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You don't achieve the kind of success Ric Flair has in the world of wrestling without being pretty self-critical of your work. The need to constantly improve and build upon your previous work is key to reaching two-time WWE Hall of Famer status like the Nature Boy has. That just makes sense.
Even with that in mind, hearing Ric Flair comment that he's never had a decent match at WrestleMania is still a little surprising. But that's exactly what he said.
The 16-time World Champion was recently a guest on the Wrestling Inc. podcast, when the subject of his WrestleMania appearance was brought up. His response was both shocking and enlightening.
"No, I don’t think I had a good Mania match. Nothing that Ric Flair could deliver on."
Those who would disagree with this assessment could point to either his WWF Championship match against Randy Savage at WrestleMania VIII or his Retirement Match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24. Ric Flair, however, has counter-arguments for both of those. When it comes to his match with Savage, the Nature Boy brings up something interesting:
"I think I could have been really good with Randy [Savage] but he was so preoccupied. That was the last time he and Liz were together. That day was the last time they were together – they went their separate ways. They weren’t living together at that time... and Randy was so upset. We got through it and it was okay. But I would never want to be remembered for that match by any means."
As far as his match with Shawn Michaels - which Flair calls his "favorite" WrestleMania bout - is concerned, he takes a lot more personal responsibility for that.
“Well, that would be my favorite with Shawn, of course. But, once again, I had no self-confidence going into that ring and he made it so easy for me. But once again, I walked out of that ring saying to myself, ‘Why couldn’t I have been me for just 30 minutes?’ I don’t have any aches or pains. I already know that I’m a cosmetic nightmare walking in, so that’s on your mind.”
It's illuminating to hear a legend of Ric Flair's standing being so critical of his own work - but that's why he's the Nature Boy.
(H/Ts to both Wrestling Inc. and StillRealToUs)
