Ric Flair (sigh)

[kjh]

At the tapings.

[kjh]

From the latest Observer apparently there was good reason to suspect Flair was having heart problems after all:

 

There was a spot edited where Flair was out of breath badly and there were people very concerned at the time which is where all the heart problems story stemming from the match came. But he did regain his breath and they did continue the match, which went about 15:00, several minutes of which was edited off television.

Really, they should have called an audible at that point and went to the finish.

[jdw]

He didn't look healthy in what aired, which makes you wonder just how bad he looked in the raw feed.

 

Bix: do you have a source in TNA that could sneak out the raw footage?

 

John

[Ronnie]

From the latest Observer apparently there was good reason to suspect Flair was having heart problems after all:

How? Meltzer knew this (that he was out of breath and people were worried) yet, in your words, "insists there was no heart issue". How you can take Meltzer's printed words to that effect and then say "Oh, there was a good reason to suspect a heart attack after all", if not purely to look for something dramatic?

 

He's an old man, not in ring shape, and his elbow disintegrated (or something) early in the match. Those things would perfectly well lend themselves to his blowing-up and, given that they happened, should be the first things to attribute to it. Had that Grantland article not been written, "heart attack" would not have entered anybody's head.

[kjh]

Dave when issuing his initial denials that there was concern that Flair had a heart issue during the match, should have made it clear that these concerns weren't completely baseless, even though there was nothing to them in the end. It makes it look like Dave got worked initially and only found out the truth later.

 

Also, Flair blew up long before his elbow disintegrated. The superplex that caused it was one of the last spots in the match.

[El-P]

Dave when issuing his initial denials that there was concern that Flair had a heart issue during the match, should have made it clear that these concerns weren't completely baseless, even though there was nothing to them in the end. It makes it look like Dave got worked initially and only found out the truth later.

 

Also, Flair blew up long before his elbow disintegrated. The superplex that caused it was one of the last spots in the match.

I watched the match. Flair was blown up a few minutes after the match began. Also, Dave said there was some editing involved, and that the match was a lot worse than what was shown on TV, which is a scary thought. I just wonder how long Flair was really out there before he blew up totally.

[jdw]

To be honest, Ric didn't look good from the minute he got in the ring. He just looked out of sorts before the bell even rang. He went downhill from that.

 

I do like the elbow causing it excuse, given when the elbow issue happened.

 

John

[Johnny Sorrow]

Was anyone else watching SportsCenter Tuesday night? I was at a bar and the sound was down but I noticed Flair in a couple of segments and was curious as to why he was on the show.

[cm funk]

I can't even fathom wanting to watch this match based on what I've read about it. I wish Flair had never wrestled again after his "retirement", but since he did, that hardcore match with Foley would have been a good one to go out on. I enjoyed that match and at the end of it never wanted to see either of them in the ring again.

[Ditch]

Was anyone else watching SportsCenter Tuesday night? I was at a bar and the sound was down but I noticed Flair in a couple of segments and was curious as to why he was on the show.

He did intros for the Red Sox.

[Mad Dog]

It kind of annoys me that people are trying to blame that abortion on Sting. Sorry, I've seen Sting wrestle in several quality matches with sub-par workers. That shit was 100% Flair.

[kjh]

From Dave:

 

--Ric Flair postponed his scheduled surgery to reattach a torn triceps. He told Mike Mooneyham he may not have the surgery. He went to the hospital for the surgery, and like with his shoulder, decided against having it saying the doctor said it was healing.

From Mooneyham:

 

Flair, 62, who was told two weeks ago that he would have to undergo surgery due to a torn triceps suffered during a match with Sting last month, may not have to have surgery after all.

 

“It’s postponed right now, but I may not even have to have it,” says Flair. “The doctor looked at it and said the thing was healing itself.”

 

Flair had already signed in at the hospital and had a brace fitted when the doctor checked on him. “He told me it was a miracle. He said, ‘Ric, you’re one in a million.’”

 

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” says Flair.

Um, why do I think this has much more to do with Flair wanting to save money and be able to return to the ring quicker, than it being a medical miracle?

[jdw]

And Mooneyham still buys whatever bullshit Ric slings, and Dave has deniability since he's just passing along what Mooneyham "reported".

 

Ric the con man.

 

John

[smkelly]

Hunter ripped off his jacket and said he'll wrestle a broomstick for two hours if he has to and he'll get a better match out of the broomstick than some of the guys in the parking lot.

Sure that made Flair smile.

[kjh]

And Mooneyham still buys whatever bullshit Ric slings, and Dave has deniability since he's just passing along what Mooneyham "reported".

 

Ric the con man.

Dave on his radio show today wasn't buying Ric's con of a miraculous recovery from his torn triceps, citing his mentality to gut out even serious injuries like a broken neck when he was a much younger man. Indeed, Bryan revealed that the original plan was for Ric Flair to be heavily involved in Hogan's match against Sting at Bound For Glory, with Flair taking all the bumps so Hulk doesn't have to. Which makes the timing of the Mooneyham interview interesting as Bound For Glory is on Sunday. Sounds like the interview was more about giving TNA plausible deniability, though Dave should have made his scepticism more clear on his website.

[Ditch]

Would WWE, as cold-blooded as they are, risk the PR disaster of letting a 62 year old man with torn triceps bump around in the main event of the big PPV of the year?

[smkelly]

They let Kurt wrestle at WM19.

[Ditch]

They let Kurt wrestle at WM19.

Details? I don't recall him being a physical wreck like Flair is (at least in 2003).

[Al]

Angle suffered some kind of serious injury to the point where a lot of people doubted he could wrestle at the event.

[kjh]

They let Kurt wrestle at WM19.

Details? I don't recall him being a physical wreck like Flair is (at least in 2003).

 

He went into the bout against Brock Lesnar with a broken neck and risked paralysis by just wrestling on the show. After returning to the locker room after the match, his body went into traumatic shock and he had to be rushed to hospital.

[Cox]

And Austin wrestled on the same show when he had been told by doctors that one bad bump would kill him.

[Bix]

And Austin wrestled on the same show when he had been told by doctors that one bad bump would kill him.

The night after having a major heart scare, to boot.

[Al]

And Austin wrestled on the same show when he had been told by doctors that one bad bump would kill him.

Though technically, isn't this always true?

[smkelly]

It got real bad with Austin. In '03, it's been said that it got to the point that any bump of any kind would damage his neck beyond fixing - or something to that extent. He was definitely on the Razor's edge.

[artDDP]

I think WrestleMania XIX was the most uncomfortable I've ever been during a live wrestling card.