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April 2, 2008 Leave The Memories Alone Back from Orlando. Three days, four nights. Without a doubt the greatest weekend I've ever had as a wrestling fan. Don't even know where to begin, so I guess I'll start at the end. Ric Flair's final match and final farewell. Thank you, Ric. Ric Flair has been an icon to me since I was 12 years old. When I was 11, I discovered the WWF because of Hulk Hogan. A year later, I discovered there was more to wrestling outside of the WWF. Hogan ruled the WWF, but the rest of the wrestling world belonged to Ric Flair. As much as I love Hulk Hogan, he's a kid's hero. Ric Flair pointed to a more fascinating, more adult world. The jet-plane flyin', limosine ridin', kiss-stealin', wheelin'-dealin' son of a gun who kissed all the girls and made them cry. Bright lights, long limosines, women lined up for a block to take a ride on Space Mountain. In later years, Space Mountain was the oldest ride in the park, but it still had the longest line. Wooooo! Ric is the greatest wrestler who ever lived. The guys and I have spent two thirds of our lives tossing Flairisms around with each other ("Woooo! Meet me at the Marriott!") The thing about Ric Flair is that none of that was a gimmick. He lived that life. It was all true. In the ring he was the 16-time (official, 20+ unofficial) World Heavyweight Champion of the NWA/WCW and the WWF/WWE. Outside of the ring, the stories of his exploits, his carousing, his partying, are legendary. Ric Flair is and always will be the Man. Fittingly, Ric Flair had the single greatest farewell in the history of pro-wrestling. First, there was the Hall of Fame ceremony. Absolutely incredible. From The Rock inducting his grandfather and father, going way over time in the process, to JBL's filabustering, Mae Young, the Briscos, Eddie Graham, and Gordon Solie being inducted. But it was all about Ric Flair. Flair went way, way over time, speaking for over an hour and thanking everyone in his career from Harley Race, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham and Blackjack Mulligan to Chris Jericho, Edge, Big Show, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. The Hall of Fame was amazing to attend, despite the assholes in the crowd who kept yelling at the stage and distracting the speakers. I could have listened Ric talk all night long - Woooo! Ric Flair's match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania was brilliant. Unlike recent years where his offense has been 50% chops and 50% nutshots, Ric wrestled Shawn, unleashing his arsenal of moves and holds that we haven't seen in forever. It was easily Flair's best match in a decade, with an emotional storyline culminating in Shawn saying "I'm sorry. I love you" before superkicking Flair and ending his career. You have no idea how fortunate and grateful I feel for being there for the final match of Ric Flair's career. At WrestleMania. In front of 70,000+ fans at the Citrus Bowl. We thought that was the end, but there was still an even bigger finish to come. Monday Night RAW. Ric Flair's farewell speech. Triple H getting on both knees and bowing down before him was just the beginning. When he brought out The Four Horsemen (!) - Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, JJ Dillon, Barry Windham - my head nearly exploded. I never, ever dreamed I'd get to stand in a wrestling arena and see the Four Horsemen reunited. And then the entire locker room came out and filled the rampway to applaud Ric. Not just all of the wrestlers and Ric's family, but the referees, announcers, agents, backstage personnel, and Stephanie McMahon. But that wasn't even the best part - when the cameras went off the air, The Undertaker came down the aisle, broke character and hugged Ric, then bent down on one knee and genuflected to him. Then Vince McMahon himself came, hugged Ric, and egged him on to do the Nature Boy strut. Flair not only did that, he dropped an elbow and a knee on his suit jacket, while Vince jumped up and down and applauded like we all did. Hell, it felt like my hands were going to fall off from applauding so much. There will never, ever be another moment like that - the entire WWE present as well as Ric Flair's greatest peers like Ricky Steamboat and Harley Race paying tribute to him. There isn't another wrestler that beloved, that could inspire such respect and admiration. All I could think about was how lucky I've been to be the age I am, to have been a fan for 21 years, that I know who everyone there was, that'd I'd seen most of Flair's career, seen those legendary matches with all those people, that I could fully appreciate the historic, once-in-a-lifetime moment that was happening before my very eyes. As a wrestling fan, that was the pinnacle. WrestleMania XXIV itself was out of this world. I've been to dozens and dozens of house shows, TV tapings, and pay per views. WrestleMania XXIV was the single finest experience I've ever had at a wrestling show. It took me 24 years to finally attend my first WrestleMania and I'm so glad it was this one. It validated my sometimes shaky faith in WWE. It made me glad to be a fan. It simply couldn't have been a better show. As much as we bitch and moan about WWE (don't like this, don't like that, this sucks, that sucks, Cena sucks), when they are at their best, there is nothing that touches them for pure entertainment. WrestleMania XXIV was WWE at their very best. The spectacle was epic and unbelievable. More importantly, the matches and performances by the key wrestlers was of the highest caliber. I honestly can't find fault with how the show was booked and executed. We bemoan the direction WWE has chosen, writing their shows for their new, young, John Cena loving target audience. WrestleMania XXIV was amazingly not booked for them. It was booked for the adult fans, with Ric Flair's final match as its crown jewel. The Undertaker and Edge main eventing WrestleMania in the final match was pure joy. My number one and number two favorites headlining the show couldn't have made me happier. And not only was it a great match with the right finish - The Undertaker winning the World Heavyweight Championship and preserving his perfect WrestleMania win streak, 16-0 - but Edge was magnificent. That was the greatest match I've ever seen Edge wrestle. When the match began, the crowd was so burned out after four hours that they were slow to react. It's a testament to the talent of Undertaker and Edge that they slowly drew the crowd back into their match to the point where the crowd was on their feet and gasping at every near fall. Edge has never been better, with the psychology of the match being that he had a counter for every single one of Undertaker's signature moves. What's more, he kicked out of both the Last Ride and the Tombstone. The capper, the perfection of the booking was that after being countered in all of his moves, the Undertaker had a counter of his own, the one that mattered most - catching Edge's spear and locking him in the triangle choke for the tap out victory. Brilliantly, brilliantly booked and performed. And now, I can say I was there in the crowd to see the Undertaker win a World Title in the main event of WrestleMania, something else I never thought I'd say. There is such a thing as wrestling euphoria that that was it right there. Like everyone else, I was certain that there was no way on Earth Randy Orton would retain the WWE Championship against John Cena and Triple H. I've always liked Orton and I've become a bigger fan during these last 6 months when he became the best heel on RAW and a hell of a good WWE Champion. But after what he achieved at WrestleMania, Randy Orton is bona fide. He's the real deal. So much so that there was no point during his match with Matt (hit and run) Hardy on RAW where I felt Hardy had an iota of a chance of beating Orton. And he couldn't. Orton took everything Hardy had then lit him up with an RKO out of nowhere. I walked into WrestleMania liking Randy Orton and came out of the Triple Threat a full fledged Randy Orton mark. I'm not the only one; there is a groundswell of support for Orton from the older fans, including pockets of fans who sing along with his entrance music. But beating both Cena and Triple H at WrestleMania cemented Orton in my eyes. Everything else was pretty damn good overall. Big Show vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather was much, much better and more entertaining than it had any right to be. Mayweather was gung ho, took crazy bumps, and the storyline where he needed his boys, chairs and brass knucks to knock Show out was on point. Money in the Bank was awesome, even if my pick MVP didn't come out with the briefcase (damn you, Matt Hardy!) CM Punk was an interesting choice to win the Money in the Bank. I'm not sure that he'd have been in that spot had Jeff Hardy not failed a drug test, but I can see WWE's reasoning of getting behind the straight edge, popular Punk and seeing how he handles a bigger push and a World Title shot. Bunny Mania had the right finish with Beth Phoenix and Melina beating Maria and Ashley. I'm glad to say I've now seen Snoop Dogg live. The Belfast Brawl was really good, especially in how JBL beat Finlay clean, denying him and Hornswaggle any semblance of revenge. When you think about it, with heels JBL, Orton, the heel Divas, and Money Mayweather winning, WrestleMania XXIV was a fairly dark show. Evil prevailed quite a bit. And of course, the entire weekend was about honoring Ric Flair, the dirtiest player in the game. The rest of the weekend was also quite good. Universal Studios, mini-golf, sloppy joes, swimming pools, and a lot of booze (but nowhere near the volume anticipated.) Lance, Sean and I kept up a running joke all weekend regarding Batista (screaming "Oh my God! It's Batista!!" every time we saw him) that's still funny (to us.) I was also really happy to have spent WrestleMania Sunday with my great friends Bill Rosemann and Ali Farrell, both of whom were comped tickets and rearranged their weekend last minute in order to attend their very first WrestleMania. Now that I've finally had a taste, I need another. And now I know: Stadium WrestleManias are the way to go. Nothing compares. Next year, WrestleMania XXV, the silver anniversary. Houston, Texas, the Reliant Stadium. As well as a Hall of Fame ceremony that ought to induct the legends of Texas wrestling: the Von Erichs, the Funks, the Freebirds, and maybe even Stone Cold Steve Austin. It's a no-brainer. Cancel all my plans the weekend of April 5, 2009 -- I'm going to Texas! And that's the bottom line. |
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