WrestleMania Rewind: Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair

The granddaddy of them all, Wrestlemania is roughly a month away. The anticipation for the extravaganza is sky high among the WWE Universe. And since the pay-per-view is richer than Richie rich when it comes to history, we have decided to take a look back at some of the best Wrestlemania matches with this latest series.Over the last thirty years, WWE fans have witnessed some great Wrestlemania matches. One of those classics came from two legends at WrestleMania 24 when Shawn Michaels wrestled Ric Flair in a career threatening match that could prove to be Flairs final bout.

#1 The build-up

Flair had been fighting for months due to a harsh stipulation to keep his job but the inevitable would soon happen. Vince McMahon had announced that the next time Ric Flair were to lose a match, he would have to retire.

On 25th Feb Raw, Flair challenged Michaels to a match at Mania which Michaels was reluctant to accept because he didn’t want to be the one to end a legend and his friend’s career. Flair stated that if he couldn’t compete with the best then he didn’t want to anymore and Michaels ultimately accepted.

The night before WrestleMania, Ric Flair was officially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. An odd occurrence for at that point a still active competitor. However, that seemed to signal the end. Most assumed this would be Flair’s final dance but not too many were ready to accept it yet.

#2 The match

With the career threatening stipulation set in place this bout was always going to be heavily rooted in emotion. Flair was beginning to become very old and wanted to prove doubters wrong and for the most part he did. However he obviously wasn’t what he once was so the younger Shawn Michaels would have to carry the majority of the high impact spots of this match.

This match up wasn’t a pure wrestling clinic, although it did have its high points, emotion was the major factor. A fighting Ric Flair chest-slapped, wooed and strut round the ring as the fans were completely invested in the action.

A truly heartbreaking and deeply emotional ending, saw a Flair refusing to die but Michaels had to put him out of his misery. Michaels lined up for the Sweet Chin Music as a visibly distraught Flair struggled back to his feet. Michaels was seen to mouth the word “I love you, I’m sorry” before delivering the fatal kick that would end a legendary career.

Michaels was deeply saddened as was the entire crowd in attendance. Grown men were seen throughout the arena breaking down into tears, paying their respects to the legend, Ric Flair.

#3 The aftermath

The following night on Raw, Ric Flair made his official farewell speech. Flair gave an emeotional heart felt speech before being greeted by Triple H who came to show his respect and pay homage to the legend.

Triple H proceeded to bring out some important figures from Flairs past including Ricky the Steamboat and The Four Horseman. The show ended with the entire roster coming out to show their respect. Flair was in tears, hugging his family and unison of fans and wrestlers screaming “Thank you Ric.”

Flair would somewhat tarnish his legacy by continuing to wrestle for other companies after a few months.

Shawn Michaels would go on to feud with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25. After failing to end the streak, he put his career on the line to get another shot at Wrestlemania 26. Michaels would ultimately lose, and officially retire (for real) just two years after retiring Flair.