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Ric Flair's Last Match was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
(PPV) event and supershow. It took place on July 31, 2022, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, Tennessee and aired on
FITE Fite (stylized as FITE by Triller) is an American digital video streaming service launched on May 20, 2012, that is dedicated to combat sports-related programming (including boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling). The network dist ...
and In Demand. The event was produced and promoted by
Conrad Thompson Conrad Channing Thompson (born July 27, 1981) is an American mortgage broker, professional wrestling promoter, and podcast host who presents and co-hosts numerous wrestling oriented podcasts, and promotes the Starrcast wrestling convention. Pod ...
and David Crockett under the banner of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) as part of the
Starrcast Starrcast is a professional wrestling fan convention promoted by Conrad Thompson. The event typically runs for four days— from Thursday to Sunday – and features wrestlers, wrestling personalities and podcast hosts, interviews, fan activities, ...
V convention, and was the first card promoted under the JCP banner since 1988.
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
headlined the event in the advertised final match of his 50-year career, teaming with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. Wrestlers from All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Black Label Pro (BLP), DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW), Game Changer Wrestling (GCW),
Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), Major League Wrestling (MLW),
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
(NWA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), Progress Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Revolver (PWR),
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
(ROH), Terminus: Modern Age Grappling, and WWE performed during the event. It was the first event to feature cooperation from all major American professional wrestling promotions since the 3rd Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in 2000. The show drew 6,800 fans for a live gate of $448,502, making it the second highest-grossing North American independent professional wrestling event in modern history behind All In.


Production


Background

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
debuted as a professional wrestler on December 10, 1972. Flair lost his first retirement match against
Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
at WWE's WrestleMania XXIV in March 2008. He later wrestled on the Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour in 2009 and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2010–2011. Flair has said he only came back to wrestle after the match with Michaels because he was significantly in debt, and regrets having done so. Footage surfaced of Flair training with former TNA rival Jay Lethal in April 2022. It was then announced in May 2022 that Flair would wrestle one final match at Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena on July 31, 2022, as part of his son-in-law
Conrad Thompson Conrad Channing Thompson (born July 27, 1981) is an American mortgage broker, professional wrestling promoter, and podcast host who presents and co-hosts numerous wrestling oriented podcasts, and promotes the Starrcast wrestling convention. Pod ...
's
Starrcast Starrcast is a professional wrestling fan convention promoted by Conrad Thompson. The event typically runs for four days— from Thursday to Sunday – and features wrestlers, wrestling personalities and podcast hosts, interviews, fan activities, ...
convention. The convention was held the same weekend as WWE's SummerSlam, which took place at nearby
Nissan Stadium Nissan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, it is primarily used for football and is the home field of the Tennessee Titans of the Natio ...
on July 30. The wrestling card, titled Ric Flair's Final Match, was later moved to the larger Nashville Municipal Auditorium due to high demand. Flair previously headlined events at Nashville Municipal Auditorium including WrestleWar '89: Music City Showdown against Ricky Steamboat, and Starrcade '95: World Cup of Wrestling against Randy Savage. Nashville mayor John Cooper declared July 31 "Ric Flair Day" in honor of the occasion.


Storylines

The event included eleven matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match. Storylines were produced in a three-part weekly web series titled ''Ric Flair: The Last Match'' that aired between July 11, 2022 and July 25, 2022 on the show's official website. Narrated by Darius Rucker, the first episode detailed Flair's battle with alcoholism and subsequent health problems following the death of his son Reid Flair in 2013. The second episode saw Flair get attacked by training partner Jay Lethal and WWE executive Jeff Jarrett outside of Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena following the event's press conference on June 23, 2022. Lethal was insulted that Flair could not get him booked on the card, and Jarrett was insulted that Flair disrespected his father, Jerry Jarrett. Flair was left bloodied in a
parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
following the attack. It was then announced that Flair would team with son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to face Jarrett and Lethal in the main event. The third and final episode featured a contract signing between the main event teams, brokered by promoter David Crockett. An angle was filmed during Game Changer Wrestling's The People vs. GCW event at
Starrcast Starrcast is a professional wrestling fan convention promoted by Conrad Thompson. The event typically runs for four days— from Thursday to Sunday – and features wrestlers, wrestling personalities and podcast hosts, interviews, fan activities, ...
on July 29, 2022. Nick Gage told
Conrad Thompson Conrad Channing Thompson (born July 27, 1981) is an American mortgage broker, professional wrestling promoter, and podcast host who presents and co-hosts numerous wrestling oriented podcasts, and promotes the Starrcast wrestling convention. Pod ...
that since he did not book any GCW wrestlers for Ric Flair's Final Match, they would have to invade the show.


Cancelled matches

The originally planned main event was reported to have been
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
teaming with FTR ( Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) to take on Ricky Steamboat and the Rock 'n' Roll Express ( Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) in a six-man tag team match. Steamboat confirmed that he was offered the match, but turned it down. Matt Cardona proposed defending the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Flair, but he was injured soon after and forced to forfeit his title. Ren Narita was scheduled to face Clark Connors on the undercard, but Connors was injured and replaced by Yuya Uemura.


Event


Pre-show

The event's pre-show was broadcast free on YouTube at 6:05pm EDT, a nod to the traditional timeslot JCP's '' World Championship Wrestling'' program aired on TBS throughout the 1980s. In the opening contest of the pre-show, New Japan Pro Wrestling star Yuya Uemura faced Ren Narita, a young lion in New Japan's
Dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...
. Narita took the victory by pinning Uemura with a bridging belly to belly suplex. Tony Schiavone introduced
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
for an interview segment, but instead Jay Lethal came out with Karen Jarrett to do a Flair impersonation and antagonize the crowd. Jarrett was interrupted by loud “Who are you?” chants from the audience. Frank the Clown then entered the ring to insult Ric Flair, at which point Jacob Fatu came out. Frank the Clown attempted to escape up the entranceway, but Mick Foley prevented him from leaving and threw him back in the ring to get beatdown by Fatu. The second contest of the show and final contest of the pre-show saw Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) star Mance Warner win the Bunkhouse Battle Royale by last eliminating
Bully Ray Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag tea ...
. Prior to the match, the announced participants were already in the ring when Nick Gage came out and declared that he had brought a contingent of GCW stars as surprise entrants.


Preliminary matches

In the opening contest of the pay-per-view broadcast, The Motor City Machine Guns (
Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...
and
Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...
) took on The Wolves in a tag team match. The Motor City Machine Guns picked up the victory after performing Skull and Bones on Edwards, who was pinned. The second contest of the pay-per-view saw Davey Boy Smith Jr. take on
Killer Kross Kevin Kesar (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Karrion Kross alongside his real life wife Scarlett Bordeaux. Prior to his time at WWE, K ...
(with Scarlett Bordeaux) in singles competition, with both men representing Major League Wrestling. Kross hit Smith Jr. with The Quickening and won by pinfall. The pay-per-view's third contest was a
Four Corners Match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to determine the #1 contender to the Progress World Championship. The participants were Alan Angels, Jonathan Gresham, Konosuke Takeshita and Nick Wayne. Gresham won by pinfall after performing a bridging O'Connor Roll on Angels. In the fourth contest of the pay-per-view, Rock 'n' Roll Express ( Ricky Morton and Kerry Morton) (with Robert Gibson) took on The Four Horsemen (
Brian Pillman Jr. Brian Zachary Pillman (born September 9, 1993), better known by the ring name Brian Pillman Jr., is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW). Pil ...
and
Brock Anderson Brock Alexander Lunde (born February 28, 1997), better known by the ring name Brock Anderson, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson. Professional wrestling car ...
) (with Arn Anderson) in a tag team match. The Four Horsemen picked up the victory after Anderson hit Ricky Morton with a Gourdbuster and pinned him. The fifth contest of the pay-per-view was a Four-way match between Bandido, Black Taurus, Laredo Kid and Rey Fénix. This showcase of stars from Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide was won by Fénix after he caught Black Taurus with the Fire Thunder Driver and pinned him. The pay-per-view's sixth contest saw
Impact World Champion The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result ...
Josh Alexander defend his title against Major League Wrestling star Jacob Fatu. The match ended in a no contest after interference by Brian Myers, Matt Cardona and Mark Sterling. Diamond Dallas Page ran in from the crowd to save Alexander from a beatdown, hitting Cardona with a Diamond Cutter. A backstage segment saw Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler consulting Jeff Jarrett in his locker room regarding the main event, with the group consensus being that Ric Flair stole his strut from Jackie Fargo and that Jeff needed to reclaim it. In the seventh contest of the pay-per-view, The Von Erichs (
Marshall Von Erich Marshall and Ross Von Erich are an American professional wrestling tag team, consisting of brothers Marshall and Ross Adkisson. They are the sons of Kevin Von Erich. They are currently signed to Major League Wrestling, where they are former World ...
and Ross Von Erich) took on The Briscoes ( Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) in a tag team match. The Briscoes picked up the victory after Mark hit Ross with a Froggy Bow and pinned him. The penultimate match of the pay-per-view saw Impact Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defend her title against Deonna Purrazzo and Rachael Ellering in a three-way match. Grace retained her title after tapping out Ellering with a rear naked choke.


Main event

In the main event,
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
and Andrade El Idolo took on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett) in a tag team match. The finish came after
Conrad Thompson Conrad Channing Thompson (born July 27, 1981) is an American mortgage broker, professional wrestling promoter, and podcast host who presents and co-hosts numerous wrestling oriented podcasts, and promotes the Starrcast wrestling convention. Pod ...
threw brass knuckles to El Idolo. El Idolo then gave the brass knuckles to Flair, who used them to knock out Jarrett. Referee Mike Chioda was knocked out, causing El Idolo to call for another referee from the back. Flair put Jarrett in the figure-four leglock, and with Jarrett's shoulders pinned to the mat, referee Dave Miller counted the pinfall. After the match, Flair greeted his family at ringside along with colleagues in attendance such as Bret Hart, Mick Foley and The Undertaker. Tony Schiavone then interviewed Flair ringside before he made his way up the entrance ramp, stopping to embrace singer
Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
and hoist the Big Gold Belt as the broadcast went off the air.


Reception

The production quality and overall presentation of the show was praised. Brian James and Scott D'Amore produced and timed the matches. Matches were agented by
Bully Ray Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag tea ...
, Daniel McDevitt, Scott Armstrong, Sinn Bodhi, Tom Prichard and Wolfie D. The broadcast was produced by
David Sahadi David Sahadi (born October 24, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Video production, multimedia Television producer, producer, currently working for the professional wrestling promotion Impact Wrestling. He is also known for his time with t ...
, Josh Mathews and Keith Mitchell. Reviews of the show consistently pointed to the four-way between Bandido, Black Taurus, Laredo Kid and Rey Fénix as the best match of the night. Dave Meltzer of '' Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' gave that match a 4½-star rating. Multiple reviewers described watching Flair's performance in the main event as "uncomfortable" due to his poor physical condition. In the leadup to the match, Flair revealed that he had been suffering from plantar fasciitis and planned on drinking prior to the bout. Flair later said that he passed out twice during the match due to dehydration. The show drew 6,800 fans for a live gate of $448,502, with an estimated 20,000–25,000 viewers on
FITE Fite (stylized as FITE by Triller) is an American digital video streaming service launched on May 20, 2012, that is dedicated to combat sports-related programming (including boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling). The network dist ...
and 4,200 viewers on In Demand. It was the second highest-grossing North American independent professional wrestling event in modern history behind All In.


Aftermath

Possible follow-up events have been rumored. During the Foley Is Pod panel at
Starrcast Starrcast is a professional wrestling fan convention promoted by Conrad Thompson. The event typically runs for four days— from Thursday to Sunday – and features wrestlers, wrestling personalities and podcast hosts, interviews, fan activities, ...
,
Conrad Thompson Conrad Channing Thompson (born July 27, 1981) is an American mortgage broker, professional wrestling promoter, and podcast host who presents and co-hosts numerous wrestling oriented podcasts, and promotes the Starrcast wrestling convention. Pod ...
and Mick Foley discussed the idea of Mick Foley's Last Match.
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...
confirmed that he was approached by Thompson to take part in Harlem Heat's Last Match in 2023, but turned it down. Diamond Dallas Page also confirmed that he turned down an offer from Thompson. Starrcast filed to trademark Southwest Championship Wrestling on August 5, 2022 and SuperClash on September 7, 2022. Mance Warner was awarded a non-title match against interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley after his Bunkhouse Battle Royale win, with the stipulation that Warner would earn a future title shot if victorious. Moxley defeated Warner on the August 5, 2022 episode of '' AEW Rampage''. Before the match in July 2022, Flair had vowed to honor his word and never wrestle again, but said he would continue in the business as a manager. A few days after the match however, he regretted announcing that it would be his final match. During a September 2022 celebration for the 50th anniversary of his debut in professional wrestling, Flair announced that he would never retire.


Results


Notes


References


External links

* {{Jim Crockett Promotions 2022 in professional wrestling 2022 in Tennessee Events in Nashville, Tennessee Jim Crockett Promotions shows July 2022 events in the United States Professional wrestling in Nashville, Tennessee