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COMPLETE RIC FLAIR'S LAST MATCH PPV BLOG

Live, they put The Undertaker and Michelle McCool in the front row for the main event.  They showed them with Mick Foley.

Main Event time - Jarrett and Lethal vs. Flair and Andrade.

Kid Rock is sitting ringside. What year is this?

Jarrett was playing full on heel.  He grabbed a fan's beer and doused him.  Full on old school Memphis villain.  He even shoved Conrad Thompson.

They gave Ric a big dramatic entrance carrying the original NWA World Heavyweight "Big Gold" belt.  He is wearing a blue t-shirt under the robe with the Nature Boy logo on the back.

David Penzer was brought in for the main event ring announcement.  It's not like Dr. Tom Miller is still with us and Penzer was in WCW for years so it makes sense.

Mike Cioda.  No Tommy Young?!

David Crockett and Tony Schiavone paid tribute to the Crockett family.

Flair and Jeff faced off but Jay tagged in,  MIND GAMES.  Jay got in Flair's face and slapped him but Ric slapped him back.

Andrade and Jarrett tagged in.  We are watching an AEW talent wrestLe the WWE VP of Live Events on an Independent Wrestling show airing live on PPV.  This is WEIRD.

Flair tagged in.  Flair chopped away at Jeff in the corner.  Lethal got involved but was lowblowed.  Jarrett walked back to the entrance stage.  Karen joined him.  The crowd chanted that he sucked.  Jarrett killed time stalling outside.  Andrade and Lethal tagged in.  Jay was pushed into the corner, where Flair grabbed him in a side chinlock and tagged in.

Flair drilled him with punches and chops.  Andrade tagged in but was caught and worked over by the heels for a long time.  Flair tagged in.  Lethal did the Flair flop and was chopped by Ric on the way down.  Flair locked on a figure four but Jarrett broke it up.  Jeff asked Karen for her shoe and drilled Flair with it.   Megan Flair went after Karen in the front row and Doug Dillinger had to get between them.

Lethal worked over Flair, who was now busted open.  Flair acted like something was wrong and held his chest, then thumbed Lethal in the eyes.  Flair returned to the ring, where Jarrett began working him over.  Lethal suplexed him.  It looked like they were setting up for a superplex but called an audible and didn't do it.  Jarrett locked on a figure four.  Andrade came off the top with a splash to break it up.

Lethal and Jarrett kept working over Flair but Lethal missed the flying elbow.   Andrade tagged in and stiffed everyone with some hard clotheslines.  David Crockett said KICK HIM LIKE A DOG.  Huge pop.  The referee was bumped.  Andrade nailed Lethal with a Poisonrana.  Flair tagged in and returned to the ring.   Jarrett was pulled out of the way of an Andrade pescado by Karen.

Lethal was covered.  No referee.  Jarrett grabbed the guitar with the El Kabong on Flair.  Jarrett was whacked when Andrade rescued Flair, then superkicked Jarrett. Conrad tossed Andrade brass knuckles.  He gave them to Flair, who seemed completely out of it and that led to a scary feeling.  I wonder if he was concussed, because it was obviously he wasn't in the ring mentally at one point.  That was scary and sad to watch.

Flair finally took the knucks and clobbered Jarrett but there's no referee.  Flair locked Jarrett, who was KO'd in the figure four and another referee ran out to count the pinfall.  I was expecting Tommy Young.

They went 27 minutes bell to bell, including Jarrett's stalling.  That was probably way, way longer than anyone ever expected this to be.   This was entertaining at first but the last third or so, my heart was in my throat for Flair for a lot of it, and I don't believe it was a manufactured emotional worry.  Jarrett was absolutely fantastic as pure evil asshole heel and Lethal and Andrade did a LOT but Flair was the nucleus of this emotionally and towards the end, it was looking scary.  

This was not the Flair classic of old but we were told going in it wasn't going to be.  It was Flair in the ring trying to do his thing.  It was a far cry from his farewell vs. Shawn Michaels but honestly, everyone knew that this wasn't going to be that.    It was a moment for Flair himself and everyone just happened to be watching.  Nothing more.  Trust me, from an in-ring standpoint, that's what it was and that's what Conrad Thompson said it was going to be.  It was a spectacle that ran the gamut from nostalgia to weird to entertaining to macabre at times and I hope we never ever see a rematch.  

They dropped a TON of confetti after the finish.    Flair finally got off the mat and smiled.  Tony Schiavone came to the ring to interview him.  Flair was really emotional and crying and you could see he was relieved he made it through.  Flair blew off the interview and went to his family in the front row.   Undertaker hugged him and they had words.

Bret Hart and his wife were in the front row as well.

Nashville chanted Thank You Ric.  Tony told Flair that everyone loves him.  He said that he doesn't know how something special could happen twice to anyone, but it did.  He had one of his best matches ever against Ricky Steamboat.  He said all his kids and grandchildren were here tonight.  He said he adores all the fans.  They are what makes everyone who walks through the doors tick and he hopes he didn't let anyone down and stated he didn't remember half of it, which does sound like he may have a concussion.  Flair thanked his family and friends.  He said everything you hear about him is true and he's going to party with Kid Rock tonight.

David Crockett was holding a "Thank you Ric" sign.

I really hope this was the last time we see Ric in the ring.  We all love(d) him at different points of our lives and the nostalgia drug is stronger as you get older but I don't want to see Flair endure taking bumps under any circumstances again.  I hope he scratched that itch for himself and enjoyed having those he loved with him.   Flair carried a lot of people over the course of his career to give them their moment.  Tonight, everyone else carried him and he got his moment.  Let it be.  This should be the end.

All that said, the live crowd in Nashville absolutely worshipped every second of this.

They closed out with credits followed by Bob Caudle saying "So Long for Now."  Seeing Caudle was such a wonderful treat.

 

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