

It's worse than seeing Shaquille O?Neal struggle at the end or Brett Favre implode during his last season.

Once the dirtiest player in the game is officially and truly done, I have a feeling this current aging version of him will burn brighter in our memories than his glory days. Except for fans who pine for wrestling history, as a fan base we're often focused solely on the here and now.

Greats from the past get buried as the new flavors of the month occupy our minds.

Before long, fans may not remember why they're shouting "Woo!" after a chop to the chest.

I hope that Flair will be remembered as the great promo man, the world class heel and the incredible wrestler that he was, but I'm not confident that his later years will not instead define his legacy.