WWE Pitched For Vince McMahon To Retire Ric Flair
It could've been Flair versus McMahon as the Nature Boy's swansong
Dec 21, 2022
On a recent edition of his Something to Wrestle With podcast, WWE Executive Director Bruce Prichard discussed the storyline that led to Ric Flair's in-ring retirement at WrestleMania XXIV.
Flair had exited WWE in the summer of 2007, but returned to the company after a three-month hiatus. Upon his return, Mr. McMahon decried that the next time The Nature Boy lost a match it would be his last.
While Shawn Michaels was ultimately chosen as Flair's final WWE opponent, the Heartbreak Kid wasn't the only name pitched. As Prichard noted, many people were discussed, including Vince McMahon himself:
"There was thought that it would be Mr. McMahon. There was thought it could've been a lot of different people. It could've been Hunter, it could've been Shawn, it could've been Vince. It probably could've ended up being any number of people. I think ending up on Shawn being that guy, [who] was the young version of Ric Flair in so many ways, really worked".
Though the nod went to Michaels, Slick Ric did beat the Genetic Jackhammer in a Street Fight on the March 17, 2008 episode of Raw, in what turned out to be one of his final televised WWE matches.
H/T Wrestling Inc.
