Ric Flair is getting candid about his last professional wrestling match later this month.
The professional wrestling legend will be teaming up with his son-in-law and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Andrade El Idolo against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal on July 31 from Nashville, Tennessee on pay-per-view (PPV).
Flair was recently interviewed by TMZ Sports to preview his upcoming match on the Nashville show. “The Nature Boy” was asked if there was ever any hesitancy to jump back into the ring at this point in his life.
The two-time WWE Hall Of Famer admitted he did at first, however, over the past few weeks of training and seeing his physical ability improve, he’s feeling much better about everything.
“It did until the last couple of weeks. It was so hard to go from just regular working out to getting in shape to doing this. But I’ve basically done everything in the ring that I can do in the match.
“For me it was a question of picking up the pacing, you know, I needed to be able to get up and down faster. So I’ve worked on that, I’ve had plenty of time – I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in my life since I was 35. Even before I wrestled Shawn [Michaels].”
Many seem to be skeptical as to whether or not Flair will stay true to his word about staying retired after this match. At 73-years-old, and reportedly dealing with injuries heading into the match, there are concerns with Flair competing at all.
However, Flair promises to his fans that this will be the last time he wrestles, as he doesn’t want to let anybody down by continuing.
“It’s because I would really disappoint a lot of people if I did,” Flair said. “I’ve already been offered $100,000 by three different promoters to wrestle. And I’m not saying I won’t get back in the ring as a manager, but I absolutely – I owe this to my fans. I will not wrestle again.”
Ric Flair Accompanied By Big Card
Aside from Flair’s headlining bout, there will be several other talents competing on the card from promotions such as Impact Wrestling, MLW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and AAA.
The current card for the show is as follows:
- Ric Flair’s Last Match: Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo vs. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal
- IMPACT World Championship Match: Josh Alexander vs. Jacob Fatu
- Impact Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rachael Ellering
- The Wolves vs. The Motor City Machine Guns
- Killer Kross vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
- The Briscoe Brothers vs. The Von Erichs
- Clark Connors vs. Ren Narita
- Laredo Kid vs. Bandido vs. Taurus vs. Rey Fenix