As noted before at this link, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair recently promised that he will take a top rope bump during this final match that takes place during Starrcast V weekend in July. That report included more details on Flair training for his final match and how his family feels about it.
“That’s what I’m working on,” Flair said. “It’s just a timing issue. I’ll guarantee I’ll be coming off the top rope. Whether it’s the flip or not, I don’t know.”
In an update, Flair continues to train with AEW star Jay Lethal in Tampa Bay, and this weekend he released a new clip of a top rope bump from training.
You can see the clip below, which shows Lethal tossing The Nature Boy to the mat from the top turnbuckle. Flair came back up from the mat and grunted, “Fuck yeah!”
Flair also captioned the Twitter video with, “F*** Yeah! See You In Nashville! WOOOOO! @TheLethalJay @StarrcastEvents”
There’s a good amount of positive and negative feedback to the clip on social media, with a lot of concern for the 73 year old Flair.
Flair also tweeted a sneak peek clip at the robe he will be wearing to the ring for his final match. You can also see that clip at the end of this article.
“Sneak Peek At The Robe I’ll Wear In Nashville 7/31! Diamonds Are Forever And So Is Ric Flair!,” Flair wrote with the robe clip.
There is still no word yet on who else will be featured in Flair’s last match, but it’s believed that he will team with AAA & ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR against WWE Hall of Famers The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and a mystery partner to be named. The opponent was rumored to be WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat, but that’s not happening.
Tickets recently moved fairly quickly for the “Jim Crockett Promotions Presents: Ric Flair’s Last Match” event, and Conrad Thompson has said the Flair match will be confirmed soon.
Flair recently said he’s working harder than he is partying while in Tampa, and credited people in Tampa he’s working with for getting him back into shape. As of a few weeks back, Flair was at 223 pounds, and said he feels better about himself than he did 12 years ago. The last time he wrestled he was at 240 pounds. Flair also said he’s spending up to two hours per day at the Hard Knox South private gym in Tampa, where John Cena’s personal trainer pushes him harder than anyone has in years. For up to another two hours per day, Flair works on his in-ring skills with Lethal at Tampa Bay Pro Wrestling’s Lethal Academy.
Flair had his retirement match back at WWE WrestleMania 24 in 2008, losing to WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. He worked an Unsanctioned Match against Randy Orton the following year on RAW, and then worked four matches with WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan on the Hulkamania tour of Australia in November 2009. Flair also worked 11 matches for TNA/Impact Wrestling in 2010 and 2011, with his last match coming as a loss to WWE Hall of Famer Sting on the September 15, 2011 edition of Impact. Flair suffered a torn left triceps in that bout, which was heavily criticized and needed to be edited. Flair said in that same interview that the last match with Sting robbed him of a formal retirement match due to the injury and the shape he was in. Flair says he wasn’t in proper shape with TNA, and this final match in July will “be better than I was the last time I wrestled with TNA. That’s all that really matters. I just want one more go around to look back on and say I did something special. I’m pretty confident it will be something special.”
The “Jim Crockett Promotions Presents: Ric Flair’s Last Match” event is scheduled to begin at 6:05pm ET on July 31, with the start time being a throwback nod to pro wrestling on Saturday nights. The event is being produced by Thuzio, a Triller company, and will stream worldwide via FITE. Starrcast V will be a big weekend for Flair as there will be a Four Horsemen reunion stage show, and The Roast of Ric Flair, with both also airing on FITE.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more on Flair. Below are the two related tweets, along with the previous footage of he and Lethal in the ring:
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