The Ric Flair’s Last Match event over WWE SummerSlam weekend, branded as part of Starrcast V, presented a surprising situation for wrestling fans. First of all, there was the matter of 73-year-old Flair wrestling at all, which defied the expectations of most people around what kind of activities a senior citizen could take part in. From there, the sheer interest in the card was remarkable.
On the side of wrestlers, the event took on a unique flavor with matches representing a wide variety of promotions taking place on the card. On the side of fans, there was enough interest to move from a small-scale event at the Nashville Fairgrounds to a full-fledged, more conventionally staged show at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
The event became the talk of social media and a draw on pay per view. Based on the success of what happened, questions arise about whether the same formula could apply with a different featured legend.
Ric Flair’s Last Match Represented A Unique Set Of Circumstances
Ric Flair is one of wrestling’s biggest legends and greatest talents, and has in some ways traded on being a crazy old man for the last 25 years-plus. It’s with these factors in mind that building a whole card around him having one more match could draw fans and fellow wrestlers alike.
It would not work to plug just anyone into such a spot. With all due respect to retired stars like Buff Bagwell or Marc Mero, they simply wouldn’t be able to command an audience like Flair.
Moreover, Ric Flair’s Last Match traded on family and tradition. The event was promoted by Flair’s son-in-law Conrad Thompson and featured another son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, as The Nature Boy’s tag team partner. The show also tapped into the Jim Crockett Promotions name—branding synonymous with Flair’s heyday, and a brand there are plenty of fans in their thirties or older still have a lot of nostalgia for.
There Are A Handful Of Legends Who Might Pull Off Something Akin To Ric Flair’s Last Match
Tthe list of mostly-retired stars who could draw like Ric Flair is small, and there’s no one with as intimate a relationship to Conrad Thompson to work his marketing wizardry on putting the event together. There are, nonetheless, a handful of legends who conceivably could have an event like this built around them, too.
Hulk Hogan is the first name that comes to mind, who could likely pull off a performance at a comparable level to 73-year-old Flair, playing the greatest hits (albeit with fewer bumps), and tapping into a similar demographic of fans age-wise who were WWE stalwarts. Bret Hart comes to mind as well, as not quite the same level of cross over celebrity, but someone with an enormous following, particularly if such an event were to be staged in Canada.
For better or worse, most of the other candidates range from unlikely to impossible, be it for for clear lack of interest or ongoing connections to WWE, and WWE likely not being interested in promoting a show like this. Those stars include Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels. The Rock might also qualify, but his level of celebrity make him all the less likely to do something away from the WWE spotlight in wrestling.
The more realistic candidates may include legends like Mick Foley, Jerry Lawler, or Diamond Dallas Page (who all appeared at Ric Flair’s Last Match); Chris Jericho also seems like someone who could draw, though for now, that would be under the AEW banner.
A Show Like Ric Flair’s Last Match Could Be Built More Around The Supporting Cast
While advertising a show as the last match of any lesser star than Ric Flair probably wouldn’t be as much of a draw, it’s conceivable that a match like that could still be the main event, or at least a featured bout on another independently promoted, stand-alone event. After all, Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett may have been the match that drew fans in Nashville, but it certainly wasn’t the objective best match of the night.
So, someone like Mick Foley wrestling one more match could draw, while top stars from AEW, ROH, Impact, or New Japan—or perhaps a crossover, “forbidden door” encounter like Josh Alexander vs. Jacob Fatu could close the show, especially if a promotion were willing to pull the trigger on a title change at such a show.
In the end, it may be for the best that Ric Flair’s Last Match remain a stand-alone, unique event in wrestling history. It probably shouldn’t become a pattern for geriatric wrestlers to risk their bodies or lives, and the precise circumstances surrounding this event probably won’t repeat themselves. However, when one event succeeds in wrestling, as in so many walks of life, there’s always a temptation to do it again or for imitators to arise. It will be interesting to see if this unprecedented event were to become a new template.
