Ric Flair’s Last Match took place on July 31st, 2022. It was Flair’s first match since 2011, where he lost to Sting on an episode of Impact Wrestling, and fourteen years since his classic “retirement match” against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24.
In his last match, Ric Flair teamed with son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to take on Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in front of 6,800 fans at Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Since the match, two of its participants have been featured heavily on All Elite Wrestling television, and now Ric Flair is claiming that he deserves a cut of their pay cheques.
Ric Flair Wants 10%
On episode #30 of Ric Flair’s podcast “To Be The Man,” Flair claimed that his last match played a big part in elevating competitors Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett. When talking about the duo’s match against Sting & Darby Allin at AEW Full Gear 2022, Ric Flair had the following to say;
“He got the rub! Him and Jay both! They’ll have them for another main event in a godd*mn pay-per-view on AEW, what do you think? I feel like I should be getting 10% of their godd*mn money.”
Whether Ric Flair’s claims are in jest or not is debatable. His last wrestling match contributed to the second highest-grossing North American independent wrestling event in modern history. With Lethal & Jarrett joining Flair in the main event, it could certainly be said that they got a lot of attention because of Flair’s retirement.
However, Jay Lethal had been featured prominently on All Elite Wrestling television since January 2022. He appeared on ROH Death Before Dishonor 2022 in an ROH World Television Title match against Samoa Joe and has had big matches against the likes of Orange Cassidy, Wardlow and Jungle Boy on episodes of Dynamite. The claim that he appeared on Full Gear because of his role in Flair’s last match may require further proof.
On a somewhat similar note, Jeff Jarrett’s appearance at Full Gear 2022 is presumed to be a one-off, as he was not hired for a wrestling role. In November of 2022, Jeff Jarrett was hired as AEW’s Director of Business Development by founder Tony Khan. The match at Full Gear happened shortly after Jarrett’s hire under this new role.
Ric Flair has recently hinted that he could wrestle again in future, meaning that the show titled “Ric Flair’s Last Match” may not be his last match after all.
H/T Sportskeeda