Retirement is a big thing for professional athletes and, while a vast majority of them leave their respective sports and move on to post-career activities, a few great ones can’t hang it up and have to return. Tom Brady has unretired to football, Michael Jordan returned to basketball and, now apparently, Ric Flair is training for an in-ring return to wrestling -- because of course he would.
Rumors claim that The Nature Boy, Ric Flair, is currently training to return to action in pro wrestling at the age of 73. Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer alleges that the whispers of Flair circling a comeback of sorts are true (via F4online.com). Meltzer also alleged that Flair is to join FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) in a match against The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) and another opponent.
The iconic wrestler's last match of substance occurred back in 2011 when Sting beat him on an episode of TNA Impact. As for the WWE, the hall of famer was officially retired from in-ring action there after a match with Shawn Michaels in 2008 during WrestleMania 24. The news that any wrestler north of 70-years-old wants to have an actual match is surprising, though if anyone were to guess a legend who would try to do just that, it’d be Slick Ric.
The big question surrounding these rumors, however, is which wrestling organization would allow Ric Flair a chance to wrestle in their organization. While there’s no denying he’s one of the biggest names to ever appear on the pro-wrestling circuit, he’s suffered health issues (which he's opened up about along with his regrets) in past years that could make a return a bit difficult. Flair was placed in a medically-induced coma in 2017 to remove part of his bowel and unfortunately suffered many other complications. Of course, that was years ago, and he's looking good in this training session with wrestling star Jay Lethal:
Like I Said- It’s All About The Fundamentals. If You Can’t Punch, You Can’t Kick, You Can’t Work! WOOOOO! @TheLethalJay pic.twitter.com/1DxzGvQHabMay 13, 2022
It’s hard not to be impressed by that footage, especially when seeing Ric Flair taking bumps in practice that folks were stunned to see a younger Steve Austin take at WrestleMania not that long ago. Again though, we’re not just talking about an older wrestler hoping to return to the ring, we’re talking about one of the most charismatic and chaotic wrestlers of all time.
One other thing worth mentioning is that the man still knows how to draw a crowd even at his current He's kept himself relevant as of late with fans with surprising reveals about friend Hulk Hogan and even had a mini feud with Becky Lynch over his nickname. In short, he’s one of the few wrestlers who could step in the ring at his age and fans get excited, and it's definitely not surprising that he's looking to kick off a new stint. But we’ll still have to wait and see if it actually happens.
Until then, anyone with a Peacock premium subscription can check out some of Ric Flair’s greatest moments within the WWE, WCW, and other organizations.
