Ric Flair has reportedly been cleared after a series of health tests and may return to the ring–albeit in a different role–as early as tonight in Cleveland, Ohio.
The 65-year old wrestling star has a career spanning 40 years under his belt, and the tests came not out of concern, but rather as a precaution, according to reports. Although Flair won’t be participating in a match any time soon, he may be returning to the wrestling world in a managerial role, and rumor has it he may be working with The Miz. The duo may even show up together tonight in Cleveland, which is The Miz’s hometown.
Flair has been busy at his daughter Charlotte’s side as she just took the NXT Women’s title, so there is speculation that he may be teaming up with her in the near future for a sort of family-oriented storyline within the WWE.
Flair’s return has been highly anticipated by fans, particularly one very famous supporter: Darius Rucker. The former Hootie And The Blowfish singer and current country star says that Flair played a huge part in his younger years, and spoke recently about acquiring some memorabilia in a bidding war.
“Years ago at the Jimmy V (celebrity golf tournament), Ric auctioned off one of his robes. I just turned to my band and said, ‘I’m getting this. I don’t care what it cost me … I’m getting this.’ It was a live auction, and this other guy really wanted it. But I wanted it a little more. It got up there pretty high. It cost me a pretty penny, but it was worth it,” he said.
Rucker said he was taken with Flair from the first time he saw him perform.
“I’ll never forget the first time I saw him on TV… this big, thick kid who was a (storyline) cousin of the Anderson Brothers and nephew of Rip Hawk. I remember when Ric teamed up with Rip to fight Swede Hanson and Tiger Conway Jr. I remember that feud well. I was an 8-year-old who loved wrestling and watched it religiously every Saturday at one o’clock.”
Image via Wikimedia Commons
