Why did he come back" After a couple of 'retirements' he made his way back into the sport. Everyone was worried about him tarnishing his legacy as the greatest of all time. Shouldn't he have gone out while he was on top" In his returns, he wasn't the man that he was in his prime. The fans and journalists were all saying it was a mistake. Despite all of that, however, Michael Jordan made his return to basketball as a player for two years with the Washington Wizards. Now, while this article is not about Michael Jordan, I feel it's an important comparison to be made. Before anyone jumps all over me, I am not putting Ric Flair in the same category as Jordan. There are very few athletes in the world who are in the class that the six time NBA Champion is. Still, there are some similarities.

While he has never been the most popular wrestler in the sport, Ric Flair has undoubtedly been one of the most influential. Many consider him the greatest wrestler of all time, including myself. If Hulk Hogan can be compared with Babe Ruth, then I think this is a more valid representation. Flair doesn't have the fame and name recognition of Jordan, but in terms of ability and performance, he is Professional Wrestling's equivalent. Jordan, however, stopped playing basketball when he was fifteen years younger than Flair is now.

So, at fifty-six years of age, shouldn't Ric Flair hang up the boots"

It's something that I hear from a lot of wrestling fans. There is nothing new about it, however. People have been saying it for over fifteen years or longer. As a fan, I have even said it once or twice myself. Flair should retire and keep his legacy as intact as possible, right"

Not only should Flair not retire, but also he is currently doing nothing to tarnish his legacy. In fact, the "Nature Boy" is adding onto that legacy.

Hear me out before I get 1000 responses telling me that I am insane. Don't tell me that Flair is not the caliber of wrestler that he used to be. I know that. Don't tell me it sickens you how he appears to be Triple H's boot lackey. I see that too. Also, don't say how Flair hasn't held a World Title since May of 2000. I pay attention. Please, don't send emails saying how rarely Flair wins a match. I watch all of his bouts.

How then is Flair adding to his legacy, despite all of these things"

He's doing it because of these facts, not despite them. At only five years Flair's junior, Hulk Hogan still thinks he deserves to be the top wrestler in the world. He thinks that by beating everyone as he clunks around the ring adds to his status as 'immortal.' While I agree that Hogan has been an important and integral person to this sport, he fails to realize what Flair has realized. His day is over.

One of the things that has made Flair great throughout the years is his humility in the ring. Yes, his character has always been brash and cocky. That has rarely translated into his matches, though. Flair has always put over the wrestler he faces in the ring. He has gone up against some of the worst wrestlers in history and made them look better than they could have ever done themselves. In his heyday, he was always able to put on an equally impressive offensive performance. Now that Flair knows he is no longer the top tier World Champion that he once was, he continues to do his job to make others look good.

Perhaps Flair is being a little selfish in that most of his promotion is steered towards Triple H. Not even "The Game" can toot his own horn the way Flair does it for him. But even when he is telling everyone how great Triple H is, he stills gets into the ring and makes his 'enemies' look good.

Hulk Hogan, on the other hand, doesn't believe that he should ever lose a match. He has stated it plainly in his biography that he doesn't understand why wrestling promotions try to put over other wrestlers when they already have him as an established star. With every new match following the same routine for the past twenty years, he is adding absolutely nothing new to the sport. Also, he practically has no flexibility and stumbles around the ring like a man twenty years older than he is. Yet, legions of fans keep chanting for him to have "one more match" over and over again.

Whether these are the same people who are calling for Flair's retirement, I don't know. As a fan of wrestling for twenty-five years, I know that those who like Hogan don't tend to like Flair and vice versa. But, this logic fails me because I can't understand how Hogan should be encouraged to continue and Flair be dogged to retire.

Although a shadow of his former self, Flair is still a capable athlete. He can't do a lot of the moves that made him famous, but that hasn't kept him from adapting. Nowadays he makes his cheating more obvious, and although he always does that move where he gets caught on the top turnbuckle, I always find myself cheering when he delivers that anticipated low blow to his opponent. Most importantly, Flair can still move. Unlike many men younger than him-Hogan, Kevin Nash, Randy Savage-Ric Flair still has flexibility and doesn't look like he can't walk much less wrestle. Also, when he wants to, Flair can still put on an impressive match. We need to look back no further than his steel cage match with Randy Orton at Taboo Tuesday to realize he can still put on a killer performance every now and then. He didn't need to be carried by Orton; the way Shawn Michaels carried Hogan at Summerslam.

But this article isn't a Hogan/Flair contrast. While the idea appeals to me, it's not the direction I wanted to go here. That's a debate that will probably go on for a very long time.

To me, Ric Flair can remain in wrestling for the same reason that Michael Jordan was entitled to play basketball again. Even with diminished skills, Jordan's contribution to basketball was so great that he had every right to play it as long as he was enjoying himself. He earned that through many years of hard work. No, it wasn't as fun seeing him play as in his many years in Chicago, but he didn't need to make his decision to make the fans happy. He had already done that for a long time.

The same is true with Flair. He did so much for Pro Wrestling and entertained so many people for so long that he deserves to stay in the sport as long as he is having fun. If that's an itch that he needs to scratch, Ric Flair has earned the right to scratch. His contributions, past and present, are undeniable. Most importantly, by using this stage of his career to put over other wrestlers, Flair is carrying himself the same way he did in the many years he spent as World Heavyweight Champion: with dignity, respect and class.

by Jacob Kuhn ..