Ric Flair returned to WWE action for the first-time since his “Retirement Match” at WrestleMania. Rather than look completely ridiculous with a match, Flair returned for a Parking Lot Brawl with Randy Orton on WWE RAW. RAW ended with a bloodied and beaten Flair who may have officially or unofficially came out of retirement.

The actions continued a frenzied last few days for the Nature Boy. Flair has been appearing in the WWE since March without a contract. There are conflicting reports that Flair signed a new contract with the WWE last Friday. This was all just another chapter in Ric Flair’s metamorphosis into wrestling’s Randy the Ram.

Flair has continued to work outside gigs of the WWE, specifically ROH television. The reason Ric Flair has been able to do outside gigs like ROH television is because he didn’t have a deal. I have heard on good authority that Ric Flair officially signed a new deal with the WWE on Friday. While nothing has been officially announced, actions over the weekend would indicate a new deal is in place.

One of the reasons it took Flair so long to sign a contract were his other commitments. Flair agreed to appear on Ring of Honor’s television show as their commissioner, and was paid upfront for multiple dates. If he had signed with the WWE earlier, he never would have been able to accept a sweet six-figure deposit for those dates from ROH.

Ric Flair was asked about the WWE’s feelings on his outside endeavor just last week in an AP piece. Flair said, “They don’t look at Ring of Honor as being competition to them.” Apparently Flair didn’t get the memo or was playing a hell of a game on ROH.

ROH had a television taping advertising Flair on Friday night. I had heard earlier that day that Flair would be saying goodbye that night. Flair appeared that night and resigned as commissioner of ROH. Flair said his heart was with the WWE and bid ROH a fond farewell.

The always integral Ric Flair informed ROH management that behind the scenes that the WWE had pulled him off of ROH television. Flair reportedly agreed to fulfill his agreements, but could not appear on television. The big problem here is that ROH paid Flair upfront to appear on television. In my eyes, ROH got played by the Nature Boy.

What was ROH’s reaction? According to various reports, Flair does not have the money to pay them back to get out of the dates. I have corroborated the story myself through outside sources. The WWE could offer to pay the tab, but it will come out of somebody’s check.

Ric told Mike Mooneyham over the weekend, “I just can’t work for two people. It doesn’t make sense,” Flair said after the show. It would be hypocritical if I tried to do both. I just told the truth. You can’t go wrong telling the truth. My loyalty is with WWE, and that’s where I’m at.” – Read the rest of the interview here.

Ric Flair’s story over the last fourteen months ranges from desperate to pathetic to delusional to just downright sad. Flair agreed to wrestle his final match at WrestleMania XXIV against Shawn Michaels. Flair was paid the biggest honor in the history of wrestling the following night with a retirement ceremony for the ages. Ever since then it has been a downward spiral for the Nature Boy.

Flair walked away from a sweet deal doing public relations for the WWE last year. I have heard various reasons as to why, but either way he walked away from a lucrative gig. Flair has done everything but spit in the face of the WWE since walking away. He has more or less made the WWE look like a bunch of fools by doing shoot interviews, other television, and ranting about his desires to wrestle again.

Flair’s personal life has also been a mess since leaving the WWE. Flair already claimed to be in debt to Vince McMahon of an $800,000 loan when he left. He and his wife divorced. His son Reid has been arrested three times and found with heroin. Flair now pays over $20,000/month in alimony. Rumors persist that Ric Flair is all but broke and in major debt.

Ric Flair’s troubles with money have become something of legend in pro wrestling. Flair proudly claims that to be the Nature Boy, you have to live like the Nature Boy. Well if living like the Nature Boy meant living over your head and not paying your taxes, than wooo!

It was a bit of an inside joke a couple of years back when Ric Flair opened up Ric Flair Finance. At first it looked like a rib from one of Flair’s friends. However, it was 100% legit. The website claimed to offer a, “Figure-Four Process” of securing a loan. It should be of no surprise that the business closed a few months later.

The article reports that Flair’s contract only binds him for public relations, similar to his old deal. Flair told Mike Mooneyham that he still plans to wrestle outside of the United States. Non-WWE wrestlers are allowed to take independent dates that aren’t considered competition to the WWE.

“I don’t think anyone could begrudge me for throwing my gear on (overseas),” said Flair in the article.

Um yeah, I think anyone could and would begrudge him. One former top WWE wrestler told me over the weekend that he didn’t like it. He, like others believe that the WWE will never give a wrestler a proper retirement sendoff again out of fear that the wrestler would pull a Ric Flair and make a mockery out of Vince McMahon.

I am also starting to get sick of this whole idea that is okay to wrestle as long as it is outside of the United States. I guess this is what keeps Ric Flair from coming to terms with what a mockery he has turned into. If anything, coming out of retirement for a show in South Africa that nobody will see turns this into a bigger joke than if he was going to wrestle in Atlanta for TNA Wrestling.

I expected Flair to wrestle in the WWE at some point, but I didn’t expect a Parking Lot Brawl with no advanced advertising. At 60 years of age, Flair would be the oldest full-timer on the roster. As much as the guys love Ric Flair, I can’t see how it will do anyone good putting over or even selling for a 60-year old wrestler.

As for the Flair-ROH situation, I think Flair fleeced ROH. I think Flair knew exactly what he was doing when he took ROH’s deposit. I think the reason Flair held out signing a new deal with the WWE for so long was so he could get that upfront cash from ROH and other sucker promoters. ROH has just been beaten by the dirtiest player in the game. Wooo!

The shame of it all is that such arguably the greatest of all-time has lost a tremendous amount of respect among his colleagues and fans. It is sad because I think Flair’s in-ring accomplishments will be overshadowed by the last year and a half. It will take years to remove the tarnishing Flair has done to his own legacy.

Flair was always looked at as the Babe Ruth of pro wrestling. Now he is looking more like Joe Louis or even Randy the Ram.
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 Sunday marks the 25th time in my lifetime that I will experience Super Bowl Sunday as a pro wrestling fan. WrestleMania will dominate popular culture and sports entertainment for 24 hours on Sunday. Chances are whether you are a wrestling fan or not, you have seen a piece of WrestleMania in your lifetime. The dream of an ambition promoter is now as much of a part of popular culture as the World Series and American Idol.

The anticipation for this year’s WrestleMania began last year. As the 25th edition of the big show, big things were expected by fans. Fans predicted shocking returns, dream matches, celebrity involvement, and a big celebration of 25 years of tradition. Unfortunately the rumors of Steve Austin wrestling, a Warrior vs. Vince match, and even an appearance by the Hulkster were all just rumors.

On paper, this year’s show is very disappointing. I was extremely critical of the lineup during the last few weeks of my radio show. When I think of WrestleMania I think of big, first-time main-events. This year’s show is the antithesis of that. This year’s lineup is a big wakeup call to the problems that the WWE have had in elevating young talent. It is definitely not a good thing when the main-event is a match we have seen several times in the last twelve months. With that said, let’s break down the top matches.

WWE Championship Match: Triple H vs. Randy Orton. If this match looks familiar, well you are right. Sadly, you could have stopped watching wrestling two years ago, turned it on yesterday, and not have missed a beat when it comes to this feud. To say I was disappointed when this match was confirmed as the main-event is an understatement. Now that the complaining is over, let’s take a look at the match itself.

I will say this about the match. The buildup has been pretty awesome at times. At other times, it has just been downright ridiculous. I’ll give credit where credit is due to the WWE writers and tell you that they have definitely done a great job on putting a new spin on such an old match. I am much more interested in the match now than I was five-weeks ago when the direction became obvious.

Triple H may be the best babyface of the decade. He has a lot of critics, but you cannot deny his talents as a sports entertainer. I can’t remember another babyface of this generation that has sustained his babyface appeal among fans like Triple H. Most babyfaces wind up booed at some point in favor of the heel. No matter who he is in there with, Triple H continues to get wildly cheered.

Randy Orton has struggled as the top heel. The WWE have continually tried to make this guy their top heel for the last few years. Every time he has gotten that opportunity, it has never worked out. Orton or any other heel will likely never get an angle like this one to get him over. Unfortunately his adversaries are the McMahon and most people don’t mind seeing Stephanie get an RKO. The heat between these two will probably blow the roof off of Houston.

These two guys have great chemistry together. They have rarely had a bad match. In 2007 they had the WWE Match of the Year for their Street Fight. The two had an excellent match at One Night Stand last year. I predict another tremendous match between these two guys. I think these two guys more than anyone understand the pressures of the situation and will come up huge. My prediction is a Randy Orton win and a new champion. These two will continue this one way past WrestleMania.

WWE World Title Match: Edge vs. Big Show vs. John Cena. If the theme of 25 years of WrestleMania was to make main-events of guys that have wrestled each other 25 times on big shows, well congratulations WWE. Unlike the previous match, I have very little interest in seeing this one. This may be the first time in several years in which John Cena has been a bit of an afterthought on WrestleMania. Maybe you feel different?

If there is one thing you can count on the last few years is that Edge has great matches at WrestleMania. Edge has his work cutout this year. Edge and Cena had one of the longest feuds of the decade back in 2005. These two guys wrestled each other every other week. Unlike Orton and Triple H, I never found their matches to be so great. Big Show is an interesting wrinkle in the match to see the least.

Maybe it is the old-school fan in me, but I still enjoy seeing Big Show. I look at Show as a throwback to the old-school monster days. I think Show keeps this one interesting. I also predict that unlike Orton-Triple H, this is the last time we see this one with all three. My prediction is Cena wins the title, pins Show, and we move back to 2005 and see a lot of Edge-Cena in 2009.

The Streak vs. Mr. WrestleMania: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Finally! That is all I have to say. I have been barking about this match for the last two years. There are very few “Dream Matches” left in the WWE. This one has been screaming out for the last several years. As seasoned veterans, I was afraid that the WWE was going to let this one pass them by. I hate to use a cliché, but better late than never.

For me and a lot of fans, this is the show right here. This was the tipping point in my $54.95 decision to buy the show. This is a re-match over ten years in the making. In 1997, these two guys had some of the most underrated matches in WWE history. As opposite as their styles were, they made it work. For me, their 1997 Hell in the Cell Match is one of the all-time greatest matches in WWE history.

WWE have teased this match the last few years in the Royal Rumble. It was obvious from their first spot that they haven’t lost their magic. These two guys have a tremendous chemistry. Both of them have had some of the best matches on the last few WrestleMania shows. I continue to find myself amazed at how much these guys have left in the tank. To not only be wrestling, but having great matches at both of their ages is just truly amazing and should be commended.

Shawn Michaels once again has the best buildup leading up to WrestleMania. The buildup and angles have been awesome. Michaels even reverted back to his old DX character on RAW this week. I love it and I can only hope that this one turns into another great series. I predict a great match and a show-stealer from these two veterans. My prediction is that Undertaker continues the streak, but Michaels gets one back at Backlash.

Extreme Rules: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy. For fans of the Hardy brothers, this is their dream match. This is the second time that the brothers have wrestled each other in the WWE. The first-time was somewhat of a disaster. Matt on my radio show several years ago acknowledged the disappointment that everyone had in the match. I have a feeling that everyone involved has learned their lessons and this one will be a fun one.

I think this could have been a lot differently, but that is all opinion. The Matt Hardy turn from a logic standpoint, didn’t work for me. I also think this one needs a little more flavor such as a title or stipulation. This match reminds me of the Rey Mysterio-Eddie Guerrero WrestleMania match. The expectations for the match were so high, that nothing they could do would meet them. I fear the same thing for these guys.

I honestly think this one comes down to placement on the card. If these guys are following someone like Jericho or Michaels-Undertaker, they are dead. I would almost put these guys in the opener and let them start the show. I think the match will be great, but placement is huge on a four-hour show. I don’t know where this one goes if the match disappoints. My prediction is a Matt Hardy win and a few more matches in 2010.

Other Matches:
Handicap Elimination Gauntlet Match: Chris Jericho vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Tag Team Championship Unification Lumberjack Match John Morrison and The Miz vs. Carlito and Primo Colon
Money In The Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs.Kane vs. Christian vs. Fit Finlay vs. Mark Henry vs. Kofi Kingston
25 Diva Battle Royal

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Headlocks and Eye Gouges - I will be bringing my Pro Wrestling Radio online. The tentative launch date for the first show will be April 14 at 8 PM/EST. The show will be broadcast live online and I will have the abilities to take calls, along with a chat room. Check out http://www.prowrestlingradio.com for more information in the upcoming days.