Sometimes my timing isn’t so great. I felt somewhat poorly during the WM24 weekend and attributed it to just getting over a 3 week bout of the flu. In hindsight, I should have taken a week or two off prior to Wrestlemania to insure that the flu had subsided, but I didn’t.

While in Orlando I started having colon problems again and began to lose a great deal of blood. But as the old saying goes, "the show must go on" and as I was once told, " a man can be sick at work just as easily as he can be sick at home" so I kept my issues to myself and went about the task of doing my job. This Friday I spent the majority of the day in the hospital here in Norman, the same hospital that removed 13" of my large intestines in 2005, along with a benign tumor off my colon. Friday was like a day at the beach compared that ordeal in 2005, as Friday I underwent a thoroughcolonoscopy and had 3-4 non-cancerous, thank God, polyps removed. I dodged another bullet. I told my friend Kevin Wilson, the offensive coordinator at OU, that I was blessed with "Sooner Magic" and after a couple of days of rest I plan to be on the airplane Sunday night headed to Albany, New York for Monday Night Raw. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of the telephone calls I received Friday afternoon was from Ric Flair who called to check on his pal and I assure you that call meant the world to me. It’s akin to OU Coach Bob Stoops calling me on a Saturday in 2005 when I was in intensive care, while the Sooners were preparing to play Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium. Great friends watch out for each other.

Rings- This years HOF class got beautiful rings at their induction ceremony. I am told that all the previous WWE Hall of Famers will also be receiving rings sometime in the future. My wife asked me if I was going to take off my 1974 Oklahoma National Championship ring to wear my WWE Hall of Fame ring and I answered her with "good question."

HBK bought matching Rolex President watches for Ric Flair and himself to commemorate their classic match at WM24. The inscription on the back of Ric’s says "To be the Man" and on the back ofHBK’s it says "You have to beat the Man." Plus the number "24" commemorating Wrestlemania 24 is inlaid on the face of the watch in diamonds. That’s a class act, friends and neighbors.

Ric’s latest DVD, "The Definitive Collection" will be available approximately July 8. For me, this one will go into my "keeper" collection.

Some folks speculate that after 36 years that Ric will be unable to retire like so many of his predecessors a la Verne Gagne, Bill Watts, Terry Funk, etc to name just two of the many who "retired" and then a few years (months) later unretired. I have the feeling that Ric is truly done because the business today offers former stars so many unique opportunities to earn a great living, whereas that did not exist years ago. I hope Ric never wrestles again as he will be 60 next February 25 and 36 years in the ring is damned sure enough.

I hear that the 2008 Wrestlemania 24 DVD will be released soon using Blu Ray technology and will include the WWE Hall of Fame, essentially in its entirety. Flair’s speech is worth the price of the entire package I assure you.

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Labels: jim ross, ric flair, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede on Sunday, April 06, 2008 at 10:13 AM | Permalink