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Ric Flair’s speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony was memorable for what was missing: no talk whatsoever about his accomplishments or about the wrestling business, other than to mention how lucky he has been to be in it. Instead, he used his time to focus on profusely thanking his peers and his family.

I work with an older gentleman who claims that he worked for Jim Crockett Promotions back in its heyday, when Flair was apparently a notorious party animal. He has shared with me some pretty bawdy tales about Flair's behavior in bars and clubs, and in limousines. They're funny stories, and make you wish you could have partied with Flair in that era.

But at the Hall of Fame, I got a glimpse instead of Richard Fliehr, an older, humbled man who seems to be carrying around a fair amount of pain and remorse. He seems to know that his wild success and fame and those even wilder days and nights on the road came at a terrible price to his family life, and it seemed like he wanted to acknowledge his regret publicly.

I was struck at the way he named his children by name and called then his "greatest blessings," and then publicly apologized to them for not being there for them enough in the past. When he mentioned his two ex-wives and thanked them for taking care of his children when he was "out of control," I sensed a very sad man. It's a shame that while the "Nature Boy" was on TV and in arenas all those years entertaining us, the personal life of Fliehr was in such turmoil.

As a fortysomething wrestling fan who fondly recalls the Ric Flair of the 1970s and '80s, I think that the Ric Flair I saw tonight is the one I like the best. I hope that in retirement he can find the peace and joy in his family life that eluded him for all those years that he was chasing fame and fortune.

Nick
Round Rock, Tex.

***

I want to see TNA suceed, but crap like this won't cut it. I try to be reasonable, but how could anybody view junk like this as "good"? Hopefully Matt "Mute Button" Morgan will go into wrestling, because the "Morgan does something stupid and Cornette throws a fit" is very, very old. TNA's management and refs look like complete buffoons. Why doesn't Cornette just fire Morgan? Because he just can't.

The opening segment was dead. It seems Eric Young will never escape the mid-card. TNA, nobody in WWE land (officials, fans) care about the Highlanders, so why do you care? The Monsters of Suck launch into a drunken promo that even if I was drunk and high I still wouldn't see why it was on the show. I was relieved that LAX got the win. Sting's and James Storm's promo was good (aside from the fact that somehow Storm is Superman in saying that a 20 foot drop onto a table was nothing; great way to sell that match). Kong interview was pointless.

A.J. Styles was the MVP of his match with his floor hurricana and Gore. The announcing on this show is just noise and it makes it difficult to follow the action. I tried the tatic of watching the match again on mute and enjoyed it much more. Although West's "didn't the ref hear the tag?" and Tenay's "Well, he couldn't hear it because of the roar of the crowd" bit was laughable.

Return of Shark Boy and Curryman. 1:36 to 1:41 is what I call "The Five Minutes of Damage." First you have Angle's idiotic "Samoan" remark. It doesn't cause me to hate Angle, it leads me to hate the writers (or Angle, if it was entirely his line) for trying to get heat on Angle by using this crap. "Cross the Line"? "We Show No Class And We're Mighty Proud Of It" is more like it.

Steiner's "I'll wait till you get ready to face me" bit just destroyed the whole notion of "cashing in" the briefcase. Why wouldn't Steiner cash in his chance after Joe and Angle beat the hell out of each other? Wouldn't you do that? Please stop letting us know the supposed plans for next PPV, because why should fans buy Lockdown if it really doesn't matter if Joe or Angle wins? Do you people think these things out or does bad planning force you into holes that you dig out using idotic motives?

Morgan's "Money" bit was the whipped cream, and Cornette tying his tongue in knots trying to explain the women's lockdown match was the cherry on top of this rotten bit. Thus ended "The 5 Minutes of Damage." The bad stuff could have be avoided altogether. Very poor. Maybe you should look into doing live shows because for some reason your "well thought out carefully planned recorded shows" usually crash and burn.

Shane McKinley
Danville, Calif.

***

You're right, The Rock doesn't owe the wrestling industry anything. The fans, though - I think he owes them a lot. Now yes, technically he doesn't owe anybody anything, it's a free country yada yada, I get that. However when someone achieves tremendous success in a certain industry with overwhelming fan support and then runs off to a new line of work at the first opportunity, the fans who afforded that opportunity will resent it.

The Rock IS the textbook definition of a sell-out. I'm not saying it's wrong, it's his life, but it also doesn't mean that his wrestling fans have to like or respect that decision. Add to that the fact that The Rock is clearly trying to distance himself from wrestling really leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.

I totally disagree with your assessment that The Rock promotes wrestling in a positive way. The Rock treats wrestling like a skeleton in his closet that he'd just as soon forget. Yes, The Rock just made an appearance for WWE but only because it was for his families glorification, it had nothing to do with giving anything back to the fans.

The bottom line is that The Rock had every right to leave wrestling and become a movie star and ignore his wrestling past, likewise wrestling fans have every right to think he's a jerk for doing so. It's not a question of right and wrong, it's a question of opinion and perception. I think The Rock connected with the fans in a way that few before him have and a lot of fans just took it very personally.

It's clear by his reception at the HOF that fans just love The Rock and really miss him. You don't hear too many people lamenting Brock Lesnar or Bobby Lashley for leaving wrestling, because people don't care that much. The Rock is a special case and his detractors do come across as bitter and insecure; jilted ex-lovers usually do.
Rob S.

***

This is in reaction to the story on the death of the two year old boy at the hands of the four year old brother. As a father of two, I can say this is a horrible, terrible thing, and my heart goes out to the mother and whole family. I can't imagine what they are going through. I am wondering though, if they general reaction is going to be "WWE & TV in general does not police your kids." In my case, I have two girls, so their interest in wrestling in very minimal. They are usually asleep when it comes on, and when they are awake, I get told to switch it off. I do horse around with them, "executing moves," but I've always explained that what is happening on TV is not real-yet like anything in life, accidents happen, and they are not to do them to each other or anyone else. Granted, they are older than the two boys in the story. I just have a feeling when the mother brings up that WWE played a part in it - and the fact that she was in the shower when it happened - that she's going to get shot down.

Adam J. Grammas
Westchester, IL.

***

In a recent interview recap at PWTorch.com, it stated: "Angle said he believes TNA will be in a ratings war with the WWE within two to three years, much like it was during the late-'90s when it was WWE and WCW. He said TNA has come a long way in five years and has gone further than the WWE did in their first five years."

I'm sorry I normally keep my mouth shut, but does "my buddy" Kurt believe TNA has done more in its first five years than WWE? Really!? How could anyone dare to even make a comparison. It's Apples and oranges. Mr. McMahon created the wheel, PPVs, nationally-based storylines, this little TV show taped in Pennsylvania and St. Louis called Superstars of Wrestling, and this little thing called WrestleMania. Let's see what has TNA created, that compares... ummmmm... uhhhhhhh... Well, they let the same marks sit in the front row every taping. That's new. Their ring has "more sides" than WWE... Wow Kurt! What you say is true... it's damn true!

Steve Church

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