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The St. Louis Blues’ season hasn’t had a lot of memorable moments this year. The Blues have, for the most part, been basement dwellers all season.
At the NHL Trade Deadline, the Blues sold off franchise cornerstones like Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ivan Barbashev.
There was a lack of energy surrounding the team. However, they got the biggest ball of energy in sports history by having Ric Flair read the starting lineup before their primetime national TV matchup against the Minnesota Wild.
Ric Flair reads the starting lineup for the St. Louis Blues in the locker room before their game on TNT
NHL teams are no strangers to electric lineup readings before games. Almost every team in the league provides a player to read out the starting lineup to their teammates before taking the ice against their opponent.
The St. Louis Blues decided to have a little fun with this on national TV by having wrestling icon Ric Flair read out the Blues’ lineup before the game.
The visit to the Enterprise Center was not the first for Flair, who made a trip to the City of Arches in 2016 as a special guest for the team’s Wrestling Night. Flair returned this season for the return of Wrestling Night in 2023.
Ric Flair was born in Memphis, TN, and is a Blues fan himself. Ironically, Flair spent most of his teenage and college years at the home of the Blues opponent on the night in Minnesota. Flair currently resides in St. Louis full-time.
Ric Flair became a wrestling icon as the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation’s "Nature Boy". Flair was known for his signature "WOOO" moniker, which both wrestling and pop culture fans will be quick to recognize. Flair made sure to add his patented flavor to his line-up reading for the Blues.
Flair was also quick to recognize his fellow athletes. Flair spent most of the pregame fraternizing with players from both the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild. The Wild posted a photo of Flair with their own prize fighter this season, Ryan Reaves.
It seemed as though Flair’s energy was in the air, as Jordan Binnington and Marc-Andre Fleury nearly had a goalie fight that was broken up by the referees.
The Minnesota Wild ended up spoiling the St. Louis Blues’ wrestling party, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win 8-4. The Minnesota Wild, with the win, move into first place in the Central Division.
