By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ric Flair’s Last Match
Streamed July 31, 2022 live on FITE TV pay-per-view
Aired live from Nashville, Tennessee at Municipal Auditorium
Pre-Show
The show opened with Tony Schiavone and David Crockett standing at a great replica of the old TBS set. Ian Riccaboni joined the duo on commentary for the opening match…
1. Yuya Uemura vs. Ren Narita. Schiavone said it was by design that they started the pre-show at 6:05 ET. In the end, Narita performed a nice overhead suplex into a bridge and scored the clean pin…
Ren Narita defeated Yuya Uemura at 5:30.
After the match, Riccaboni noted that he would return to call some other matches…
Powell’s POV: A solid opening match. The old TBS set looks just like the real deal. The lighting emphasizes the ring and is darker over most of the fans in attendance. But the seats that can be seen in the hard camera shot along with the lower bowl shots look filled.
Schiavone introduced Ric Flair, whose entrance music played. Jay Lethal and Karen Jarrett made their entrance instead. Lethal wore a suit and did a Flair impersonation while delivering his promo, which included him calling a fan “fat boy” and referring to himself as “God.”
Lethal snapped out of Flair mode and asked if Schiavone realized how ridiculous it all sounded. He told the fans that it’s all their fault for supporting an egomaniac that they probably won’t remember in twenty years. Jarrett said they also won’t remember Missy Hyatt, Baby Doll, and others, but they will remember her. Lethal went back into Flair mode by delivering some wooos…
A video package aired with Lethal and Jeff Jarrett… Dave Prazak joined the broadcast team at the desk. They turned things over to Cyrus Fees, who had his mic taken away by Frank the Clown. The man who had clown paint on his ace tried to introduce himself, but he was interrupted by Jacob Fatu’s entrance music. The clown left the ring when Fatu entered.
Mick Foley came out and stood behind the clown. Foley threw the clown in the ring and gave him a “bang bang.” Fatu superkicked the clown and gave him a running ass splash in the corner. Fatu left the ring and hugged Foley at ringside…
A video aired with Dixie Carter speaking from her home and wishing Ric Flair well. It was followed by brief video clips from Nick Aldis, JBL, Trish Stratus, Kurt Angle, and Cody Rhodes praising Flair and wishing him well…
2. The Bunkhouse Stampede. A group of wrestlers were in the ring James Storm received a televised entrance. Bully Ray entered the “Welcome to the Jungle.” Schiavone mentioned something about a commotion at the production truck. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” played and then Nick Gage made his entrance with a mic in his hand while the match was in progress.
The entrants included Bully Ray, Joey Janela, Sinn Bodhi, Effy, Jordan Oliver, Crimson, Crowbar, Blake Christian, Mance Warner, Wolfie D, Manders, Gringo Loco, Kommander. Loco performed a moonsault off the top rope onto another wrestler on the floor and came up clutching his knee. Kommander followed up with a move to the outside and also eliminated himself.
Bully and Effy did the Whassup spot. Bully told him to get the tables, then eliminated him. The final four was Bully Ray, James Storm, Mance Warner, and Joey Janela. Warner eliminated Storm. Ray eliminated Janela. Ray and Warner squared off. Bully powerbombed Warner through a table in the middle of the ring. Warner came back and eliminated Ray.
Mance Warner won the Bunkhouse Stampede in 11:10.
After the match, the GCW wrestlers returned to the ring and celebrated with Warner, who was presented with the boot and belt buckle. Warner drank a beer out of the boot. Warner was interviewed by Schiavone at the desk. Bully walked over and got in Warner’s face. Bully raised Warner’s hand poured beer in his mouth. Schiavone told Prazak that the match was a lot of fun. Prazak saved face by saying it was crazy. Crockett said Dusty Rhodes would be laughing…
Powell’s POV: A hot mess that would have been better had all of the entrances been televised. About the time I figured out who some of the wrestlers were, they were being eliminated from the match. The idea was that Bully eliminated a number of GCW wrestlers, but Warner got the better of him in the end.
A video aired with Sting singing the praises of Flair from home. Sting said he loves him very much and told him to go out there and be Ric Flair…
Schiavone said all the stars are in the house. Mick Foley was shown in the crowd. Schiavone set up a video from Jim Ross, who praised Flair as the very best and said he wished he could be there…
An extended video aired with Cody Rhodes praising Flair. Rhodes questioned whether it’s Flair’s final match and said he’s Flair and can do whatever he wants, including showing up on Raw and putting him in the figure four. Cody said his father Dusty Rhodes would be proud that he was Flair’s greatest opponent…
Schiavone pointed out Vickie Guerrero in the crowd… Schiavone set up a video package on Impact Wrestling’s Emergence event…
Mick Foley sat in the crowd with a microphone. He said he thought he would be front row, but he’s no Al Snow and second row isn’t too shabby. Foley pointed out his son Hugh, who was sitting next to him. Mick said his son told him that this event was better than SummerSlam. Foley told Schiavone that he may have put one or two butts in seats during his career. Funny…
An extended Nick Aldis video aired regarding Flair. Aldis spoke about being an NWA Champion and said that it’s proof that Flair is still helping wrestlers put food on their tables due to what he meant for the championship…
Schiavone gave a final pitch for the pay-per-view to close out the pre-show while saying they were bringing back Jim Crockett Promotions for one night…
Ric Flair’s Last Match Main Card
A pre-taped segment aired with Bob Caudle turning things over to the broadcast team of Tony Schiavone and David Crockett. They turned things over to the Spanish broadcast team of Hugo Savinovich and Carlos Cabrera…
1. “Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “The Wolves” Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Scott D’Amore sat in on commentary and said the teams met only one time before twelve years ago and the Guns won the match. D’Amore also compared it to the Rock-n-Roll Express vs. Midnight Express and said the Wolves would use dirty tactics like the Midnight Express.
Late in the match, the Guns performed their Facial sequence on Richards. They followed up with a neckbreaker and top rope crossbody block combo move on Edwards, and then Sabin covered him for the win.
“Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin defeated “The Wolves” Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards in 10:50.
After the match, Richards clutched his left knee and used the ropes to pull himself to his feet. Shelley stood on one leg while the referee raised their arms…
Powell’s POV: A good main card opening match that simply needed more time to feel special. Here’s hoping that Shelley was simply selling afterward.
A video package listed some of the legends of Jim Crockett Promotions… Al Snow, Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella), Vickie Guerrero, and Mick Foley were shown separately in the crowd…
2. Killer Kross (w/Scarlett Bordeaux) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. It was billed as an MLW showcase match and MLW broadcast team member Joe Dombrowski sat in, er, stood in on commentary. Smith has blonde hair, and Kross still has a full head of hair following his prior bald look.
Kross caught Smith in a Kross Jacket, but Smith rolled over and had Kross in a pin situation, forcing him to break the hold. Kross threw some strikes in the corner and suplexed Smith. Kross hit his Quickening finisher and scored the clean pin…
Killer Kross beat Davey Boy Smith Jr. 5:20.
Powell’s POV: The last time I saw these two meet was on the Bloodsport event in 2019 and it was the best match I’ve seen either man work. This was a different style match and they weren’t given nearly enough time to approach what they did during that WrestleMania weekend event. I don’t know if they could match that even if they had the time, but it would have been nice to see them try.
Brief pre-taped comments aired from Dolph Ziggler, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Jake Roberts, Will Sasso, Doug Dillinger, and Lex Luger were shown regarding Ric Flair…
3. Jonathan Gresham vs. Nick Wayne vs. Alan Angels vs. Konosuke Takeshita in a four-way for a shot at the Progress Championship. Ian Riccaboni was back on commentary. Hey, the broadcast team do have chairs behind their desk. Two men were allowed in the ring at once (at least in theory). After rapid fire action, Gresham rolled up Angels and bridged while getting the pin…
Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Nick Wayne, and Konosuke Takeshita in a four-way in 5:10 to earn a shot at the Progress Championship.
Powell’s POV: Conrad Thompson clearly knows that Gresham was ranked 20th in this year’s PWI 500. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Another match that needed more time. They made the most of what they had, but this is becoming a trend and it felt like a waste of four talented wrestlers.
Cody Rhodes pre-taped comments regarding Flair were shown again…
4. Kerry Morton and Ricky Morton (w/Robert Gibson) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson (w/Arn Anderson). Footage aired of Arn giving his team a pep talk before they made their entrance. Nick Aldis sat in on commentary with Schiavone and Crockett. Brock called for Ricky early on. Ricky got the better of him and then the Mortons hit Brock with a double dropkick, which drew a Rock-n-Roll chant from the crowd.
Later, Brock slammed Kerry’s head into the knee of Pillman, who fell off the ankle and sold knee pain Ricky made a hot tag and had Brock pinned, but Pillman returned to break it up. The referee got caught up in clearing Kerry from the ring and missed Pillman catching Ricky with a knee from the apron. Brock followed up with a Gordbuster on Ricky and then pinned him…
Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson defeated Kerry Morton and Ricky Morton in 7:40.
Powell’s POV: The live crowd was up for the nostalgia of the match involving Ricky Morton and the second generation wrestlers. Even so, I’m floored that this match was given more time than the four-way that preceded it.
JJ Dillon was shown in the crowd…
5. Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Black Taurus vs. Bandido in a four-way. Joe Dombrowski sat in on commentary. Kid and Bandido had a spirited exchange early in the match. Bandido popped the crowd by making several revolutions around Taurus before taking him down with a head-scissors. Really cool spot. Taurus performed a dive onto all three opponents at ringside a short time later.
Taurus also press slammed Kid from the top rope, then ate a double superkick from Fenix and Bandido. A number the fans on the main floor were standing. Bandido dove at Taurus at ringside and it looked like Taurus barely saved him from landing head first on the mat, then Bandido hit him with a Code Red. Late in the match, a fight forever chant broke out. Fenix put Taurus down with a sit-out version of Fear Factor and pinned him.
Rey Fenix defeated Laredo Kid, Black Taurus, and Bandido in 11:50 in a four-way.
Powell’s POV: Now that’s more like it. The wrestlers worked at such a fast pace early on that I thought they might be going around five minutes as well, but they were given a decent amount of time and maintained the crazy pace. The live crowd ate up the spot fest and everyone involved worked hard in what is easily the best match of the card thus far.
Pre-taped Jim Ross comments regarding Ric Flair aired. Ross said Flair is the greatest pro wrestler who has ever laced up his boots. Ross said he wished he could have been there. He said he was loving the roast and was watching on the FITE TV app…
6. Josh Alexander vs. Jacob Fatu for the Impact World Championship. Tom Hannifan (f/k/a Tom Phillips) sat in on commentary and said Alexander has only been pinned once in the last 430 days. Fatu impressed the broadcast team with an early huracanrana. Alexander came back with a superplex.
Fatu stuffed Alexander’s C4 Spike finisher and then hit his springboard into the ropes followed by a standing moonsault for a near fall. A short time later, Fatu executed his double jump into a springboard split-legged moonsault for a near fall.
Alexander caught Fatu in an ankle lock, but Fatu kicked him away. Alexander turned Fatu inside out with a clothesline and then put him down with a powerbomb backbreaker for a near fall. Fatu rallied and sent Alexander to the floor before performing a running dive onto him.
Fatu sent Alexander back inside the ring. Fatu went up top and hit a great moonsault. Fatu sold the impact and then covered Alexander for a near fall. Alexander came right back with two German suplexes. Alexander went for a third, but Fatu landed on his feet. Fatu put Alexander down with a popup Samoan Drop. Both men stayed down and then beat the referee’s count. Matt Cardona, Brian Myers, and Mark Sterling ran in and attacked both men for the DQ finish.
Josh Alexander fought Jacob Fatu to a no-contest in 10:30 to retain the Impact World Championship.
Alexander and Fatu rallied and cleared Myers and Sterling from the ring. Cardona begged off. Diamond Dallas Page entered the ring and dropped Cardona with a Diamond Cutter, then hugged Alexander and raised his arm…
Powell’s POV: This was the undercard match that I was looking forward to the most and it delivered. There was no reason to expect a title change so the cheap finish didn’t surprise me, nor did it bother me. It was still cool to see the Impact Champion face the former longtime MLW Champion. The live crowd reacted favorably to DDP helping Alexander.
Broadcast team member Josh Shernoff knocked on Jeff Jarrett’s locker room door. Jerry Jarrett answered the door and let Shernoff enter the room. Jerry Lawler told Shernoff that he couldn’t get a word with Jeff. Shernoff said he was shocked to see Lawler and Jerry Jarrett. Lawler played up the idea that Ric Flair would go out a loser at the hands of Jeff Jarrett. Lawler questioned why Flair would come to Tennessee for his last embarrassment. Lawler and the Jarretts all agreed that Jackie Fargo started the strut, not Flair…
Powell’s POV: That was unexpected fun. It was cool enough to see Lawler make an unadvertised appearance, but it was a fun bonus to hear him cut a heel promo. I can’t even remember the last time that I heard Lawler deliver heel mic work.
7. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe vs. Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich. Ian Riccaboni sat in on commentary. The Briscoes were dominant to start. Jay performed a flip dive from the ring onto the Von Erichs at ringside. Mark set up a chair inside the ring and then used it as a launchpad for his own dive onto the Von Erichs.
The Von Erichs battled back. Marshall performed a standing moonault onto Jay for a near fall. The Von Erichs hit their Iron Claw suplex combo on Mark, but Jay returned to break up the pin attempt. Jay put Ross down with a neckbreaker. Mark hit Froggy Bow on Ross and then pinned him…
Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe beat Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich in 7:45.
Powell’s POV: It was good to see a clean finish in an interpromotional style match and the right team went over as far as I’m concerned.
Sting’s comments about Ric Flair were replayed…
8. Jordynne Grace vs. Rachael Ellering vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a three-way for the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship. Ring announcer Cyrus Fees delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Tom Hannifan sat in on commentary. Crockett was unsure how a three-way match worked. Less than a minute into the match, Ellering’s leg tucked under her when she was rolled up by Grace. The referee stopped the match and checked on her. Ellering clutched her ankle.
Grace and Purrazzo worked the match while Ellering was tended to on the apron. She opted to return to the ring. After an exchange with Grace, Ellering clutched her ankle again, but remained in the ring. Purrazzo performed a crossbody block from the ropes on Grace. Ellering broke up the pin. Ellering performed some offensive moves on Grace and even hoisted her up for a fisherman’s buster style suplex.
Later, Grace set up for for a superplex. Purrazzo snuck underneath and turned it into a tower of doom spot. Ellering clutched her ankle and then used the ropes to pull herself up. In the end, Grace caught Ellering in a rear naked choke while Purrazzo was at ringside and got the submission win…
Jordynne Grace defeated Rachael Ellering and Deonna Purrazzo in a three-way in 9:05 to retain the Knockouts Championship.
Powell’s POV: A solid match all things considered. The live crowd didn’t really seem to know who to side with, but they did react to the bigger moments of the match.
Tony Schiavone and David Crockett spoke at the desk and set up a video package on the main event…
The Undertaker and Michelle McCool were shown along with one of their daughters seated next to Mick Foley…
Powell’s POV: Wow. That’s pretty damn cool to see Taker in the crowd for Flair’s last match.
Jay Lethal made his entrance. Jeff Jarrett had an elaborate entrance with a cool video image of him holding up his guitar before his “My World” entrance theme played. Karen Jarrett came out first, dropped to one knee, and pointed to the entrance. Jeff walked out with a guitar in hand. Jeff walked over to the broadcast desk and threw Schiavone and Crockett’s notes. Schiavone called him an asshole.
The Jarretts taunted fans. Longtime WCW head of security Doug Dillinger stood between Jeff and fans along the barricade. Jerry Jarrett was shown applauding his son the crowd. Jeff found Conrad Thompson in the front row and shoved him.
Andrade El Idolo made his entrance with a mask over his head, which he removed. Kid Rock was shown in the crowd. He didn’t make out with anyone, nor did he flip off the camera unlike the night before at SummerSlam.
The lights went out and the crowd started woooing. A loud Flair “wooo” played followed by “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” Flair walked onto the stage wearing white and purple robe. Flair turned around and undid his robe, then showed off the original big gold belt, which he took off and handed to Dillinger. Schiavone noted that the belt is owned by Conrad Thompson. Flair entered the ring and removed his robe. He wore a sleeveless purple shirt with “Nature Boy” on the back…
9. Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett (w/Karen Jarrett). Mike Chioda was the referee. David Penzer delivered in-ring introductions. Chioda had to hold back Jarrett, who was booed loudly when he was introduced. Flair received a great reaction and a “Nature Boy” chant while he and Jarrett went face to face before the opening bell.
Flair and Jarrett started the match. Flair slapped Jarrett, who tagged out to boos. Flair and Lethal locked up. Lethal took Flair down. Flair put him in a head-scissors, which Lethal escaped. A “You still got it” chant broke up. Flair took Lethal down while Crockett thanked various family members on commentary. Schiavone said Jim Crockett was somewhere watching on.
Lethal backed Flair into a corner and slapped him. Flair fired back with a slap that knocked Lethal off his feet. Lethal called for timeout and then spoke with Jarrett. Andrade tagged into the match and trades shoves with Lethal. Andrade caught Lethal with a running boot to the head and covered him for a two count. Lethal caught Andrade with a couple of elbows and then tagged in Jarrett, who continued to be a heat magnet in his home state.
Andrade took Jarrett down with a couple of hip-tosses. Andrade wrenched Jarrett’s arm and then Flair tagged in. Jarrett escaped and backed into his corner. Schiavone said Jarrett didn’t want to let Flair have a moment at his expense. Jarrett did the Fargo Strut and then laid across the ropes in his corner to boos. Flair smirked. Schiavone said Flair can’t do what he once did and is wisely making the match go at his own pace.
Flair did his own struts and then gave a crotch chop to the Jarrett corner. Flair threw some chops at Jarrett. Lethal ran in and tried to stop Flair, who kicked him below the belt. Andrade cleared Lethal from the ring and then chopped Jarrett, who rolled out of the ring and headed to the stage. Karen joined her husband. The crowd chanted “you suck.” The Jarretts walked back to ringside. Jeff stalled once he was back at ringside and was serenaded with “asshole” chants. He teased leaving again and finally returned to the ring.
Andrade and Lethal tagged in. Andrade got Lethal in Flair’s corner and then Flair choked Lethal before tagging back into the match. Flair fired chops and punches at Lethal and let out a “woooo” to the crowd. Flair threw more chops at Lethal. Andrade tagged in again. Jarrett hit him with a cheap shot. Andrade hit Jarrett. Lethal went for a Lethal Combination that was botched. Andrade held his nose and face.
Jarrett tagged in and roughed up Andrade. Lethal tagged in again and went up top before hitting a double ax-handle on Andrade. Lethal worked over Andrade and blew a kiss to Flair. Jarrett tagged in and threw punches at Andrade, who eventually performed a body press onto Jarrett. Flair came in and threw some weak chops at Lethal and Jarrett. Flair put Lethal in the figure four, which Jarrett broke up with a punch to the head.
Jarrett had Karen pass him her heel and went to ringside where he struck Flair with it. Jarrett worked over Flair right in front of Undertaker’s family. Flair’s daughter Megan (Conrad Thompson’s wife) reached over the guardrail and got her hands on Karen until Doug Dillinger stood between them. Flair was a blood mess when he stood up. Flair worked over both opponents at ringside while Michelle McCool took photos from her seat.
The heels brought Flair back to the ring. Lethal powered up Flair and suplexed him, which drew boos from the crowd. Lethal covered Flair, but Andrade broke up the pin. Lethal stood up and threw Andrade out of the ring. Jarrett tagged in and put the boots to the knee of Flair and mocked his woooo before applying the Figure Four. Andrade dove onto Jarrett to break it up. Lethal threw Andrade to ringside.
A “Nature Boy” chant broke out while Lethal threw punches at him. Lethal went to the top rope and went for an elbow drop, but Flair rolled out of the way. Andrade climbed back onto the apron and fired up the crowd. Flair, who has a crimson mask, tagged in his son-in-law. Andrade worked over both heel with clotheslines. Andrade suplexed Lethal, then picked up Jarrett and slammed him onto Lethal. Andrade hit double knees in the corner on Jarrett and covered him, but Flair broke it up. Andrade threw Lethal over the top rope to the floor.
Andrade performed a DDT on Jarrett and covered him. Lethal broke up the pin, and Jarrett had his leg draped over the bottom rope. Andrade ducked a superkick, causing Lethal to take out Jarrett. Lethal threw another and this time took out the referee. REF BUMP!!! Andrade put Lethal down with a Poison Rana. Andrade tagged in Flair, who was lying in his corner. Flair covered Lethal for the visual pinfall, but the referee was still down.
Jarrett brought his guitar into the ring. Lethal held Flair. Jarret swung the guitar, but Andrade pulled Flair out of the way, causing Jarrett to take out Lethal with the guitar instead. Andrade put Jarrett down, then pulled out a pair of brass knuckles. Andrade passed the brass knuckles to Flair, who stood up and punched out Jarrett. Flair put Jarrett in the figure four. A second referee ran out and counted down the shoulders of Jarrett.
Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo defeated Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett in 27:00.
Confetti fell from the rafters. Flair sat in the ring while Andrade tended to him. Flair used the ropes to stand up and then smiled when he looked to the crowd. Andrade applauded Flair, who walked gingerly to the other side of the ring and then leaned against the ropes. Flair held onto the top rope while he took a seat and then slowly rolled out of the ring.
Flair approached his family. Wendy Barlow told him good job and his daughter Megan applauded him. Flair walked over to Undertaker and they had a word. Flair also had a moment with Mick Foley and Bret Hart, who was standing next to Foley. A “thank you, Ric” chant broke out.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Flair at ringside and said he first interviewed him in 1983. Schiavone said this is a moment that we’ll never forget. He called Flair the greatest pro wrestler ever and said he could bleed all over him. “We love you, buddy,” Schiavone said.
Flair took the mic and said he doesn’t know how something so special could happen to a man twice in his life and to be even better the second time. Flair recalled having one of the best matches of his career with Ricky Steamboat. He said all of his children and grandchildren were there. Flair recalled Kid Rock walking in his locker room and telling him that he had a night off and asked Flair to entertain him. Flair said the fans make people like him tick. He said he hopes he didn’t let them down. Flair said he didn’t remember half of it. He thanked his friends and family. “Everything you hear about me is true,” Flair said. “I’m going downtown with Kid Rock tonight. How about that shit? Come on.” Schiavone called Flair the man and said there was nothing more he could say.
Flair hugged Kid Rock at ringside, then walked toward the back with David Crockett, Andrade, and Doug Dillinger. Andrade stopped him. Flair went back to ringside and fist bumped a number of people. A referee wanted to put the big gold belt on him, but Flair turned and headed to the stage. Andrade got the belt for him. Flair kissed it while standing on the stage and then held it above his head. Jay Lethal came out. Flair dropped the belt and hugged him.
Closing credits aired along with classic Flair photos. David Sahadi was the director, Brian James and Conrad Thompson were executive producers, Josh Matthews was line producer, and Tom Prichard, Bully Ray, Sinn Bodhi, Wolfie D, Scott Armstrong, and Dan McDevitt were listed as producers. At the end of the credits, a pre-taped clip with Bob Caudle saying “so long for now” aired to end the show…
Powell’s POV: The main event was a lot of fun for about three-quarters of the match. It got scary toward the end when Flair seemed to be out of it. He appeared to be understandably exhausted by the end of the match and hopefully that’s all.
As much as it was about Flair, the MVP of the main event was Jeff Jarrett. He and Karen were heat magnets and did a fantastic job of working up the crowd. Andrade and Lethal may have done more moves, but Jarrett was terrific in working the crowd and deserves a ton of credit. Meanwhile, Schiavone deserves a tip of the cap for trying to keep things together at the broadcast table. He had a tough assignment in that his sidekick David Crockett spent a lot of time laughing and didn’t even pretend to be up to speed on the modern product. It was fun to hear them together again, though in retrospect if may have been better to only have Crockett call the main event.
The early undercard was disappointing due to some of the matches being so brief. The first four-way was really shortchanged. The second four-way was a lot of fun and I also enjoyed Alexander vs. Fatu for what it was. The venue looked good and the production work was impressive for a one-off show.
Here’s hoping that Flair is healthy and got the closure he was looking for. Say what you will about the man, but he was the very best in the business during his prime as far as I’m concerned. I will have more to say about the how in my same night audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
Gotta like the rib at Tony S. from Mick there; of course Tony was just following directives.
These matches feel like they’re going so quickly
Thus far through the first part of this show and pre-show it feels like the matches are little more than a series of exhibitions.
Whoa didn’t expect a Jerry Lawler appearance as being actually a part of the show
Unannounced appearances galore. I’m enjoying the show. The matches are good enough. I don’t expect anything to be booked to outshine the main event. That said, the production is top notch. The card is pretty stacked and I’m curious who else turns up. This is the so-called final match of my favorite wrestler since he first debuted on Wrestling at the Chase here in St. Louis in 1979. This is a feel good wrestling event and I am completely buying into the vibe.
Anyone predicting any “outside interence” in the main event? Is Terry Funk well enough to attend? I couldn’t imagine him not being there if he couldn’t be.
Loads of fun so far, and a solid old school look and feel. Lawler cutting a heel promo is one of the highlights of 2022.
The appearances are a nice element and a suitable plan to keep things light and in moderation from match to match.
That was pretty fun! I couldn’t tell if Flair was on his game selling or legit dead at a couple points, but in the end it was pretty cool!
As the saying goes, I guess you could say that Flair left it all in the ring and wasn’t going to have it any other way for his final wrestling moments.
Enjoyable crossover tribute show. I had no issues with match length. Fast paced show. Quick four hours. Good job by all.
Some of the best guest appearances ever. A shame politics, fear of blowback, health, or apathy prevented more of Ric’s old friends and WWE and AEW people from sending in videos or being in the stands.
Everybody licked Cena’s arse recently but would not do the same for Ric.
Pillman and Anderson were booked better here than AEW. So was Andrade for that matter.
I paid for the show even though I didn’t intend to watch it, just to support everyone involved. I decided to watch it at the last minute, and I’m glad I did.