‘He fought like De Niro in The Irishman’ – Fans react to Ric Flair’s last match

While Ric Flair delivered a memorable night in his last ever match, fans gave a mixed bag of reactions to the Nature Boy’s performance.

Flair’s last battle was the grand finale of an evening packed with wrestling entertainment at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. The card featured stars from wrestling’s biggest promotions, making it a truly unique evening for viewers. Further adding to the interest was an audience filled with some of the industry’s greats, such as Mick Foley and The Undertaker.

But everyone was there to see Ric Flair. His final appearance in the squared circle was a tag team affair. Flair teamed up with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo. Taking on the Nature Boy and the entire crowd was Jay Lethal and WWE Exec Jeff Jarrett.

Ric Flair: How the last match went down

Although Flair sometimes showed his age, the 73-year-old was hell-bent on putting on a show. Strutting down the aisle to his signature theme song, the Nature Boy fully embraced the moment and joined Jarrett in the ring to start the match. The pair exchanged mocking struts before Flair thrust in the direction of Jeff Jarrett’s wife.

Following this, the match descended into chaotic action. El Idolo and Lethal did the bulk of the heavy action as Jarrett and Flair worked the crowd. Despite this, Flair still got in amongst the action with punches and chops.

He even caused panic in the audience and showed off some signature dirty tactics to get one over his opponents. For instance, Flair faked a heart attack to get an eye poke in on Lethal – given his previous health issues, this did cause concern for a second.

Jarrett drew blood from the Nature Boy late on, whilst the 73-year-old also survived a suplex from Lethal.  Finally, the match came to an end via Flair’s signature Figure Four Leg Lock resulting in a three count.

The nostalgia trip was enjoyable for fans on the whole. However, on social media, viewers expressed their honest views on the last match that Ric Flair did.

Social media reacts

Reddit was particularly brutal in its assessment of the event. For example, one user summarised their experience in quite a sentence. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but at the same time, it was somehow worse than I thought it’d be,” said the Redditor.

Similarly, others called into question the actual physical ability to wrestle that Ric Flair had left in him. One user made a harsh yet humorous comparison.

“It felt like I was watching “Weekend at Bernie’s” there at the end,” they wrote.

Meanwhile, other fans complimented other aspects of the fight, such as the strong showing from Jeff Jarrett.

“I know on-the-verge-of-death Ric Flair gets all the attention here, but Jarrett looked f*****g good,” mentioned one viewer. Some even went as far as suggesting a WWE return for the former star.   

Ultimately, wrestling fans had a mixture of relief and enjoyment at the end of the fight, with one Redditor summing up everyone’s sentiments. “At least… He didn’t die.”

After the match, Ric Flair cut an emotional promo after winning his last match.

Ric Flair says goodbye

Standing ringside in a shower of confetti, the sixteen-time world champion addressed his adoring crowd.

“Thank you for coming out,” started Flair. “I just won my last! I adore all of you. You are what make people like me and everyone who wants to walk through that door tick. We can’t lose it, and I appreciate y’all coming.

“I hope I didn’t let you down,” continued the emotional legend. “I don’t remember half of it, but thank you all.

“God bless my family, my friends. You know, everything you hear about me is true. I’m going downtown with Kid Rock tonight, how about that s**t?

“Goodbye.”

A fatigued Ric Flair signed off with a win and, as it stands, only mild injuries. According to Metro, the Nature Boy is “spent” but okay other than that. Following so many health issues in the last few years, this is good news for everyone.

Featured image credit: Getty