"I'm wondering if I can make it" - Ric Flair opens up on insecurities before legendary match with 14-time WWE champion at WrestleMania
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair recently opened up on feeling insecure before his WrestleMania 24 match against 14-time champion Shawn Michaels.
Flair and Michaels are two of the greatest wrestlers to ever grace a WWE ring. Both faced each other several times during their illustrious careers. However, their WrestleMania 24 match in 2008 is regarded as one of the best bouts in the history of pro wrestling. It was The Nature Boy's retirement match, which was won by The Heartbreak Kid.
On the latest edition of the Breakfast Club Power podcast, Ric Flair talked about the match with Shawn Michaels and how the latter was the only person to ever tell The Nature Boy to "shut up."
The legend also mentioned the nerves he was feeling before going into the bout, as his family was also present in the front row.
"I actually had my last match with Shawn [Michaels] when I was 59, but that was all Shawn Michaels. [He] was the first guy that ever said to me in my entire career, "Shut up and listen to me," then he looked at me and said let's do it, and walked out and there were 80,000 people... But I did it, I just finally said he knows what he's doing and I'm nervous as can be and I am insecure right now and I'm wondering if I can make it and my whole family's on the front row and no pressure[laughs]." [From 20:06 to 20:37]
You can check out the whole interview below:
WWE legend Ric Flair opened up about a plane crash he survived
In the same interview, WWE legend Ric Flair talked about how he was able to survive a plane crash in which the pilot passed away and two other people were paralyzed.
"No [the plane did not explode], we ran out of gas so there was no explosion but normally a small twin-engine sets in a 310, normally when you hit an Orchard of trees or whatever they would call it. Little cartwheel plane, we were going so fast, we fell from 6,000 ft. We just tore down the whole damn Orchard and landed in a railroad embankment, that train track, just half a mile from the runway... [We were] 6. The pilot died, 2 were paralyzed and three of us made it," Ric Flair said. [From 05:02 to 05:40]
While The Nature Boy is enjoying his retirement with different business ventures, Shawn Michaels is still working in WWE as a Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for NXT.
What do you think of Ric Flair's matches with The Heartbreak Kid in WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please credit the Breakfast Club Power podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any of the quotes from this article.