This week for That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It I'll be telling you what I think of Ric Flair retirement.

Originally I was going to write a column reviewing Wrestlemania but to me one match of the card stole the show and was worthy of a column of it's own. First of all let me say that the match itself was great even though it's been known for months that Flair would be retiring at Wrestlemania. Flair and HBK both gave it their all to have a classic match and it will be a match that will be remembered by fans for years. The only downside to the match was that it really drained the emotion from the show and even with the title matches that followed, it just didn't seem like anything could come close to the Flair/HBK match, which is why I still think it should have been the main event of the show. It was probably time for Flair to retire considering he's 59 years old and he's been wrestling for 36 years but I have to say it was really sad to see the greatest wrestler of all time have his last match. I was watching the PPV at a friend's house just like I do for almost all the WWE PPV and it's always cool to gather together each month with some other italian wrestling fans to enjoy a PPV. My point with this being is there were five of us watching the show and we all knew it was Flair's last match but when he got pinned the room was just silent. No one said a word and even as Flair made his exit still the room was silent. I don't know if it was shock, sadness, or a combination of both but we all just sat there in silence. There's always some good food provided so I went to get some more chicken wings...Ha Ha When I got back to where everyone was watching the show my buddy Tony, who is older then me said "I can't believe I just watched Flair's last match" Another buddy Melvin, who is a few years younger then me said "Yeah, Flair's been around forever" then the other Tony, who is older then everyone...Ha Ha said "a legend" The reason I'm mentioning the conversation is because it proves no matter what age Flair's left an impression on all wrestling fans. One of the reasons Flair's retirement is so special is because the wrestling business is known for sometimes being a shady back stabbing business with backstage politics effecting the show but Flair's retirement was real. What I mean saying that is the emotion and respect shown by and for Flair was real. The Flair/HBK match was the most emotional match I've ever seen and that's because you knew Flair crying at the finish of the match was real. You know that when HBK was talking to Flair at the end of the match it was real and when Flair cried in the ring it was real. It was real emotion and real respect for the sport of pro wrestling, which is criticized more then it should be by the main stream media. One of my other wrestling pals, Joe, who is usually watching the PPVs with the rest of us was actually at the show live and when I sent him a text message asking how the match was live he sent a text message back that said "it was unreal." That is more proof of how emotional the Flair/HBK match was and it will definitely have a spot on the list of the top Wrestlemania moments.

The next night on Raw, it was announced that Flair would have a "farewell address." but I don't think anyone including Flair for it to become what is probably the greatest Raw moment ever. Flair made his way to the ring and during his speech thanked the wrestlers as well as the fans. Flair then concluded his speech but to his surprise Triple H came to the ring and said there were some people that wanted to say thank you. Triple H then introduced the Four Horsemen and Arn Anderson, Barry Wihdam, Tully Blanchard, and their manager JJ Dillion made their way to the ring. This in it self was a historic moment because as J.R. pointed out on Raw it was the first time since the 1980s that this particular verison of the Horsemen had all been in the same ring at the same time. The surprise would continue for Flair as Dean Malenko, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Chris Jericho, John Cena, HBK, and Flair's family all came to the ring to say thank you. The surprised didn't end there though as the entire WWE roster came in the entrance way to show there respect to Flair. Wrestlers, refs, and other members of the WWE crew were all there to show respect to "The Nature Boy." This is a major show of respect for Flair because the "good guys" and the heels were right next to each other chanting "thank you Flair." The WWE put the storylines aside because a real show of respect to the greatest wrestler of all time, who paved the road for so many wrestlers is more important then a wrestling script. There's a video on Youtube that was taken by a fan in the arena of Raw after the show went off the air that you might want to check out if you haven't seen it. The Undertaker comes to the ring shakes Flair's hand, hugs Flair, and knees down in the usually Undertaker pose. Vince McMahon's music hits and the chairman comes to the ring. He hugs Flair and raises his hand. This surprise for Flair is probably one of the most historic moments in pro wrestling history because so many legends and superstars were assembled in the same ring at the same time.

In conclusion, I have to say that Flair is one of my favorite wrestlers and he is the greatest wrestler of all time. He is the standard of pro wrestling and he has had a career second to none. As entertaining as Flair's matches are, I have to say that's it was a wise decision for Flair to retire because in recent months you could see that Flair was losing a step in the ring so it was a smart decision that he retired when he can still have good matches.

Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com

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