Ric Flair Clarifies Whether He Is Retired

Don't ring the bell on Ric Flair's career just yet.

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer sent out a tweet thanking others for celebrating his 50th year in professional wrestling, and also clarifying whether he's officially retired. Flair, 73, wrestled what was billed as his "last" match on July 31 in Nashville, where he teamed up with son-in-law Andrade el Idolo to take on Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. "The Nature Boy" later said he "passed out twice" during the match due to dehydration.

But that apparently didn't scare off the 16-time world champion from leaving the door open for another match.

"Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate my 50 years in the business!" Flair tweeted out Monday morning. "One thing is for certain ... I WILL NEVER RETIRE! WOOOOO!" 

Flair originally debuted 1972, adopting the "Nature Boy" persona while fighting in Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic region of the National Wrestling Alliance. He went on to compete in most major pro wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact) and Ring of Honor, among handfuls of independent and territorial promotions throughout his five decades in the business. Soon after winning his supposed exit from the ring in July, wrestling legend told the "To Be The Man" podcast that he regretted having branded the match as "Ric Flair's Last Match."

"I wish I hadn't said it was my last match," he said. "Hell, they wanted me to wrestle in Puerto Rico on Saturday night. I said, 'Guys, I cannot get in the ring one week later.'"

If nothing else, Flair proved he's still a draw — nearly 7,000 fans attended Ric Flair's Last Match in person, while the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that somewhere between 25,000-30,000 fans watched from home.