Sunday was another HUGE day of wrestling in Nashville. We kicked off the morning by meeting one of the voices of my childhood, WCW's play-by-play commentator, Tony Schiavone. Yes, I'm thrilled that he's with AEW so I can hear him every week because growing up in the Tupelo area, I was such a big, big WCW fan because they were always coming to town for house shows and pay-per-views. I was so honored to get to meet one of my favorites. Tony's wife, Lois, liked my sign and wanted me to give him a Bad Call! Also ran into her later on at Ric Flair's Last Match, where I complemented her sparkling ensemble, she was wearing. She asked me again, "What are you going to give Tony?" I flashed her the Bad Call and she chuckled.
Then we met, the heart and soul of NXT and the first ever NXT triple crown winner, Johnny "Wrestling" Gargano. He wanted to hear about our favorite NXT moments from Takeover New Orleans that we attended and thoughts on last night's SummerSlam.
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Next, was former WCW ring announcer, David Penzer, who now ring announces for Impact Wrestling. Penzer also had the classic 1992 WCW Heavyweight Championship title with him.
While eating lunch outside with our new friend, Vinnie from New York, WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long was leaving Starrcast. We had to "Holla" at Teddy and when we did he said he was going to make us go "One-on-one with The Undertaker!" Fun moments like those is what made the weekend a dream for all us wrestling fans.
We caught the end of the Foley is Pod with "The Hardcore Legend" Mick Foley and "The Podfather" Conrad Thompson.
Got to see all of Saraya's Turning The Page stage show. Saraya known as Paige from WWE was entertaining as always. I can listen to her all day long. However, she didn't want to reveal too much about her future, but it definitely seems like something is in the works.
More fun from Starrcast with Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, The Nasty Boys! Sags lit up when we said we were from Tupelo. He's a big fan of Tupelo Honey!
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Tony Schiavone introduced Ric Flair for an interview but got Jay Lethal with Karen Jarrett instead. Lethal did his hilarious imitation of "The Nature Boy."
Frank the Clown was in the ring being a nuisance until Jacob Fatu came down forcing Frank to exit. As he was leaving, Mick Foley met him in the entranceway and tossed him back in the ring for Fatu to destroy.
The Bunkhouse Battle Royale featured stars such as "Cowboy" James Storm, Crowbar, Crimson, Bully Ray, Sinn Bodhi, Big Damo and one half of the legendary tag-team PG-13 Wolfie D. Wolfie D got a big pop from the crowd. GCW reminds me of a new ECW back when they invaded WWE. GCW member Mance Warner won by eliminating Bully Ray to secure the prestigious Bunkhouse boot and buckle, being declared, "The Bull of the Woods."
The Motor City Machine Guns and The American Wolves put on a tag team clinic.
Before popping up on last week's SmackDown, Kross with the lovely Scarlett defeated "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith's son Harry Smith. This one appeared to have an abrupt botched finish.
Jonathan Gresham won the Four Corners Match to become the number one contender for the Progress World Championship. Gresham defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Alan Angels and indy darling, Nick Wayne.
The next generation of The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs The Four Horsemen rivalry were in the spotlight. Ricky Morton teamed with his son Kerry Morton with Robert Gibson in their corner taking on the son of "Flyin" Brian Pillman, Brian Pillman Jr. and the son of "The Enforcer" Brock Anderson with dad, Arn at ringside. There was something in the air that night because it was only fitting that the Horsemen came away with the win on this night.
Next was the AAA Lucha Libre fatal four-way showcase between Bandido, Taurus, Laredo Kid and AEW star Rey Fenix. Rey Fenix got the victory, but we were all winners just being able to witness that instant classic. This was easily the best match of the night which had everyone on their feet screaming. Just a nonstop highlight reel. So good!
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Josh Alexander and Jacob Fatu had the unenviable task of following the lucha match before as Alexander defended the Impact Wrestling World Championship against MLW star Jacob Fatu. Fatu is a star. He is so agile for a big man and can do it all. Another awesome thing about this super show was all of the major promotions getting together under one roof to present their unique styles and crafts to the wrestling world.
I got to see "Dem Boys" The Briscoe Brothers compete for the first time live and in person against Marshall and Ross Von Erich, the sons of legendary Kevin Von Erich. The Briscoes didn't disappoint.
Impact Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace retained her belt by defeating Deonna Purrazzo and the "Queen of Strong Smile" Rachael Ellering. Rachael is also the daughter of the legendary manager of The Road Warriors, Paul Ellering. This one got off to a rocky start as Ellering was injured not long after the match began.
Everyone was making their way to their seats including a few familiar faces. Mick Foley, The Undertaker, Michelle McCool, Vickie Guerrero, Bret Hart, DDP, Kid Rock and Conrad Thompson were all spotted in the crowd.
And now it was time for what we'd all been waiting for...Ric Flair's Last Match!
Jeff Jarrett was getting that old school heat in his own hometown. Everyone in the place hated his guts and wanted a piece of him in no time flat. Doug Dillinger definitely had his hands full as Jeff and Karen were making their ways to the ring. It was great!
"The Nature Boy" was walking that aisle, stylin' and profilin' like only he could with his custom robe and wearing the iconic big gold belt.
During the match it was like everyone in the place was living vicariously through the 16X champ taking all the bumps and Wooing every chop! Flair knocked out Double J with brass knuckles thrown in by Conrad. Once the three count was made the celebration began with confetti raining down.
The locker room cleared as Ric's colleagues surrounded him at ringside as Tony Schiavone spoke with an emotional Flair. He did it. He survived.
Following the show, while we were eating in the hotel lobby, this nice young man came in carrying one of the collector's "Nature Boy" chairs from the Last Match. He started talking with us and come to find out his name is Billy the Bull from Greece and he participated in Saturday's WWE tryouts. He showed us photos he had with Triple H and Big E. He was also trained at Ricky Morton's School of Morton. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Billy the Bull really soon on Monday and Friday nights.
Ric Flair's Last Match definitely ranks at the top of my all-time favorite events that I've been fortunate to attend. Everyone that was in the building on that night realizes they were a part of something special. Probably the closest I'll ever be to witnessing energy like it was back at the Mid-South Coliseum on those magical Monday nights. Well that about wraps up another wrestling experience that I'll cherish for a lifetime. Nashville mayor declared July 31st, Ric Flair Day and what a day it was. Woooooo!!!
