Ric Flair's Last Match was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and supershow that took place on July 31, 2022, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. It aired on FITE and In Demand. The event was produced and promoted by Conrad Thompson and David Crockett under the banner of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) as part of the Starrcast V convention, and was the first card promoted under the JCP banner since 1988.
Ric Flair headlined the event in the advertised final match of his 50-year career, teaming with his then son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. Wrestlers from numerous promotions performed during the event. These included All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Black Label Pro (BLP), DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW), Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), Major League Wrestling (MLW), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), Progress Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Revolver (PWR), Ring of Honor (ROH), Terminus: Modern Age Grappling, and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Background
Ric Flair debuted as a professional wrestler on December 10, 1972. Flair lost his first retirement match against Shawn Michaels at WWE's WrestleMania XXIV in March 2008. He later wrestled on the Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour in 2009 and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2010-2011.
Footage surfaced of Flair training with former TNA rival Jay Lethal in April 2022. It was then announced in May 2022 that Flair would wrestle one final match at Nashville Fairgrounds on July 31, 2022, as part of his son-in-law Conrad Thompson's Starrcast convention. The convention was held the same weekend as WWE's SummerSlam, which took place at nearby Nissan Stadium on July 30.
Narrated by Darius Rucker, the first episode detailed Flair's battle with alcoholism and subsequent health problems following the death of his son Reid Flair in 2013. The second episode saw Flair get attacked by training partner Jay Lethal and WWE executive Jeff Jarrett outside of Nashville Fairgrounds following the event's press conference on June 23, 2022. Lethal was insulted that Flair could not get him booked on the card, and Jarrett was insulted that Flair disrespected his father, Jerry Jarrett. Flair was left bloodied in a parking lot following the attack. An angle was filmed during Game Changer Wrestling's The People vs. GCW event at Starrcast on July 29, 2022.
Read also: Bagent's Role in Chicago
The originally planned main event was reported to have been Ric Flair teaming with FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) to take on Ricky Steamboat and the Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) in a six-man tag team match.
RIC FLAIR'S FINAL MATCH | Full Event | YouTube Premiere
Event Highlights
In the opening contest of the pre-show, New Japan Pro Wrestling young lions Yuya Uemura and Ren Narita faced each other. Tony Schiavone introduced Ric Flair for an interview segment, but instead Jay Lethal came out with Karen Jarrett to do a Flair impersonation and antagonize the crowd. Jarrett was interrupted by loud "Who are you?" chants from the audience.
Frank the Clown then entered the ring to insult Ric Flair, at which point Jacob Fatu came out. Frank the Clown attempted to escape up the entranceway, but Mick Foley prevented him from leaving and threw him back in the ring to get beatdown by Fatu. The second contest of the show and final contest of the pre-show saw Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) star Mance Warner win the Bunkhouse Battle Royale by last eliminating Bully Ray.
In the opening contest of the pay-per-view broadcast, The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) took on The Wolves in a tag team match. The second contest of the pay-per-view saw Davey Boy Smith Jr. take on Killer Kross (with Scarlett Bordeaux) in singles competition, with both men representing Major League Wrestling. Kross hit Smith Jr.
The pay-per-view's third contest was a Four Corners Match to determine the #1 contender to the Progress World Championship. The participants were Alan Angels, Jonathan Gresham, Konosuke Takeshita and Nick Wayne. In the fourth contest of the pay-per-view, Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Kerry Morton) (with Robert Gibson) took on The Four Horsemen (Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson) (with Arn Anderson) in a tag team match.
Read also: Wrestling Career of Daniel Bryan
The fifth contest of the pay-per-view was a Four-way match between Bandido, Black Taurus, Laredo Kid and Rey Fénix. The pay-per-view's sixth contest saw Impact World Champion Josh Alexander defend his title against Major League Wrestling star Jacob Fatu. The match ended in a no contest after interference by Brian Myers, Matt Cardona and Mark Sterling.
In the seventh contest of the pay-per-view, The Von Erichs (Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich) took on The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) in a tag team match. The penultimate match of the pay-per-view saw Impact Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defend her title against Deonna Purrazzo and Rachael Ellering in a three-way match.
The Main Event
In the main event, Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo took on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett) in a tag team match. The finish came after Conrad Thompson threw brass knuckles to El Idolo. El Idolo then gave the brass knuckles to Flair, who used them to knock out Jarrett. Referee Mike Chioda was knocked out, causing El Idolo to call for another referee from the back. Flair put Jarrett in the figure-four leglock, and with Jarrett's shoulders pinned to the mat, referee Dave Miller counted the pinfall.
After the match, Flair greeted his family at ringside along with colleagues in attendance such as Bret Hart, Mick Foley and The Undertaker.
Match Results
Here's a summary of the match results from the event:
Read also: The Netflix Effect on WWE
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1P | Ren Narita defeated Yuya Uemura by pinfall | Singles match | 5:30 |
| 2P | Mance Warner won by last eliminating Bully Ray | Bunkhouse Battle Royale | 11:10 |
| 3 | The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) by pinfall | Tag team match | 10:50 |
| 4 | Killer Kross (with Scarlett Bordeaux) defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. by pinfall | Singles match | 5:20 |
| 5 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Konosuke Takeshita, and Nick Wayne by pinfall | Four Corners match to determine the #1 contender to the Progress World Championship | 5:10 |
| 6 | The Four Horsemen (Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson) (with Arn Anderson) defeated Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Kerry Morton) (with Robert Gibson) by pinfall | Tag team match | 7:40 |
| 7 | Rey Fénix defeated Bandido, Laredo Kid, and Black Taurus by pinfall | Four-way match | 11:50 |
| 8 | Josh Alexander (c) vs. Jacob Fatu ended in no contest due to interference | Impact World Championship match | 10:30 |
| 9 | The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) defeated The Von Erichs (Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich) by pinfall | Tag team match | 13:00 |
| 10 | Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Deonna Purrazzo and Rachael Ellering by pinfall | Impact Knockouts World Championship three-way match | 13:20 |
| 11 | Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo defeated Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett) by pinfall | Tag team match | 25:10 |
P indicates a match that took place on the pre-show
Reception
The main event was voted as the winner of WrestleCrap's Gooker Award for the worst gimmick, storyline, or event in wrestling in 2022. Its induction noted Flair's repeated returns to wrestling after supposed retirement matches, and his regret of calling Ric Flair's Last Match his "last match", arguing that it "wouldn't have garnered 1/10 the attendance, pay-per-view buys, or merch sales without that promise".