did people sperg out as much back then?
>>19481980Ric flair didn't have a 20 year long gimmick of being impervious to superkicks so no
>>19481980it was an emotional moment and everyone knew he was losing because that's what the storyline was. It made sense.
>>19481980no because the ending was good
>>19481980it wasn't a random match on youtube
>>19481980No because that wasn't actually Ric's last match. In fact, he's yet to have a last match
Ric Flair had nowhere near the same connection or fanbase, and most of his early fans quit watching when the territories and WCW closed. People were also much more accepting of Ric retiring. The vast majority of fans have not seen Ric in his prime and his image as a GOAT was put into casual fans minds by HHH's influence in WWE and Cornette spreading it to smarks
>>19481980no cause it was done well
>>19481980No because putting someone over on the way out has always been a thing for 100+ years in wrestling. Modern WWE fans are just insanely retarded and Indian.
>>19482032It was literally a retirement match. He went on to wrestle elsewhere but still no one had such a retarded reaction in the meantime.
>>19482082>Ric Flair beat Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal>Hulk Hogan beat Ric Flair>Sting beat the Young Bucks>Undertaker beat AJ Styles>Steve Austin beat Kevin Owens>Shawn Michaels beat Undertaker and Kane>Bret Hart beat Alberto Del Rio>Dusty Rhodes won a tag match>Randy Savage beat Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall>Sabu beat Joey Janella>Scott Hall beat Chuck Taylor>Ricky Steamboat won a tag match>Roddy Piper won a tag match>Terry Funk won a tag match
>>19481980ric didn't want to stop. michaels didn't want to old yeller ric. it was a beautiful moment completely ruined by the fact that flair continued wrestling afterward.
>the match was at wrestlemania, not on a fucking SNME>there was an established storyline with Ric and Shawn that had more than one Raw of buildup>The Ric Flair retirement storyline was actually well done, not a bunch of garbage or random heel turns done on a whim>The fans after the match are sad, but satisfied. Making the NEVER GIVE UP guy tap to a sleeper after 10 mins of him being put in them wasn't.
Yeah probably because smark pieces of shit always complain and bitch. There's people in 1998 that were complaining about Austin being stale
REMINDER: John offered them the whole year with 200 plus dates and they told him no. There is a decent probability that he will not be at raw.Meanwhile after Ric lost:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgxFRj_-hJw
>>19482119/threadThe ceremony on Raw also helped.
>>19482120look in the mirror
>>19482119tapping out to a sleeper hold is so dumb.
>>19482239>tapping out to a legit MMA move is dumbRetard
>>19482242>it's a legit mma move mark>what do you mean it was applied for 10 minutes
>>19482246Yeah and if you were punched in the face repeatedly in a real fight you would be knocked out. Do you understand how pro wrestling works?
>>19482248exactly dumb fuckIt's pro wrestlingdon't bring "but it's a legit move" bs here
>>19482248Maybe you would I'd be chilling
>>19482252So then what the fuck are you arguing about that tapping out to a move is stupid?
>>19482259He just wants to complain
>>19482259Are you dumb?
>>19481980No one gave a fuck about old crusty ass Fliar. Shawn is the GOAT that changed wrestling fir the better. Michaels is the Apostle and every worker after follows his work. bless, SM
>Cena vs AJ only happens because twitter was madI hate Triple Nose so fucking much bros
>>19481980I was smart enough to not follow wresling on the internet back then. I remember buying this Mania.
>>19482044Ric Flair was the GOAT to nearly every wrestler that was working in the late 90s. And Cena's popularity has dwindled the past years as well. The comparison fits well, only except to the fact that Flair was much older and lost to a fan of his while Cena lost to an opposing wrestler.
>>19482095>80% of the list are some of the biggest self marks ever seen
>>19482312The wrestlers big enough for anyone to give a fuck about their retirements are self marks? You don't say
>>19482307I can't speak for wrestlers in the 90's, but his status amongst fans as a GOAT outside of the territories he worked in is post Evolution where they built him up as that. People didn't even know how good Lawler was even though he was predominantly on their tv. Cena is more popular now than ever, in and out of the ring. Flair also wasn't seen as Superman or a hero to people.
>>19482333Flair also had a resurgance in popularity years after retiring. You can try all you want, I'm not a Flair mark either, but he was incredibly popular.
>>19481980No, flair fought till the very end not just meekly tap out with a smirk on his face
>>19481980It was a storyline that made sense. It was sad but the matches were good, the ending was good, and I cried.
>>19482095Tag matches don't count since most of the time they're putting over their young guy tag partner so someone gets the rub
>>19482312>80% of the wrestlers in this list knew how to protect their character and legacyFtfy newfag, anything post Russo isn't wrestling
No
>>19482452I'm not saying he wasn't popular, I'm saying the circumstances were wildly different and even with his popularity, he did not have the same kind of connection that Cena did, nor did he have the character, and people agreed that he should retire, etc.
A retirement tour had never been done before and Triple Nose fucked it up for a good 80% of it.
Flair was actually old as fuck and looked decrepit. He was almost 60, trying to wrestle. John is only 48 and he's giving up because he's getting there and he has to do movies which will eat up his time till he's 50 and then he wouldn't be able to wrestle anymore after that. It's like seeing the Undertaker the couple of times he wrestled.
>>19482880Flairs last run in WWE was essentially a retirement tour.
>>19482790newfag how? if people refused to put new talent over back in the day someone would just shoot on them
>>19482252I hate people like that>Oh but Matt Riddle would beat all of them in a real fightIt's not a real fight. Angelina Jolie couldn't beat up one Navy SEAL let alone 6 but the Tomb Raider movies exist for a reason
>>19482899Make love not war?
>>19482912I'll make love AND war to your ass, faggot.
>>19482913Behave rawr
>>19481980The ending was perfectRic was supposed to retire there if the she bitch of his former wife didn't and wanted him to suffer, then divorce and a huge lawsuit under her lawyer's orders to take every inch of money ric had for her, which pissed off even charlotte and his kids, it may be even why charlotte and reid went to wrestling to help him.>>19482032Flair only returned to the ring because of his wife under her lawyer wanting to take everything from him, hence he having to humiliate himself naked at Jarett's TNA.>>19482170He himself said even after they gave him a ambassador legends contract>Forget my phone i am out.Triple H needs to die and someone more capable take his place.Even Jericho would be a perfect Booker than trips.
>>19481993>everyone knew he was losing because that's what the storyline wasJust like Cena
>>19481980yes I did, because HBK sucks ass and the GOAT deserved a better retirement match. That's why the nature4axm2 boy had a better retirement match without WWE's faggot asses involved. Indiechads win again.
>>19482044You're a stupid faggot. Flair is known as the GOAT because he IS the GOAT. HHH had zero to do with it. Flair's reputation was made long before that hooknosed faggot ever came along. Vince buried most of the WCW arrivals but Flair got a pass. You know why? Because even Vince knew better than to humiliate the GOAT.
>>19482096shut your whore faggot mouth, bitch.
>>19483125You sound like my dad
>>19481980No, because I've never been emotionally invested in pro-wrestling storylines.
>>19483128so your dad calls you a faggot too? sounds like a smart guy to me.
