Ric Flair Retires

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i don't see how anyone can support an organization that encourages it's employees to inject themselves with so many steroids that they either die at a young age or snap and pull a Benoit. sad that there are still kids out there that look up to these idiots

Aren't alot of sports plagued by the whole steroid thing? I mean, it's not just wrestling.

On topic - Flair could deliver better matches at his age than kids a third of his age. Great to see him go out with a nice tribute. To those who don't care, well, that's fine. Like CM Punk said, there's people actually out there that follow it - and not just WWE. It's worldwide, and if you really want to see what great wrestling looks like today, watch some Puroresu wrestling matches today. I don't care if people think it's fake or not; that takes talent.

It's like saying 'why watch movies? They're fake.' Of course they are; doesn't mean, though, that people can't be dominant throughout the process of doing it.

[albertGQ]

I think I caught the end of it. Was that Stephanie McMahon I see as a short blonde?

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i don't see how anyone can support an organization that encourages it's employees to inject themselves with so many steroids that they either die at a young age or snap and pull a Benoit. sad that there are still kids out there that look up to these idiots

Very uninformed post. Yes steroids were and are rampant, but steroids aren't their problems. Addictions to pain killers is whats killing these guys. I saw an interview with Scott Hall and I honestly can't figure out how he, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels and especially Sean Waltman (aka 1-2-3 Kid) are still alive. They would go out each night in a van they had, take pain killers and whatever other drugs they had, and drink a tonne of alcohol.

Ric Flair was also a renowned partier. He looks darn good for a guy who abused his body in the ring for 32 years and partied the way he did all the way through his career. Truly one of the best entertainers the business ever had.

[the crispy badger]

Originally Posted by J pold

I was going to say this should belong in the Other Sports thread

But I recalled that the WWE or WWF or whatever it is the furthest thing from a sport

Here to hoping the entire pathetic joke decides to retire

nice attempt to troll the thread...no one claims wrestling is a sport but what I'd like to see is someone like you get trained in the ring for a week and THEN tell me it's not athletic.

[the crispy badger]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

how do you dominate in a fake sport? That's like saying the Harlem Globetrotters are a dominant basketball team

it's called TALENT...

[CaptainCrunch]

In terms of the whole debate about the best wrestler in modern wrestling history, it comes down to two guys. Bret Hart and Ric Flair.

Flair was the consumate showman, he was a great interview and promo person, and while he could wrestle a 60 minute match, they were all stunningly the same with very little story telling. Flip over the top turn buckle run down the apron and get closed line. Chest slaps, figure four, then reversed, the ball shot, repeated over and over again. In terms of his backstage life, he was a big time partier who lived the life of space mountain, the kiss stealin, limo riding jet flying lying cheating son of a bitch. But its also important to note that he was also one of the worst bookers in wrestling history who protected his friends and was one of the key components in the death of WCW.

Bret Hart was the consumate wrestler, he wasn't a great promo or interview but he wasn't terrible. But his matches were so much better then anyone elses. The only thing that he repeated in matches were his five moves of doom, which was the atomic drop, the russian leg sweep, the flying clothesline, the elbow from the second turnbuckle and the sharp shooter. He was a partier early in his career, and it sounds like he like flair was a constant womanizer, but Hart also gained a reputation as a backstage introvert, he didn't hang out with the other wrestlers and they thought he was snobbish. In terms of booking storylines, Hart only held the book once, and that was towards the end of his time with Stampede wrestling.

Both were wrestling traditionalists, both could wrestle a broom stick and make it look real, but at the end of the day in the Hart vs Flair battles, Hart pretty much carried Flair to some very good matches.

I expect that we will see Flair in some kind of capacity in the WWE, not as a commentator, but maybe as a general manager on screen or a manager, or a part of a story line. But I think that he's truly done in the ring, there's no reason to bring him back at all.

[the crispy badger]

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=i5YrmGJiYGs(Part 1)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=OAdYfM..._response(Part 2)



Heres his tribute from Raw last night...The emotion during this is as real as any team winning the Stanley Cup or Superbowl.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by greerb

I do have to agree that he could still put on a great match. Something Hogan will never be able to do when he's 58, that's for sure.

Heck wrestling a great match is something Hogan couldn't do at 28 let alone 58!

He's no selling punches, and OH NO A LEG DROP ! ! !

I hated Hogan as a kid (granted I was a Warrior fan which in retrospect wasn't that much better), but loathe him even more now (unless I'm watching Hogan Knows Best, him being a bad actor in his own reality series is hilarious!)

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i don't see how anyone can support an organization that encourages it's employees to inject themselves with so many steroids that they either die at a young age or snap and pull a Benoit. sad that there are still kids out there that look up to these idiots

Why I don't watch the football. But I don't see how that's relevant in a thread about professional wrestling though.

[Ozy_Flame]

No doubt about it, Bret Hart was the best technical wrestler, and leaps and bounds beyond Ric Flair. Bret was a master ring psychologist, and the interesting thing is that many of the same types of wrestlers were bred from the Dungeon, Calgary, and Stampede Wrestling. The Harts, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, Chris Jericho, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Lance Storm, and one of my favorite Japanese wrestlers, Jushin Lyger.

Flair was born to be a showman; he fell in same style as early pioneers such as Gorgeous George, Freddie Blassie, and a few others who used showboating and smacktalk as their offensive weapon. For that, Flair will forever be one of the best entertainers in the ring, whereas Hart will be one of the best wrestlers in the ring.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

No doubt about it, Bret Hart was the best technical wrestler, and leaps and bounds beyond Ric Flair. Bret was a master ring psychologist, and the interesting thing is that many of the same types of wrestlers were bred from the Dungeon, Calgary, and Stampede Wrestling. The Harts, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, Chris Jericho, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Lance Storm, and one of my favorite Japanese wrestlers, Jushin Lyger.

Flair was born to be a showman; he fell in same style as early pioneers such as Gorgeous George, Freddie Blassie, and a few others who used showboating and smacktalk as their offensive weapon. For that, Flair will forever be one of the best entertainers in the ring, whereas Hart will be one of the best wrestlers in the ring.

Yeah, I can agree with that. And while I really enjoyed both wrestlers, I liked Bret Harts realistic looking matches a lot more. He told a much better story in the ring. When he looked hurt, you thought he was hurt, he didn' over exagerate his sells like Flair did.

In terms of hero's and villians. Both were actually better villians in a common sense. Flair because his character was the dirtiest player in the game, proud of it and arrogant about his past.

Hart because he wasn't an extroverted guy he basically said that he was going to kick your ass, and he made his opponent sell it.

I have to admit that I watched the last 15 minutes of Raw last night because I knew about Flair's retirement speech, I also have to admit that I got chills down my spin when I heard the sound of horses and the guitar wail of the theme of the 4 horsemen.

The only other time that I ever got that emotionally moved was back in the 90's in WCW reunited (the horsemen) and Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit were so bowled over by the moment that they and Flair were crying in the ring.

You get so few of those moments in Wrestling, not when the Hart Foundation reformed, not when Degeneration-X formed and reformed, but Flair could sell that raw emotion.

[icecube]

As much as I respect the Nature Boy, as a wrestler I think he is overrated. When I think of the greatest of all time there are only two wrestlers that come to mind. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Nobody else comes close to even holding their jocks in the ring. HBK deserves some respect but I think his attitude and "sexy boy" persona turn some people off. Reminds me of how leonardo dicaprio gets little respect for being a hell of an actor, just because he was in the movie titanic .

[Thor]

He was still wrestling?? lol wow, last time I followed wrestling was back in the mid 80's.

[Regulator75]

Are we sure this isn't an April fools joke.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by icecube

As much as I respect the Nature Boy, as a wrestler I think he is overrated. When I think of the greatest of all time there are only two wrestlers that come to mind. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Nobody else comes close to even holding their jocks in the ring. HBK deserves some respect but I think his attitude and "sexy boy" persona turn some people off. Reminds me of how leonardo dicaprio gets little respect for being a hell of an actor, just because he was in the movie titanic .

Shawn Michaels for as much of a tool as he is, should probably go down as the best overall performer that wrestlings ever had. He's a unique mix of charisma, mic work and he can outright perform in the ring, and a lot of times was and is pretty selfless about it.

Even in his last match against Bret Hart, as much as he hated Hart, he sold that match. The same against a lot of other wrestlers where he sold the crap out of it and made his opponent look good.

The guy that I can't stand is Triple H, the guy just no sells, and buries people on the mic. He goes out of his way to destroy credibility with his booking (See Jericho), and he certainly destroyed Kanes career in about 10 minutes by creating a necrophilia angle.

Jesus, you'd think that I watched wrestling once in a while.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by icecube

When I think of the greatest of all time there are only two wrestlers that come to mind. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Nobody else comes close to even holding their jocks in the ring.

Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi can not only hold their jocks in the ring, they'd knock out their teeth while doing so. All three were far more innovative in the ring then Hart or Michaels and Michaels' body couldn't have handled working the All Japan style long term.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi can not only hold their jocks in the ring, they'd knock out their teeth while doing so. All three were far more innovative in the ring then Hart or Michaels and Michaels' body couldn't have handled working the All Japan style long term.

!!!!!!!



Best wrestling post EVER.

[Traditional_Ale]

Holy,

Lots of love for Brett Hart going down here. I mean, being from Calgary and having just released a book I guess I can understand why, but I think there are a lot of homer's in this thread.

Captain Crunch's comment about HBK being the best all-around performer (technical wrestling ability, microphone work, charisma) is accurate to a point. I mean, the original ladder match with Razor Ramone (Scott Hall) was epic! Amazing! Kind of dated by today's standards, but still an amazing match.

I need to throw this one out there, though, as in my opinion the best wrestler of all time (based on technical ability, microphone work, and charisma) is:

The Undertaker

I mean, is it still the SAME guy? To perform at the level the Undertaker did (does?) for as long as he did is simply amazing.

Honorable mention goes to:

Mick Foley

[SteveToms]

Like Captain Crunch said, Triple H is a tool, and screws over people.

I for one think Edge is just awesome, he knows exactly how to piss people off, and is very sound in the ring.

[albertGQ]

The best sports entertainer of all time is Dwayne Johnson! His conversion from the boring Rocky Maivia to THE ROCK was just amazing. He joined the Nation of Domination when he needed to as the "chairman". And his popularity skyrocketed when he became the People's Champion. He was a heel when he was the Corporate Champion, but people still loved him. He had the crowd eating out of his hands. His sayings were the best.

And to think he was on the Calgary Stampeders practise roster. He scalped his free tickets for money cause he was so broke

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

The best sports entertainer of all time is Dwayne Johnson! His conversion from the boring Rocky Maivia to THE ROCK was just amazing. He joined the Nation of Domination when he needed to as the "chairman". And his popularity skyrocketed when he became the People's Champion. He was a heel when he was the Corporate Champion, but people still loved him. He had the crowd eating out of his hands. His sayings were the best.

And to think he was on the Calgary Stampeders practise roster. He scalped his free tickets for money cause he was so broke

Rock was great, and will be remembered as great.

But he's not in the same league as the Undertaker. I think he got out of wrestling at the perfect time. Didn't wear out his character. The Undertaker has been himself for his whole career.

He's been an Undertaker, a Dark Prince, a bad-ass biker dood, and now essentially a hybrid of them all.