Ric Flair has (once again) put over Shawn Michaels for carrying him through his WWE retirement match.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Nature Boy called Michaels the greatest wrestler in the history of this business before acknowledging his contribution to making Flair’s 2008 swansong the “greatest retirement in the history of WWE.”
“I Will Never Be Able To Thank @ShawnMichaels Enough,” Flair wrote. Shawn Is The Greatest Wrestler In The History Of Our Industry. He Carried Me Through The Greatest Retirement In The History Of The @WWE !! Thank You Shawn! WOOOOO!”
In a 2020 interview with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, Flair had put over the bout’s storytelling despite not being fond of the in-ring quality. “People were going, ‘God, it was a great match,’ and to me, I was average at best, Shawn was great,” he said.
Ric Flair’s WWE retirement was one of the highlights of the pro wrestling world in 2008. The Dirtiest Player in the Game went through a couple of WWE superstars, including then-CEO Vince McMahon, before squaring off against Shawn Michaels in what ended up being his final WWE match at WrestleMania XXIV.
Of course, Flair would continue to wrestle for other promotions, including TNA Wrestling, following his WWE departure. He’d face former rival Hulk Hogan on the 2009 Hulkamania Tour, compete in a series of tag team matches in TNA from 2010 to 2011, before returning to the ring for his farewell match in 2022.
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