Hey They’re Gonna Wrestle In Nashville
Ric Flair’s “Last Match” Brings Out Some Of the Best From the Independents
So it’s come to this, Ric Flair’s truly last, last, last match. The time and place, Sunday July 31st, at the beautiful Nashville Municipal Auditorium in beautiful Nashville Tennessee. Now I will put it out there plain and simple, I truly have zero to no respect for Ric Flair as a person, a father, or a husband. I believe that he is the epitome of American narcissism and individualism that has gone unchallenged and thus has had the ability to thrive only based on namesake and namesake for forty plus years. Like many wrestling greats, Flair took more from the business than he ever gave back. Rarely did he ever take a protege or young talent under his wing and give them the knowledge he had to make it in the business. He purposely held many talents down so that he could stay on top. Not once has he ever acknowledged what wrestling has done for him, it’s always what he has done for wrestling. That kind of mentality, while revered by many, is one that deeply disturbs me.
In turn I have enjoyed the performances that Ric Flair has given the wrestling world during the majority of this tenure. He is credited, and rightly so, with giving us some of the greatest matches and promos of all time. Whether it be the Steamboat/Flair matches in ‘89, Royal Rumble ‘92, or what truly should have been his last match versus Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXIV, Flair would show that he truly was a top talent. That has changed.
I really do not know how to describe the Ric Flair we see today other than sad. When he would be featured in an angle on WWE recently, to the times I see catch a Car Shield commercial while trying to watch an old NJPW match on AXiS it’s just depressing watching a man move the way he does while barely putting two sentences together. This on top of the fact that he has continued his heavy drinking despite having serious heart, liver and kidney issues just makes me want to hear less and less from him. I wish that he would just slowly live his life and have the ability to reflect not only what he did for many, but what many did for him.
That’s not happening. Instead we are treated to this weekend’s Starrcast V Event so that Flair, and his son in law, Conrad Thompson, can milk every last dollar out of wrestling fandom before Ric inevitably succumbs to his alcoholism and passes. Anything from wings, to rose wine, to supposedly personally sculpted action figures of you holding the Nature Boy’s hand, it’s all for sale! I am obviously very cynical about the whole event, having it piggyback Summerslam is certainly not helping with this feeling. However, much like how I feel about Flair himself, I feel about Starrcast this weekend itself. Hate the man (or in this case men), but look forward to the product which comes because of them.
On top of Flair’s last match, and the card surrounding it, there are many independent and international promotions having events here as well. Also, Starrcast itself is providing a great opportunity for fans visiting Nashville the opportunity to have high-end wrestler meet and greets and attend live versions of very popular wrestling podcasts. Here is the schedule I was able to gather for the three day event, with links for those interested in accessing these events via PPV. Of course cards are subject to change.
PPV Package Options Key:
*- Starrcast V with The Roast of Ric Flair Fite Package On FITE– $69.99
#- Starrcast V with The Last Match and the Roast On FITE– $99.99
$- Starrcast V with the Last Match, Roast, and Commemorative Canvas from the Last Match On FITE– $199.99
- Friday
- Black Label Pro Presents: The Gang Crosses The Line On FITE $9.99 5PM
- BLP Tag Team Championship: Dan the Dad/Shark Boy v. Violence is Forever
- BLP Heavyweight Title Monster’s Ball Match: Joshua Bishop v. PCO v. Lei Everett v. Calvin Tankman
- James Storm v. Bryan Keith
- Josh Alexander v. Kevin Blackwood
- Billie Starkz v. Steph De Lander
- Konosuke Takeshita v. Nick Wayne
- “Speedball” Mike Bailey/Anthony Greene/Cole Radrick v. Bang Bros/Jordan Oliver
- Crowbar v. Jake Something
- Also appearing Eric Young and Big Damo
- *#$ Roast of Ric Flair- 8PM
- GCW Presents: The People vs. GCW On FITE $14.99 10:30 PM
- GCW World Title: Jon Moxley v. Blake Christain
- Psycho Clown v. Joey Janela
- Black Taurus/Gringo Loco/Jack Cartwheel v. ASF/Komander/Laredo Kid
- Alex Zayne v. Nick Wayne
- Masha Slamovich v. Kevin Blackwood
- GCW Tag Team Title Three Way Match: BUSSY (Effy/Allie Katch) v. Los Mazisos (Ciclope/Miedo Extremo) v. The Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner/Matthew Justice
- Bandido v. Jordan Oliver
- “Speedball” Mike Bailey v Tony Deppen
- Black Label Pro Presents: The Gang Crosses The Line On FITE $9.99 5PM
- Saturday
- *#$ The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast- 9AM
- *#$ Insight w/Chris Van Vliet featuring Claudio Castagnoli- 10:45AM
- *#$ The Sessions w/ Renee Paquette-12:30PM
- NJPW Presents: Music City Mayhem- On FITE $14.99 2PM
- No DQ Match: Jon Moxley v. El Desperado
- Hiromu Takahashi v. Blake Christain
- MLW National Openweight Title Match: Davey Richards (c.) v. Rocky Romero
- Alex Shelley v. Kushida
- NJPW Strong Openweight Title Match: Fred Rosser (c.) v. Big Damo
- Six Man Tag Team Match: FTR (Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood)/Alex Zayne v. United Empire (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis/TJP)
- Fred Yehi/Shota Umino/Yuya Uemura v. Kevin Knight/Ren Narita/The DKC
- *#$ One Last Ride For The Horsemen- 2:15PM
- *#$ 30 Years Later w/Brett Hart (Summerslam ‘92 Celebration)- 4PM
- Sunday
- *#$ Foley is Pod w/Mick Foley- 9AM
- *#$ Saraya: Turning the Page- 10:45AM
- *#$ Kliq This w/Kevin Nash- 12:30PM
- *#$ What’s NeXT w/ Johnny Gargano- 12:15PM
- *#$ The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy- 4PM
- *#$ Ric Flair’s Last Match- On FITE $34.99 Preshow 5:05 PM, Show Starts 6PM
- IMPACT World Title Match: Josh Alexander (c.) v. Jacob Fatu
- The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe) v. The Von Erichs (Marshall Von Erich/ Ross Von Erich)
- Laredo Kid v. Taurus v. Rey Fenix v. Bandido
- Impact Knockouts Title Match: Jordynne Grace (c.) v. Deonna Purrazzo v. Rachael Ellering
- Harry Smith v. Killer Kross
- Ren Narita v. Clark Connors(?)
- Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin) v. The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
- Kerry Morton/ Ricky Morton v. Brian Pillman Jr/Brock Anderson
- Jonathan Gresham v. Konosuke Takeshita v. Alan Angels v. Nick Wayne
- Bunkhouse Battle Royal
- Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett v. Andrade El Idolo/Ric Flair
Black Label Pro is on the precipice of becoming one of those promotions that is continually talked about, and this is a great example of their ability to possibly put on an amazing show. I personally am looking forward to Nick Wayne vs. Takeshita. I love Takeshita, he’s a hunk why wouldn’t I be, and Nick Wayne is the literal future of professional wrestling. It may be a while for Wayne to make it to TV but that is strictly due to his age, and not his ability as he could be featured practically anywhere with the skills he currently has. Another youngster that has been making shows, and impressing at every level has been Billie Starkz. Similar to Wayne, she is still in highschool, but has the tenacity of someone five years her senior. Starkz had a marathon weekend in Dallas/Fort Worth during Wrestlemania, giving the nation a glimpse into her abilities, while De Lander is out to prove who she is on the independent scene and making a name for herself after being released from NXT. Overall, I am very excited what both of these wrestlers will put out there on an incredibly stacked card.
GCW is doing GCW things once again with a card that is absolutely bizarre in the best ways. Personally I am looking forward to Speedball versus Tony Deppen. There are three wrestlers out there that have more than impressed this year, Takeshita, Blake Christain, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Doug and I went very into detail on Episode #36 of the podcast about Speedball and his recent match with Takeshita for West Coast Pro. When you add maybe one of the most underrated wrestlers in the nation in Tony Deppen, you should know that this match will be at the same caliber. If you include the likes of beautiful randomness as Psycho Clown, Joey Janela, Mox, Blake Christain, Cicople, EFFY, Allie Katch, Masha Slamovich, Gringo Loco, Kevin Blackwood, Mance Warner, Laredo Kid, and Black Taurus it is going to be hard to say that this GCW card will not be talked about months later.
Following a match with Mox in GCW, Blake Christain is already having himself a weekend of dream matches in facing Hiromu. I wrote about Blake’s beginning rise to dominance back in late April, and he is continuing to impress on all levels. His match on the ROH Death Before Dishonor Zero Hour with Alex Zayne, and Tony Deppen against The Embassy was incredibly good. Like he always seems to do, Blake took advantage of the time and audience he was given and completely ran with it. The other I’m looking forward to on the New Japan card is a little bit of a dark horse, Fred Rosser versus Big Damo. Big Damo was one of the first wrestlers I started paying attention to before the UK wrestling scene was destroyed by the E, I just have a thing for big hairy boys. Since joining the NJPW LA Dojo, Rosser has completely reinvented himself and has become a true pure professional wrestler. His story has not been out there enough, maybe I do one on him in the future.
Barring the main event, the card for Flair’s last match is really quite good. I am a sucker for anything featuring Bandido, and the fact that he is in a four way match with Laredo Kid, Taurus, and Rey Fenix, I have no doubt that this match is going to be insane to say the least. The women’s match is also going to be great as this division is truly the real bright point in IMPACT. Purrazzo has been a favorite of mine since her first stint in NXT, Grace has been at the top of her game for the last three years, and Ellering continues to get better and better. If given the appropriate amount of time, the other four way on the card could be the match of the weekend. Granted, Gresham’s status is certainly in question after his own possible retirement match at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor, but even if it is a three way of Angles, Takeshita, and Nick Wayne is a match that anyone worth their salt should be excited about.
Feelings about Flair, Conrad Thompson, and the grift and spectacle of Flair’s last match aside, this weekend has some amazing cards, and even more amazing wrestling talent and personalities getting together and putting on an event that rivals a lot of things WWE attempts to put on. We did not have anything of this nature six years ago, and that means something. Those who are in attendance in Nashville have the ability to meet some of their favorites, go to shows that feature some of the best wrestling talents in the world, and also just get together as a community and simply enjoy something. So maybe in the end, Ric Flair, in his possible last match, might be giving something back to wrestling.
Bill
