Ric Flair to Return to Wrestling

According to various reports, the Nature Boy Ric Flair is not quite done wrestling just yet. The 60-year old Flair has recently been popping up during wrestling Pay-Per-Views and episodes of WWE's Monday night Raw. He's been beaten down by Randy Orton and Chris Jericho on Raw, and even gotten into it with Chris Jericho during Wrestlemania 25. All that said, Flair's last official WWE match was during Wrestlemania 24 when he was defeated by longtime friend Shawn Michaels in a retirement match. It most likely will stay as his final WWE match.

It's been reported that Vince McMahon and other officials are fully against a Flair comeback, but Flair's not against a comeback elsewhere. WWE commentator Jim Ross had the following comments in his recent JR's BBQ blog:

"After talking to Ric Flair on Monday, I have no doubts in my mind that he hasn't wrestled his last bout.

"I don't think that his next in-ring wrestling outing will be for WWE but internationally.

"Ric has many lucrative offers that a 60-year-old man with somewhat staggering, personal financial obligations likely cannot pass up.

"The sums of money being purported surrounding these proposed bouts is serious money.

"These bouts could theoretically run into 2010.

"I am not generally in favour of Ric stepping back in the ring for multiple dates in other's rings, wrestling who knows who at this point, but I also can understand the financial obligations that he has and "getting whole" so to speak at this stage of his game has credence.

Flair claims to be in similar physical shape and health to how he was at his retirement last year. While Flair is all but certain to return to the ring, it seems less than likely he'll be doing so with WWE or its competitor TNA. Instead, Flair would likely head overseas where his fame can carry him and he can earn some nice "spending money". His good pal Triple H has recently been reported as discussing "how he didn't want his idol to become a "joke" who kept retiring and unretiring, like many former stars". Flair would be a novelty act overseas, but after seeing his encounters in the ring it's hard to ever call The Nature Boy a joke.

(Story source: The Sun UK)