Flair For Tha Old

“There's no such thing as legacies. At least, there is a legacy, but I'll never see it.” - George W. Bush

I hate to start off this article with such a statement from such an ass but its fitting. For years we have heard about wrestlers and the legacies they leave behind. What legacy will so and so leave behind when they finally hang them up? What will the legacy be of so and so when his son becomes a wrestler? What legacy and so on and so forth. I’ve come to a sad realization.

In wrestling, there are no legacies.

Let’s look at The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Know how many belts he’s won? An assload. He tells you in every single interview he does. I’ve been a fan of Flair’s since I was like 4. I have watched this man get more and more tan, older and older, and slower and slower. Now I am watching him ruin my childhood memories. Is this selfish of me? Of course. I’ve never bought a Flair shirt, never saw him wrestle live, or paid for an autograph. But I did imitate him with my beat up robe as a child and bought his book.

Last year Flair had one of if not the best send offs in wrestling history. He had the Wrestlemania match with HBK which was arguably one of Flair’s best matches in years. Dan-e-o got to smile seeing all the crying people in the crowd. It was amazing, emotional, and fitting with someone with a legacy like Flair’s.

Then he went to TNA.

Damn it! Every promo he cuts, every time he gets in that ring, every time he “Woooooo!”’s feel like a tiny bitch slap to me. Again, this is the selfish wrestling fan in me speaking. I don’t want to see Flair wrestle again. In a time where wrestlers die monthly at young ages, why would someone who has done what Flair has done in the ring continue to lace ‘em up in front of a crowd so young they may or may not know who he is? The really sad thing is that this TNA Flair is going to be the Flair these kids watching know. They don’t know the Flair that battled Steamboat. They don’t know the Flair that made me want him broken in half for messing with Miss Elisabeth. They don’t know the Flair that rolled with who was the most scary group of guys in wrestling. Not The New World Order. Not Legacy. Not Evolution. Not DX. The 4 Horsemen.

Maybe Flair is back because he has to pay his ex wife. Maybe he’s saving up to pay his new wife who will likely become his next ex wife. Maybe he just cant quit like so many others we’ve seen over the years. It cant be just me. Any of you feel like I do? Are guys like Hogan, Foley, and Flair ruining their pasts with their mediocre presents?

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