It’s sad to think that we are about a month away from Ric Flair‘s final match. Here is a moment from a few years ago, where the wheelin’-dealin-kiss-stealin-limousine-riding-jet-flying-son-of-a-gun and the People’s Champ, The Rock squaring off for (if memory serves correct) the only time. Unfortunately, it was in a handicapped tag match with the Rock-n-Sock Connection taking on 3/4ths of Evolution. The Nature Boy is not to be outdone by the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, as he puts his own spin on things. Can I get a Woo!?

As we head closer to Wrestlemania, we are being constantly reminded that Ric Flair is approaching the end of his career. This past Monday night on Raw, Shawn Michaels announced Ric Flair as the first inductee for the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame. This makes Ric Flair the first active wrestler to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In recent weeks, we’ve been rewinding to some of Ric Flair’s greatest moments. To keep the tradition going, here is another great Ric Flair moment from the 1992 Royal Rumble; where Ric Flair captured the World Wrestling Federation title to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Here is some back-story for this match. Ric Flair joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1991, proclaiming himself “The Real World Heavyweight Champion.” Just months earlier, Flair was a top draw for WCW. Departing WCW stemming from a contractual dispute, Flair jumped to the WWF. Bearing the WCW/NWA World Championship and carrying it on WWF television was huge. Ric Flair instantly became a top heel in the WWF, with Bobby Hennan and “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig as his “consultants.”

This all cumulated at the 1992 Royal Rumble, where Ric Flair won the Rumble Match to claim the vacant WWF Championship and become the undisputed champion. Flair lasted 59 minutes, eliminating Sid Justice with help from Hulk Hogan. This was the first and only time the WWF or WWE Championship was on the line in the Royal Rumble match. The championship was vacated in December 1991 because of the controversial finish to the Hulk Hogan vs. The Undertaker match during This Tuesday in Texas.

This is truly a historical moment, with a great post-match promo and video package that follows:

As evidenced by this past Royal Rumble, Ric Flair is done. He can barely even walk around the ring and its quite unfortunate. Just 5 short years ago, people were saying Flair was done as well and yet, this match is one of my all time favorite Flair matches. He challenged Undertaker‘s undefeated WrestleMania streak and he bumped like crazy. It was a great match that told an awesome story and now is being bootlegged for your viewing pleasure:

It’s no secret that the Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaytcha Boy is set to hang up the boots for good pretty soon (probably at Wrestle Mania) so from now on, we will be posting video clips old and new showcasing the greatest professional wrestler in the history of the sport. The man could do no wrong, and its hard to imagine not seeing Ric Flair on TV in the near future. Here’s one for good measure: Woo!

(ABOVE: Fig. 1, Carlito recoils in disgust at Flair’s bosom. Inset, FlairBoob in HD.)

The PW Torch reports (subscription required) that Smackdown and RAW are going to be going to HD starting early next year.

Ric Flair’s retirement could not be more perfectly timed for this announcement. I love the Naytch as much as the next guy, but the thought of his radioactive orange-tanned man-boobs jiggling with super-pixelization does not make me tingle with anticipation. And extended closeups of the squirmy veins in his forehead are bad enough in low-definition.

Some other people who might want to consider a graceful retirement before the new wave of technology sweeps over the WWE:

Mae Young

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Big Daddy V., formerly Mabel