Ric Flair has claimed that seeing Ricky Steamboat get back in the ring has inspired him to return… again.
On July 31st Ric Flair stepped into the ring for the final time. At the special event promoted under the Jim Crockett Promotions banner Flair teamed with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.
The match was Flair’s first in more than a decade and received a mixed reception from many fans as the Nature Boy struggled significantly to make it through the bout.
However, despite the struggles and claims that the match would indeed be his last, just days after the event Flair claimed that he wished he wouldn’t have said that match would be the end of his career. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer has now dropped another hint that he could be tempted to come back one more time.
Speaking on his podcast, To Be The Man, Flair commented on Ricky Steamboat making his own in-ring return, despite also previously claiming to be retired. While discussing his former rival, Flair heaped praise on ‘The Dragon.’
“It’s one of those deals where nobody’s ever going to be Ricky Steamboat,” Flair continued, “so they might as well watch him while they can and enjoy the opportunity, because there never will be another Ricky Steamboat. At every level, he’s better than 50% of the guys in the business today, and he wouldn’t get in the ring if he wasn’t. He holds himself to a very high standard, and I imagine he’ll probably look better than the guys he’s in the ring with because he’s always in good shape.”
Flair went on to admit that the match has got him thinking about another return.
“Steamboat coming back makes me want to come back again,”
The Nature Boy even claimed that he had been training again, but it’s unclear as to how serious the star was being at the time.
H/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.