Why do so many people still say Ric Flair retired @ WM 24 when we all know he didn't?

[The Ace of Knaves]

I notice this in Y/A Wrestling Section or wrestling forums, including WZ.

I think everyone dead and alive knew he didn't retire at Wrestlemania 24 because he wrestled in TNA after that. How come so many people still regard the event at Wrestlemania where it is all nothing but a fraud now? Is it so hard for people to move on and accept the fact?

I mean, it would silly if I say Mick Foley retired at No Way Out 2000, right? Considering he wrestled again after that. People seemed to have been able to move on with this fact and no longer recognized No Way Out 2000 as Foley's retirement, why can't they do the same to Flair?

 

[Jason Scene]

He retired from WWE at Wrestlemania 24, and as you probably know WWE have a thing of not acknowledging TNA.

So in WWE's eyes, Ric Flair is still a retired former wrestler of theirs. In everyones elses eyes, Ric works in TNA.

 

[King Patrick Star]

My only reasoning behind it is, because the Hall of Famer / Legendary Superstar in question is the Nature Boy, Ric Flair and the event in questions it the Grandest Stage of them ALL, WrestleMania. The matches Flair was involved in after WM XXIV, he did mention that he’s “coming out of retirement” for that particular match. Foley is a Legend in his own right, and No Way Out / Elimination Chamber was / is a great PPV in its own right, but this is like comparing apples (the fruit) to Microsoft (the multi-billion dollar company). I think, as long as he doesn’t win another Title anywhere and / or set foot in a WWE ring, in one of his Nature Boy robes, waiting for the bell to ring, I can’t see this as a problem.

 

[Richard]

Yes, Ric Flair did retire at WrestleMania 24. He did lose his career against Shawn Michaels but even after that, we all know Flair has wrestled time and time again in TNA and come out of his retirement, even though it was way over a year after WrestleMania 24, he still did it.

When answering this question, you have to remember, even though he is wrestling in TNA, he did retire at WrestleMania 24, that still counts even though he broke it.

So yes, he did retire.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

I do not see this as an issue at all. Yes people are upset about Ric "tarnishing" his send off and WM match, but we are not to decide if he hangs up the boots or not. If Flair wants to wrestle until he physically can't walk anymore then that is his decision and his alone.

To date, his Wrestlemania match with Shawn Michaels is his last WWE match to date, so he did retire from the WWE. In the eyes of WWE fans and WWE itself that means he is retired. Ric has nothing left to offer the wrestling business, but he chooses to still go out there and perform even if it is on a stage like TNA. I've never been in pro wrestling or a match or anything, but I can bet it is safe to say that once this business gets in your blood, you can never get it out.

 

[The Boss]

In the world of Professional Wrestling there is no such thing as retirement. Just ask Terry Funk. He's "retired" at least a dozen times since 1984 most recently this past January.

When wrestlers say "retire" they mean take time off. Besides the Flair "retirement" was just an angle to sell tickets because no one cared about Mania that year.