Jim Cornette on Ric Flair Wanting To Return To The Ring 

Flair didn't like being made to retire by WWE in 2008, but everything he's done in the ring since proves Vince called that one exactly right.

I guess nobody is taking this man seriously when he’s saying he wants to die in the ring

The way they sent him off in 2008 with Shawn Michaels was perfect. Wrestlemania, the grand entrance, he got all his stuff in one final time and the finish with Shawn hesitating to superkick him was an iconic moment. It should have ended there for him.

"I was wrestling IN '73, and I'm wrestling AT 73. Woo!"

My niece walked in on me watching Flair's Wrestlemania match against Shawn Michaels; she didn't know who they were. She was worried about 'the old man' getting hurt.

Reminds me of this interview with Rob Van Dam. It was years ago at this point, I believe after he left the WWE in 2007 but before he went to TNA, and he was asked when he would retire. His answer basically amounted to, “When I can’t do the moves I’m known for, I’ll stop. When I’m doing a half-baked version of those moves, that’s how I know I shouldn’t go on.”

Nature Boy going for "The Wrestler" finish.

Flair was pushing it when he was wrestling in the 2000s

The fact that Jim talks about Ric these days with such pity in his voice speaks volumes

The only thing that scares me is how close to death's door he was a few years ago... He's in better shape today but he has been in scary bad shape at his worst. I've been under the impression that his health was very fragile

The harsh truth is that Ric Flair has always wanted to die in the ring (He has talked about this in the past), because everything else in his life is a wreck. His marriages have all failed and they were down to him. His relationships with his children have wavered between varying degrees of awful. David no longer talks to him. Most of his old friends no longer talk to him and while Ric tries to play the victim in that regard, those guys are composed enough to not put all of the real issues behind the fracture, out into the public (Though one issue is that one of Flair’s ex-wives was a good friend of Arn’s and Flair treated her like utter crap). HHH doesn’t even talk to him anymore. He’s was once a known racist (I think he did apologize for past statements, but cannot confirm), and he’s always had a reputation for being a guy who acts like your friend, as long as he can get something out of you or as long as you kiss his backside. He is also a guy who has a reputation for helicoptering and cornering female employees to grab his dick, that goes back decades (I first heard about it in the 90s). The woman who stood by him and darn near nursed him back to life, he separated from so that he could still be, the Nature Boy, because that’s all he has. This is why he has never made it a secret that he wants to die in the ring. It’s all he has left in his sad, pathetic, sack of *Expletive* life.

"I will never retire. I will only retire. When Im dead in this ring" - Ric Flair

Flair is a shell of himself and he should be. He's 73 yrs old. Just bow out gracefully💯💯💯

You made a good point about Ric going easy with Lethal and trusting him to do safe maneuvers, but not everybody can do what Lethal does and make sure shit doesn’t get out of hand. Flair will always be the man but he doesn’t need to cripple himself in the ring

Flair got the greatest and best retirement match of all times at Mania vs Shawn. Every wrestling fan was crying but although enjoying this. With Shawns SCM and the 123 loss, Ric was the king of the world one last time. And since then? Ric does everything to destroy his legacy and his body.

I think if anyone books Ric Flair, that promotion should be blacklisted. Triple H himself has a pacemaker, and he retired.

Whoever ric signed a deal with when he survived that plane crash gave him a deal of a lifetime

Just let him come in & manage Andrade, that's all we need from Flair. & maybe one more promo with jay lethal.😏

For a man Flairs age he really needs to grow up.

I agree Brian. Those Flair matches in TNA made me VERY uncomfortable. I can't imagine watching him now...

I would love to see him in a manager's capacity

Ric never wants to let go of the spotlight. He's been clinging on to his glory days in the wrestling business and it's going to get him killed. People eventually move on, whether it's a different position in the business, a whole different business, or simply just want to relax and enjoy their life and spend time with their families, people will always end up wanting to move on. But not Flair. You can see that from how much he was crying at Wrestlemania vs Shawn Michaels, from the 3 hour speech he had prepared at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and even now trying to compete at the age of 73 with all his health issues. And the reason is, Ric LOVED the life he had as a main event wrestler in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Those days were his best days; the spotlights, the championships, the money, the women, the drinking, the drugs. That's the life Ric wishes he still had and is doing everything to recapture even a fraction of that lifestyle.

I have been a die hard Ric Flair fan since 1979 and I don't wanna see him wrestle anymore

Flair probably got this crazy idea from Vince... Vince had his big WM moment this year with Austin, and he's 76. But that moment was awful, Vince "taking" the stunner was awful, and yet Flair wants that same moment in the sun again= BAD IDEA.

like when Randy "The Ram" Ramsey decided to take that final leap from the turnbuckle

Thank you very much Brian for not letting Jim get away with billy gun 😂😂 I met the dude and he’s def on roids lfmao

Huge Announcement:Ric Flair will join AEW and have an exploding barbed wire mimosa death match against Orange Cassidy.

Well…Rick Flair said: “…I’m either going to die in the ring or on top of a beautiful woman.”

I've come to realize that a wrestler is only retired when they are dead. But once they breathing they always get the itch

I started watching in 1994. I got to see a little bit of Flair in WCW and remember that stuff as being good. His time in WWE was enjoyable. I eventually saw his stuff from the 80s and it was great. Everything after WM24...is just bad.

Flair vs Darby vs Jeff hardy, first not to die, bets on flair

I'm not sure Flair even knows where he is half of the time, these days. This is beyond absurd. He has the worst case of arrested development and not knowing when to say "when" in the entire history of the business. And that's really saying something! He should have never been seen in tights again after 2008. Quite honestly, I thought even back then, he should have retired with the final WCW match. No more WCW - no more Flair in the ring! End of an era, landmark moment for wrestling, incredible legacy to market in other ways than taking bumps until the cows come home. _Woo!_ Somebody needs to sit him down and make him watch the absolute garbage from the "Hulkamania Tour" and his time in TNA for a few hours, until he sees the light through the dense fog wafting in whatever is left of his brain! But he's probably too busy hitting on some twenty-somethings somewhere, who can't decide whether they want to laugh their butts off about the creepy old clown first - or after they've thrown up because they're too disgusted by the liver-spot-adorned gig marks in his botoxed forehead. As Henry Rollins likes to say: "That was a very mean thing to say - and sometimes the truth hurts..."

Glad that Ali was mentioned. I grew up watching him in his prime. Those last couple of fights with Holmes and Trevor Berbick made me cry.

I saw Ric Flair wrestle for TNA when they were shooting shows at Universal in Orlando. I'm a huge fan, but damn it was just sad to see him doing/trying the same bumps he did back in the 80's. I knew it was because he needed the $$ and sadly he still needs to be "The Nature Boy".

Flair would be best as a Manager/mentor at this stage of his life and career. You can't let it go, when it's got you, and it's in your Blood.

Even Evil Knievel knew when it was time to give up jumping motorcycles

Can you imagine the emptiness in the life of ric flair that drives his behavior? Poor guy. I hope he finds what he is looking for before meeting some disastrous ending.

Not only who wants to see it and who will promote it....what commission is going to license a 73 year old alcoholic who damn near died 2 years ago and has a pacemaker? Flair has become something terribly sad.

He looked bad in the ring 20 years ago i cant imagine how bad he will look now. Sad he couldnt manage his money better that its come to this.

Flair should've stayed retired after 2008, that was the perfect send off.

I cannot overstate the amount of times I have checked this channel to see if Jim has reviewed "Ric Flair's Last Match." PLEASE REVIEW IT. I'm dying to know what you thought!!!

Ric Flair retires more times than Cher and Kiss.

I mean why did Bret Hart return In 2009? He had a serious concussion, couldn't fight legally But his reason for returning was he saw Trump tackle vince and said "If he can do that of course I can" "Wrestling" Is Just a word these days, they could have ric hobble around the ring In a tracksuit while two younger guys fight and throw babies In the air saying "Ric flair won his return match!"

Ric is from an era in which wrestling was presented as real. Him in a ring wrestling beyond a workout, which is terrific, isn't consistent with the wrestling style of his career. It's completely unbelievable that he would be wrestling competitively. Participate as a manager - cut a promo, interfere, take a bump. That would be believable.

I agree with Brian. I love watching Flair's old matches, but even before his retirement he was past the point of where I really wanted to see him wrestling anymore. There's a reason many great musicians like to ride off into the sunset while they're still good at what they do: because that's the image that sticks. Wrestlers aren't much different. I'd hate if people 20 years from now remembered Flair for the stuff he's done post-2009 or so instead of the Ric Flair of the 80s and 90s. If it's about the money, there should be other ways for someone like Ric Flair to make a comfortable living at this point in his life. Then again, with Flair you never really know if he's just burnt all his bridges and this is the only path still open to him. And it's not like he's got the attention span to start a business like a wrestling school or to get involved in creative somewhere.

"When his spleen explodes." LMAO, should have let him wrestle Scott Steiner for his last match.

In a statement, Flair said: ‘I’m going to walk that aisle one last time to prove once and for all that to be the Man, you’ve got to beat the Man.’

He's officially been booked for a match on July 31st in Nashville fairgrounds. Will be an independent show.

Invader 1 in Puerto Rico just became IWA "World Champion" at age 76. People completely bought into it. But Invader is in excellent health and uses a mask. Before he wrestled, a large amount of people were worried he will have a heart attack in the ring or die. They even turn it into an angle for the match. I think the worry comes from the prior history of wrestlers dying in the ring. I would love to see Flair win a major title but not at the expense of his health. I hope he doesnt do it.

I’m on the toilet peeing and the thumbnail alone has me crying and peeing so hard. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Give flair a damn 30 second match that way he gets his match and we all don’t have to wince and cringe watching the match

I hope this match doesn’t happen, not only for the issues with Flair’s health but also fear of his current standing in the wrestling world rubbing off on FTR. They’re as over as they’ve ever been, and I don’t want their love to be diminished by association

I met Flair about 12 years ago at a Nascar race in Darlington,SC..He wasn't in wrestling shape back then....NOW,oh my...🙄

“It’s a floor wax!” “No, it’s a dessert topping!” “Relax! It’s a floor wax AND a dessert topping!”

I wish he'd retire from the bar, where he looks the most sad and ridiculous.

No one has aged less gracefully than Ric Flair.

The man has just about done it all. He has nothing to prove.

I remember back in about 2010 maybe 2011 I saw Flair wrestle Doug Williams at a TNA show in London everyone was loving until Ric bladed and a real uneasy feeling came over the crowd and it hit watching a man that age blade wasn’t entertaining, I’m not saying he’ll blade if he wrestles again but I can see it being equally uncomfortable.

Put him in the ring with Vince. It’d be the safest match in history.

Again, Jerry Lawyler literally died on live TV. Flair’s matches in TNA were atrocious, so why 10+ years later.... Can someone get Ric to sit down and watch his Wife Swap episode he had with Piper? Particularly, in the end, when the two couples come together and talk.

Honestly, I would be okay with guys like Flair and Hogan returning but only with smoke and mirrors to make it work. Like being in a tag team and letting the partners take the bumps, working with fit talent who can carry the match, or doing something pre recorded similar to Aj Styles vs The Undertaker Graveyard match.

Flair said his biggest regret was coming out of retirement to wrestle in TNA instead of continuing an on camera backstage role, he said it tarnished his legacy a bit, so this would be that x 1000

Mae Young was still going in her 80's flair still got a world title shot ?

This podcast should be required for anyone who watches wrestling.

And the match turned out as pathetic as everyone predicted.

I want to see Ric vs Tito vs Funk vs Ventura vs Hogan vs Hart the greatest match ever. Them up and coming stars are the future.

these guys are old enough they could tag with their kids and prolly grand kids

It''s time for Ric to just manage and do promos. From the beginning he was an amazing promo. The last 15 years were a joke.

too bad new jack passed away... i'd luv to see him vs flair, lol

Ric Flair vs. The Grim Reaper in a falls count anywhere match!

I say this half-seriously: let him do it. If he wants to die in the ring or during an event and the guys he might do that with are fine with it then let him have his wish.

It’s going to be at Starrcast in Nashville. So I’m sure Conrad facilitated it and lined up the promoters. I say good luck and hopefully no one gets hurt.

I’m a die hard Flair fan. I’ve watched him since the early 1980s as a kid to 45 years old. I love his passion for the business and willingness to come back. I think he would be better used in a Manager role; managing someone like Randy Orton in a Heel role. Orton doesn’t need a Manager at this point, but his promos are a little robotic. He’s much better than before having fun with Riddle in a Baby Face role, but Flair could talk, push Orton to break his 14 (possibly 16) time World Champion record. Flair is on record wanting Orton to break it. Flair can still take bumps at his age, which makes him perfect in a Manager role. Perhaps Flair is brought back to WWE to manage someone like Austin Theory. Young, well versed in the ring, can’t talk very well on the mic. Flair knows how to get him over as a Heel. Thou MJF needs know talker and is the best Heel in the business. I’d love to see MJF a throwback 1980s Heel and work with FTR. Bring Flair in as a JJ Dillion type role with the Pinnacle (4 Horseman). That would be great for Flair and everyone involved. Flair can get them over as Heels and interfere enough in matches along the way. AEW would be a good fit. It put Flair back on TV, involved with young wrestlers like FTR, MJF, etc. that relate to his 1980s Heel style. Just my thoughts, but I would only bring back Flair in a Management type role similar to Paul Heyman, but let him be more involved in matches taking bumps every so often. Flair is best as a Heel and having the freedom (AEW) to cut unscripted promos. WWE would force Flair to tone it down, which limits Flair a bit. I’d like to see Flair in AEW. They could use Sting 🐝 vs Flair in storyline to keep it interesting but indirectly through 2 prominent young wrestler stables. Pinnacle vs young Baby Faces and Sting backing them. Just a thought.

I'm convinced that FTMARKS go around stalking wrestlers from the 80s who are still alive and hide in bushes calling Tony Khan, 'hey TK we've got an idea'

I dont care how old they are im gonna watch. Just like I will watch Cornette and the racket anywhere he goes. Preferably on national tv managing stables on AEW. Doesnt hurt no one to hope.

Apparently this event with Flair is supposed to happen at Fairgrounds in his home state or somewhere else. Look, there comes a time when enough is enough and the pacemaker can only take so much.

I saw RnR Express maybe a month before covid hit and they were phenomenal. They were with NJPW. Ricky Morton hit a flawless Canadian destroyer and blew the roof off the place lol

I think if a match goes a head with Ric Flair the cops should show up and put a stop to it

Flair wants to die in the ring. The man loves wrestling, and he never wants to stop. I can't help but respect that

Best plug for magic spoon I've heard 😂

The limousine ridin, jet flyin, rolex wearin, kis stealin, wheelin, dealin son of a gun! Wooooooooo!

What about vince McMahon, he stays working out and he's 70 something years old.

I think 2006 was flairs last good year. Sure he had some matches here and there afterwards that were great (like wm24), but i feel like 2006 was the last year he was able to put on consistently good/entertaining matches

Ad I saw said Jim Crockett Promotions is running the show. I didn't know they were still in business

Even during those training vids with Lethal, I would squirm and wince when Flair would take even a (slowed down) body slam on the mat. I have no interest in seeing anyone over 70 wrestling a match ever.

A drunk, a guy that couldn't keep his pants up, and how many people has he ripped off?? They just discussed it a few weeks ago of just what's known.

I just watched a recap of Ric's time in TNA & not only was it atrocious, but EVEN Ric called it one of the biggest regrets of his life.

At the 6:45 mark Brian talks about the upcoming match might not be where there is a commission approved. What advantages are there with the commission approved and what liability would be on the promoter?

Ric lives, eats and sleeps and breaths wrestling. The passion and love for the greatest sport in the world is in his blood. I wouldn't expect to see flair turning flips on the turnbuckle or doing taking any high risk bumps. Nor would I expect to see Flair go 60 minutes in the ring. I wish him a safe and successful match. I predict a win by Flair using the old figure four.

I love Ric flair and if he can go whatever but if he can't even move adequately in the ring then I just don't want to remember him like that. He needs to come to terms with it and just call it a career. It is one of the greatest careers of all time he should be able to face that.

I saw Ric wrestle live in 1978. He was in the opening match. I can't believe he's going to do it one more time. I'll watch just because it's him and I can stream it for free. Good luck Ric if you make it out alive, great. If you don't , congratulations you went out the way you wanted.

Jim Crocket Promotions is promoting it! Mid Atlantic music and all

I'm kinda on the fence with this, I don't want him to put too much strain on his heart, but I would like to see his legendary chops.

I'm surprised Vince never offered Ric a job as a commentator. He would make Raw worth watching if he was on the mic.

I absolutely love Ric Flair, been watching him since the Mid Atlantic days, but I think Jim is being kind: I’ve seen the footage with Lethal, like most folks have, and it’s uncomfortable to watch. I really don’t want to see this and hope for Flair’s health’s sake that someone will step in and say no.

oxygen mask on a pole match

Huge fan of Flair. So much so, that I can not find a single reason to say that this is a good idea to get in the ring. Half of the wrestling world thought he was gonna die a few years ago. I was one of them. Grateful to have him around still, but it hurts me as not just a fan, but as a human being who thinks what promoter thinks that this is gonna be a good idea. I fully understand that Richard Flier is dead and gone years ago and that Rick Flair is always going to be here. I just wish that he could enjoy his final years without taking the bumps he doesn't deserve.

Leave the memories alone 😂😂🤣

Arn Anderson accepts his age and limits where he can't wrestle again. Flair loves the business too much to where its not a good thing. It was nice to see him and Lethal have a sparring exhibition and a little bit of that Flair off from TNA. But Flair was sluggish in his movesets, his throws, etc. He can't position himself to take bumps like he use to.

“I would trust Jay Lethal with my body.” - Said No Woman Ever