It’s hard to deny that 2022 has been an insane year for professional wrestling, from Cody Rhodes leaving AEW to rejoin WWE, Vince McMahon stepping down, and more. One of the biggest non-WWE stories of the year was the final match of the legendary Ric Flair. Taking place under the banner of Jim Crocket Promotions, Flair teamed with Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal… but originally Ricky Steamboat was intended to lock up with his rival one last time, but he turned the match down.
Ricky Steamboat Didn’t Feel Right After Learning Flair Had A Pacemaker
While speaking to Bill Apter of SportsKeeda, Ricky Steamboat would explain why he turned down the chance to be involved with Ric Flair’s Last Match.
“Well, initially, Conrad Thompson, who’s the promoter, we talked, and I went to Nashville, and we had a sit-down, and it was Conrad, his wife, and me and my wife, Sandy. I was still training pretty good and feeling pretty good. So I said okay, and we hadn’t signed or sealed the deal on the money part of it.
But what put the nail in the coffin was a week after that when I found out Flair was wearing a pacemaker. All these years, I never knew, and I immediately just said, ‘I don’t think I wanna do this.’ I don’t want my legacy to be I was in the ring when he happened to pass away or something went wrong. I didn’t want that.
I’ve done some interviews after that when they found out that I said no, but this is the first time I’ve come public with this. I didn’t want to throw Conrad or Flair under the bus, so I threw me under the bus even when I was talking with you that I’m not the guy that the fans remember me by….I used me as the reason.”
Ricky Steamboat would return to the ring in 2022, teaming with FTR to defeat Brock Anderson, Jay Lethal & Nick Aldis in a six man tag team match. Steamboat is expected to show up in AEW during 2023 if he continues wrestling. He already set up a potential match with the Jericho Appreciation Society during his appearance for AEW in 2022.
Do you want to see Ricky Steamboat wrestle more in 2023? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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