When Ric Flair announced that he wanted to wrestle one final match at the tender age of 73, it made fans of professional wrestling a bit nervous. Sure, Flair wasn't going to wrestle alone, he had his son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, by his side against a pair of pros pros in Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, but after having a very well-documented history of medical issues, including a coma just a few years back, fans legitimately wondered if “The Nature Boy” would even survive the match.
Let's just say when a performer has to “not take their blood thinners that day” in order to have a better chance of making it through the match, you know you have a problem.
And yet, despite all of that, Flair made it through the match, and it was watchable, even great at times, like when he faked a heart attack in front of his friends and family. The fans in attendance were happy, the fans at home shook their head and appreciated that it went off basically without a hitch, and everyone but one person was ready to move on as a result.
Unfortunately, that one person was Ric Flair himself, and when his long-time rival Ricky Steamboat made his return to the ring, of course “Natch” had to comment on it, especially considering “The Dragon” was his first choice for his aforementioned Last Match, as transcribed by Fightful.
“I have not spoken to him, so I don't know the answer to that,” Flair said on his To Be The Man podcast when asked if Steamboat would wrestle again. “When I spoke to him, we were trying to get him to work with us. He indicated to me back then that he didn't think, health-wise, he was ready to do it. It's what makes him feel good. Like I say about myself, I could wrestle again right now too, and I'd be a lot better than I was in the Last Match because when you're gone away that long you forget about little things that'll make a difference and you spend too much time getting in shape for it that you don't think about little things like dehydrating. I was so into the training part that I forgot about little things. I think he should do what he wants to do. He's Ricky Steamboat, there's only going to be one Ricky Steamboat, whether it's good or bad, it's not going to affect his legacy. He's the best babyface in the history of the business.”
Oh no, is Flair going to return to the ring and give it another shot? Is he even legally allowed to wrestle again, or did he sign a Motley Crue-style contract saying Last Match means the last match? Then again, Motley Crue have since gone back on their contract, too, so hey, nothing ever really ends anymore, does it?
Tony Khan wouldn't mind seeing Ric Flair's former foe in an AEW ring.
While many assumed that Flair would make his way over to AEW in order to manage Andrade, that ultimately didn't come to pass, as “The Nature Boy” was accused of wrongdoing in the “Plane Ride from H*ll” episode of Dark Side of the Ring and was made persona non grata for some time. Tony Khan would, however, be open to giving Steamboat another chance to return to AEW, maybe even in the ring for another match, as he detailed on Busted Open Radio as transcribed by The Wrestling Observer.
“It's definitely something to keep in mind,” Khan said after being asked about Steamboat having a match in AEW. “I think it's amazing that Ricky Steamboat got back in the ring. FTR, one of the greatest tag teams on the planet. I'm excited tonight for Dax Harwood to go one-on-one with Bryan Danielson, two of the best pro wrestlers in the world. It's certainly something to think about, Ricky Steamboat's last match, one of my personal heroes. Somebody, as a kid, one of my all-time favorites and to this day one of my all-time favorites. I do think he was a great part of AEW already when he came in as the guest timekeeper.”
“I would love to have Ricky Steamboat back in AEW anytime,” he continued.
Would professional wrestling fans tune into TBS and/or TNT to see a 69-year-old Steamboat duke it out against one of AEW's stars, say another Dragon, “The American Dragon,” Bryan Danielson? Either way, if the promotion needs a pop and Steamboat is down, it's entirely possible he could be back on AEW television once more, as his appearance with the promotion was a slam dunk.
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