Flair might wrestle again?

[Peter H.]

This was an email sent in to a wrestling news site by a fan who attended a Q&A with Ric Flair in England.

Hey guys,

I was at the Ric Flair Q&A at Doncaster, England on Saturday.

Flair said that he misses the action of being in the ring and that he would love to still be performing. He said that he absolutely will NOT wrestle in the USA, UK or any other Western countries. He is proud of his retirement and does not want to tarnish it.

He said that the only thing that he is thinking about is that promoters in Japan have offered him a retirement out there very similar to the WrestleMania 24 one. It would be one or 2 matches against Japanese legends (he name checked Muta and Chono) followed by a retirement ceremony. He said he would need to discuss it with Shawn Michaels first as Michaels gave everything to that last match. He also said the only reason he is contemplating the Japanese thing is that it just wouldn't be seen or much talked about in the USA so it shouldn't damage his retirement over there (much in the same way the Hogan vs Chono match from the other year is largely forgotten.)

Seriously, what percentage of American pro wrestling fans will know Ric Flair had any additional matches after his retirement if it's held outside of the United States? Slim next to nobody. Granted, I've felt Flair should have retired years ago, but this will give him an opportunity to finish up his career outside the control of the WWE. I'm for it.

If Ric Flair were to have only one match, against either Muta or Chono, Chono would probably be the better pick. Flair would be an extremely huge Babyface and Chono is one of Japan's greatest Heels ever. Flair would, and should, win this matchup. If Flair were to have two matches, with the 2nd one being against Chono, I don't think the first one should be against Muta. Instead, the first match would be more of a "passing of the torch" type match. Flair would lose to a younger popular star who already is a legend in the making. I don't have anybody in mind, but it would probably be with someone in NJPW, which I really don't follow.

[dedwyre]

Dave Meltzer says that Flair doesn't so much want to wrestle anymore, but he's getting such huge money offers from Japan and Korea, and he's had major financial trouble for a while now, so it seems like it would be such a waste to not go for it.

I don't think Flair needs to put any young people over. If he does, fine, but it's not like it would be bad for business if he didn't. I don't think the matches need to be anything special. Just call them exhibitions or something. That's what retired athletes do when they compete; they have exhibitions that don't count on their records.

Anyway, I think he should get the money while it's there. Do your spots, do a finish, make the crowd happy that they got to see you, and get paid. I can't say whether or not Shawn Michaels will have a problem with it (though Vince might), and I'm sure that's a huge factor. I personally don't think that it will cheapen his retirement ceremony or anything, as it's just a couple of matches for money. There was a lot of speculation that he would come out of retirement if his son, Reid, got into wrestling so that he could have a match with him (probably a tag, like Davey Boy Smith did with his son, Harry, before he died).

[Tim Clay]

Sounds interesting. I've been reading Foley's biographies, and there are a few instances where old legends are left alone in the ring, forgotten by society. Granted, this obviously won't happen to Flair, but I can't shake the image of a run down Ric Flair sitting alone at an autograph table, while fans flock to whoever the latest hot wrestler is. I hope he enjoys semiretirement and then truely retires gracefully, on good financial support, and lives the rest of his life in peace.