I asked a question earlier in the week about whether Ric Flair should’ve just announced his retirement match in the fall and held in December 2022. That would mark 50 years of being in the business—the majority of it as an active wrestler. Then I hit a problem:
“If he announced it in the spring and scheduled it for the end of the year, that’s enough time for tickets to be canceled. Hell, anything could’ve happened in that time.”
Maybe Ric Flair Could’ve Done a Retirement Tour Like the Hulkamania Tour
It’s definitely an issue but the following presented a solution:
“Plus, imagine the money that would’ve gone into keeping the buzz up for that long. In the days of four PPVs a year, creative teams had to keep feuds buzzing for months between big seasonal events. For one show announced in May to take place in December, that’s too much time for things to go wrong.”
A three or four-day tour would solve the issue of holding it deep in the year if he announced it earlier. Mind you, this isn’t a series of shows to hold us over until the final match in December. Ric Flair still would’ve needed to announce his retirement later in the year.
However, Flair could have spanked several opponents across multiple days. Hell, he could’ve made this retirement match—scheduled for July 31, 2022—as a retirement tour and done the same thing.
I don’t expect Naitch to call up Hulk Hogan and ask him to do the honors on four different nights—as he did during the Hulkamania tour. If you don’t remember, in July 2009, Hulk Hogan ran the Hulkamania tour in Australia. Flair was retired at the time and came out of retirement for Hogan to spank him in the main event each night.
With that said, I know a tour would be an even bigger project to tackle. He’d have to travel to old NWA and WCW stomping grounds and have it so that everyone else scheduled makes the shows. So, a dedicated tour isn’t really plausible but a series of standalone matches building up to his retirement match could work.
Another thing to consider is an international retirement. Ric Flair was big in Japan as the NWA and WCW World Champion. Sure, he could retire here but there are grounds for a match overseas. Ultimately, a big one-off event is the best play for Flair’s retirement.
This retirement seems like the one that will stick but let us know your thoughts. Now in his early 70s, could Ric Flair be roused out of retirement after July 30? What do you think of a retirement tour? Bad idea? Too late? Should’ve been done earlier?
Let us know down below!
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