It’s a moment that we’ll forever remember.

“I’m sorry. I love you.” Superkick. 1-2-3.

When Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV, we knew we had witnessed a moment that was historic… and final.

Ric Flair is, without a doubt, one of the greatest and most respected performers to ever grace the squared circle. His career is unmatched and his legacy is one that everybody entering the business can only dream of achieving. Love him or hate him, Naitch is arguably one of the most celebrated individuals pro-wrestling has ever seen.

It was only fitting that Flair received such a high-profile send off. One befitting The Nature Boy.

But it did get me thinking - you have to feel for his peers, who will never get the opportunity to say goodbye on their terms.

In a business where performers crave the adulation of fellow workers and fans alike, very few can claim to have had a satisfactory end to their career.

Oh sure, wrestlers have had “retirement matches”, both legitimate and worked, for decades. More often than not though, they’re back in action within 12 months (see the likes of Funk, Terry). The performance bug is often too strong for them to cure – or the bills begin mounting.

In fact, when was the last time you can remember any professional wrestler having the opportunity to truly say goodbye – on his (or her) own terms – in such a public manner?

Trish Stratus immediately comes to mind. Retiring in her home town of Toronto at WWE Unforgiven 2006, Stratus made it clear that the event would see her final match. Defeating her arch rival Lita for the WWE Women’s Championship in a fantastic bout, Trish has, thus far, stayed retired.

My mind stretches back to Bash at the Beach 1997 when Kevin Sullivan was “retired” by Chris Benoit at the event. Although Sullivan continued as a booker and has made the odd appearance in a non-competitive role, he too walked away after his classic war with Benoit.

But other than Stratus and Sullivan? I’m stumped.

Flair was so incredibly lucky in that regard. Not only did he manage to retire in a “mat classic” on the biggest stage this industry has, but to have his peers pay homage to him the following night in front of a worldwide audience of millions was just… perfect.

For fans and wrestlers alike, the opportunity to be able to say “thank you” to Flair was priceless. It was “a moment”.

Flair is a special case, though. I’m not for a moment suggesting that any professional wrestler hanging up his boots should have half an hour of prime time programming dedicated to saying farewell. That would be nuts.

But should it be so rare that coming up with just a few names from the last decade is the norm? And why is it that we don’t get to see a retirement like Flair’s more often?

As we well know, professional wrestlers just don’t retire in their prime.

If we just take a look at guys who have really “made it” in WWE, not many leave or end their competitive career on their own terms. Hogan. Foley. Austin. Rocky. Angle.

The vast majority are released when Creative “have nothing for them” or move on to other opportunities. “Mid card” names often move on to TNA or the indies for years to come.

But all leave the door open for a return. What if that return never comes?

It seems an awful shame that athletes who give their all and are heroes to millions, will slip away quietly with a pat on the back and an “all the best with future endeavours” note on a website.

Some do make it back to the E, but the cycle repeats. They’re released, they move on to the indies, and they’ll eventually stop taking bookings after a less than auspicious end to their career.

Isn’t that a shame? What a way to end a career. But even former WWE Superstars need to keep paying the bills.

For many, the choice is taken out of their hands. Look at Bret “Hitman” Hart. Undoubtedly one of the greatest professional wrestlers in the modern era.

Hart’s career effectively came to an end after Goldberg side kicked him in the head at Starrcade 1999. Bret attempted a comeback in WCW soon after, but his body just wasn’t up to it, and he faded into the background. For someone as high profile as Bret Hart, not having the opportunity to leave on his own terms is a travesty.

I wonder how things would’ve gone down for Bret if Goldberg pulled that ill-fated kick.

New Zealand fans were fortunate that Bret said his (first) goodbye to the business when WWA hit our country a few years ago. Hart was given a microphone and an international audience to make his peace with the industry. And he did just that.

His WWE Hall of Fame induction gave him another opportunity to do that on a much larger scale, and I’m glad he was able to.

I imagine Bret would rather have left it all in the ring, though.

Although “leaving it in the ring” isn’t always possible, you have to commend the WWE Hall of Fame system for allowing some of the industry’s heavy hitters to receive the accolades they so richly deserve.

Very few performers are on the same level as Flair. One that is, is of course Hulk Hogan. The man who, along with Vince McMahon, rebuilt this business in the 1980’s and whose name is synonymous with the business. Will he ever get a “fitting send-off”? Is it right that he may not? And is it largely his fault due to the fact that he keeps getting back in the ring?

Being one of those guys who keeps the door open, I doubt we’ll ever get to see Hogan say goodbye in the manner in which Flair did.

With rumours circling that The Undertaker isn’t far off retiring, it’ll be interesting to see how the end of his career goes down. I get the feeling that he’s the type of guy who won’t want a fuss. After all, he waited until the cameras went off the air on Raw before saying goodbye to Flair. But unless we do see the finality that Flair showed, fans will always wonder when ‘Taker will return.

Perhaps one final WrestleMania match and a Hall of Fame induction for ‘Taker will be the finality fans need. Wouldn’t it be bizarre seeing him on the Hall of Fame stage though? The man who stays true to kayfabe, speaking on his career. I look forward to that speech.

Another who must be looking at retirement sometime soon is Sting. Out of all active talent, he is the one guy that I could see getting the next big send-off, over in TNA. Although the mark in me hopes to see him have a short run in WWE. I don’t know if that’ll ever happen.

We need to remember though, this is entertainment. It’s a revolving door and always will be. These guys, no matter how much you look up to them, are characters on a television show. The business will go on without them, and the business will remove them when they become excess baggage.

They get their pay-cheque, and like it or not, the business owes them nothing.

With Flair’s non-compete clause with WWE up relatively soon, will he stay retired? Or will he jump to TNA (maybe to give Flair vs. Sting one more run)? I hope not. The “finality” of his retirement had so much honour to it. It would be a shame to see him return, thus making WrestleMania XXIV one more false retirement.

For Flair’s sake, I hope he never gets back in the ring. He had the best goodbye the business had ever seen. And I hope his isn’t the last that is so high profile.

What did you think of Flair’s retirement? Do you think others should get that luxury? How would you like to see your favourite star retire? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so email me at and I’ll publish some of the responses next time out!

A nice bit of feedback on my piece regarding Vladimir Kozlov a fortnight ago. Here’s the pick of the bunch, all the way from Portugal:

My opinion is that Kozlov has all the needed potential to be a top heel. Of course the current world situation can help him become just that but the man is much more than a momentary opportunity for the E to score. With great wrestling ability, great presence, an impressive size and a good scary face, he is the fresh blood the company needs just about now. I hope he can achieve major gold and keep working at the top league even after things between Russia and the rest of the world (not just the States) cool off.
Valdemar de Oliveira
Porto, Portugal

Valdemar also pointed out that the E have a bad track record of portraying foreign characters, playing up the stereotypes to cater for the, sometimes ignorant, American viewer.

Ironically, Santino Marella is Valdemar’s “favourite foreigner”. I couldn’t agree more!

Looking around the site, the usual suspects have a number of great reads for you.

David continues to churn out television reports for those of you who missed the weekend’s WWE programming. Do me a favour and flick David a quick thank you note if you’re a regular reader; there are a lot of hours that go into those reports for you!

Our Gimme Five team spoke on No Mercy, Charlie Haas, poor old Vince Russo and more.

Kirsty put together an interesting piece on NZPWI’s experiences with interviewing pro wrestling’s superstars. Some great stories amongst that bunch.

Plus, we were able to finally reveal ticket prices for the WWE Raw show next year in Auckland and reveal that Sky's the BOX have been able to secure widescreen programming from WWE, due later in the year!

Until next time – CU!

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