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MORNING THOUGHTS: WWE BLOWS IT WITH RIC FLAIR LAST NIGHT

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

We knew it would come sooner or later, no matter how well crafted his exit was.  At some point, Nature Boy Ric Flair would come stylin' and profilin' down the aisle.  As much as everyone would have loved for the Flair Farewell to have been his final, lasting memory as an active on-screen performer for World Wrestling Entertainment, nothing is final in professional wrestling.  Ask Mick Foley, who returned four weeks after his first retirement to headline a Wrestlemania main event.

While there's no reason to believe that Ric Flair is going to be donning the tights and returning to the ring as an active participant anytime in the near future, his return to WWE television to face off with and challenge Chris Jericho was a nice surprise to viewers, until one very obvious fact was clear to everyone watching.

They f***ing blew it.

In WWE creative's typical narrow-minded fashion towards something that wasn't created in-house, they took the Ric Flair character, who was given the greatest send-off ever seen in professional wrestling during Wrestlemania XXIV weekend and more of less put on a pedestal as the greatest living professional wrestler of all time, and morphed him back into just another WWE performer.  

Worse, it took less than an hour to do this.

Chris Jericho badmouths his rival Shawn Michaels, who is out injured due to Jericho's heinous attack last week, throwing him through the video screen in the ring.  It's typical wrestling villain 101 to badmouth the hero, especially when he isn't there to defend himself.  It's the perfect way to build heat and momentum for the eventual grudge match.

Then, Ric Flair shows up.  WWE smartly cuts to commercial to give everyone a chance to, in theory, call all their friends to tune in, because after two months, the Naitch is back on TV.  Wooo!  They return to the air, presumably with a lot of people (myself included) interested in seeing where they are going with this.

When they return, Flair and Jericho are face to face with Jericho, the villain, looking a mixture of shocked and unsure of what's about to go down.  Flair says he's retired, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to fight Jericho in the parking lot.  Awesome, except why couldn't they just fight in the ring - there's no bell, no referee, no official, no anything. 

Still, the lure of a parking lot brawl is great one.  Look at the shots of the crowd going nuts.  Flair lures Jericho back to the exit and two things are going to happen - either we are going to see a brawl or we are going to see an angle.  Flair exits.  Jericho ponders his fate for a moment, then pushes open a door.

The crowd, sensing an angle, chants for Shawn Michaels. That would make sense, at least, to give HBK a measure of revenge and allowing Flair to help his pal in the process via the cameo.

Instead, they get Triple H.  It turns into Triple H and Jericho going back and forth, face to face.  It's not about Michaels vs. Jericho and HHH wanting revenge for his best friend.  It's not about Triple H saying he's going to watch Flair's back.  Hell, it's not even Flair and Triple H setting up Jericho to get him for Shawn.

It's about Triple H stepping into the middle of an angle that fans wanted to see without his involvement.  Ric Flair's big return to television and it's ends up being the greatest of all time playing second fiddle, without "knowing it" to a babyface who isn't even feuding with the heel in question.  A babyface who has his own storyline ongoing - one that is scheduled to headline a PPV against John Cena, not Chris Jericho, in a few weeks.

Anyone else scratching their head at this point and wondering why WWE would bother wasting Ric Flair's on camera return for THIS?

When we do return from commercial, Flair and Triple H are together.  Flair, who was there to kick Chris Jericho's ass all over the parking lot a segment ago, is now telling Triple H he was there to see him and loves him, at the same time joking Triple H is trying to fight his battles.  

Before we can go any further with his mutual admiration society, Vince McMahon shows up.  He offers his hand to Flair, who smiles and shakes it with all the enthusiasm of someone running into their long-long best friend, but didn't Flair end up being forced to retire because of Vince McMahon's machinations?  If someone forced me out of my job, I certainly wouldn't be thrilled to see him the next time I run across him in my life.

Before anyone points out that Vince and Flair hugged during the Flair Farewell ceremony, it didn't air on TV and if it didn't air on television, it doesn't count in WWE's minds.  Hell, sometimes things that do air don't count - anyone else remember Brian Kendrick turning on Paul London.  On RAW?  No, me neither.

Vince gives Flair his usual false compliments, then has security throw him out.  Five security guards throw Flair out of the building, as Triple H, the WWE CHAMPION AND TOP BABYFACE (well, in theory, although everyone knows it's really John Cena) stands idly by and allows it.

Yes, my friends, the "Dirtiest Player in the game" who less than five minutes ago was looking to throw down, is impishly walked out of a venue by a crew of no-name security guards.  Hold those four fingers aloft and proud!

World Wrestling Entertainment has taken moments that should have been memorable beginnings and turned them into missed opportunities.  The return of ECW.  Fired Matt Hardy's attack on Edge and subsequent rant on a live mic.  Joey Styles' "shoot" on WWE's presentation of professional wrestling.  The list goes on and on and now it has another addition - the return of Ric Flair to wrestling.

WWE put Flair on a pedestal unlike any other performer before him when he retired.  In the span of three segments, they pulled him off that pedestal and made him just another character that allowed Triple H to usurp his moment and for Vince McMahon to get one over on.

It's not even like Flair got to shine at the end by saving his best pal Triple H and John Cena at the end of the night.  He was off in oblivion somewhere, as opposed to where he was before this episode aired - the hero living the happy ending.

Instead, Flair is back to being another asset that the company misuses.  To quote Bobby Heenan, it's "not fair to Flair."  Ric Flair deserves better.  WWE themselves showed us that two months ago, but sadly, have already forgotten it, and worse still, have tarnished the potential "true" Ric Flair comeback moment, if that ever comes.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

 

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