An Open Letter to "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

Dear Nature Boy,

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that you are truly a legend in this business.

That makes what I have to say all the more difficult, because I am a big fan of yours. I really do have nothing but the utmost respect for everything that you have done for professional wrestling.

After watching you put your Hall of Fame ring on the line in a match against "The Monster" Abyss on Impact this past Monday night, it is painfully clear that you just need to stop.

Please, Natch, do it for the sake of your legacy.

When I think of Ric Flair, I want to be able to think of classic battles against the likes of Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, and Sting. You've wrestled in some of my all-time favorite matches.

I want to remember that Ric Flair. The Ric Flair who styled and profiled and led the Four Horseman to dominance in the NWA/WCW.

There is no reason for you, at the age of 61, to be inside of the ring against a 6'8'', 350-pound beast like Abyss.

This fact is especially true given that just two years ago you received what should have been remembered as one of the greatest retirement ceremonies of all time after losing to Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24.

Ric, do you remember when you finally hit your off-the-top-rope attack on Michaels during your WM24 encounter? After spending nearly three decades trying to land that move, you finally did it!

More importantly, you went out in style. You went out the way Ric Flair should have gone out.

I'm not ashamed to admit that the events of that Wrestlemania and Raw the following night reduced this grown man to tears. Now, I'm just feeling kind of foolish for getting all emotional for nothing.

I get that you are filled with pride. I understand that the star power which comes along with your name is hugely important for a company like TNA to establish itself as a major wrestling promotion. I know you want to prove to the world that you are still the greatest.

But come on Ric, bleeding all over yourself week-in and week-out is not the way to do it. I've said for years that Ric Flair is the best bleeder in the business, but that doesn't mean you should still be doing it. The last thing I want to see is you busted open yet again.

Sadly, it seems to happen every time I watch TNA.

Why not just focus on your managerial role? You obviously have a lot to teach to a guy like AJ Styles.

I enjoy your role as a mentor to "The Phenomenal One" and think it would be a good idea to take a few more young TNA stars under your wing.

You have the ability to mold the next generation of professional wrestling superstars and teach them all the tricks of the dirtiest player in the game. You can create the next generation of Horsemen and lead them to dominance.

Like I said Ric, I'm a fan and always have been. I was enthralled as a young boy, watching TBS on a Saturday Night as you strutted out onto the entrance-way decked out in one of your trademark robes. I knew at first sight that you were something special and I followed your career from that very moment.

Your ability to tell a story inside of that ring is second to none. I just wish that the final chapter of your story would have been at Wrestlemania 24 instead of you getting chokeslammed through the entrance ramp of the Impact Zone or bleeding all over yourself seemingly every Monday night.

So please Nature Boy, just stop wrestling. I hate to sound so harsh, but you aren't the same Ric Flair between the ropes that you were even five years ago. The only thing you are doing now is tarnishing your legacy and making yourself look like a joke.

Sincerely,

A deeply concerned fan.