Ric Flair Recalls Being Insecure Both Before & After WrestleMania 24 Match

Ric Flair’s match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 is one of the most celebrated in the event’s history, but Flair himself was insecure both before and after the bout. Flair lost to Michaels in his then-retirement match at the PPV, and on the latest episode of To Be The Man he talked about his emotions before and after. You can see some highlights below, per Wrestling Inc:

On being insecure before his match with Michaels: “I got very insecure as I got older because people kept telling me I was old. It made me insecure about my ability. Even though I could still perform, the age word kept hitting me so many different times, from so many different angles.”

On his reaction after the match: “When I came through that curtain, I know Shawn said, ‘Man, that was great,’ but I truly didn’t know if it was good or bad. I knew it was highly emotional, the crowd was into it, and Shawn had just performed like nobody else — but when we walked back through that curtain, the entire company was there waiting for us. Not just the technical people, but the whole company was lined up through the hallway.

“And then Shawn pulls me aside and says he wants to talk to me. I was afraid he was going to say that I messed up or didn’t do something right. He then opens up his bag and pulls out two green boxes. They were Rolexes — unbelievable. It was a $65,000 watch. Shawn and I have the same watch. I didn’t ask for it, this was just a kind gesture by Shawn.”