WELCOME!

Here we shall laud the praise-worthy and even the not-so-praise-worthy - with style and wit, as per usual throughout TLB PRIME, and as worthiness calls for it too...! Aye! This is yet another official site member of Luminous (\ô/) Luciano ™'s
TLB Prime Network, aye! ;)
Enjoy your stay here!

Here is some *bizarre music* courtesy of our friends over at YT - laudable efforts, guys...! But still...

mardi 1 avril 2008

Wooooooooooo - *cough-cough*





Life will go on, without Flair...
The show MUST go on...
And they're already setting up BIG things, see:
THE GREAT KHALI VERSUS THE BIG SHOW
Y2J... uh, doing something...
ECW CHAMPION - KANE! The Big Red Machine!
But no more Flair in there - no more "wooooooo"

Ric Flair finally retired last night
(no, this is no April's Fool Joke -
or rather "joke" yes; no need to capitalize here!)
No joke, indeed -
we know this had to happen, sooner or later
All the other Horsemen are retired!
So, now, Flair retired too and here is an excerpt of what I think about the way that it all came to transpire - and more
(you know me; there's always MORE with me!)
Read on:




36 years, 16 world championships and several incarnations of the 4 Horsemen later, Ric Flair finally delivered the speech he had meant to deliver months earlier - but I suspect someone suggested to him to go with the "career-threat from Vinnie Mac" plotline instead, at least until the alleged "grandest stage of them all" that is reputed to be Wrestlemania.

And so he did. And, after playing out scenario after scenario of "narrowingly escaping with his career intact" against the likes of "Umaga" (ugh), William Regal, Mr. Kennedy and Vince McMahon (sic) himself (none of which would have EVER been deemed worthy of being "the one" to put the legendary Nature Boy Ric Flair into retirement) SLICK RIC finally did choose the opponent to whom he would "pass the torch" so to speak - Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. HBK. The guy who idolized Ric Flair and whose only true heartbreaking has always been victimizing his own heart. This is just another example of it - though an allegorical one as it truly doesn't mean a thing to whom Flair lost his final match - he just needed to be pinned for three seconds in order to call it a career; in order to be allowed to walk away from the squared circle - something several fans of his never wanted to see happen. But every other member of the Four Horsemen is GONE already (save one - Sting aka Steve Borden, and he wasn't a Horsemen long. Double J, Jeff Jarrett, was also a Horseman but, according to Arn, he "doesn't count") and so, every other member being GONE already; Flair had to ride into the sunset too. *Space Mountain* had to close down.

The final farewell, the last speech, left something to be desired though.
(...)



THIRTY-SIX YEARS...
Man - and most of that AFTER a plane crash accident that had doctors telling him that he'd NEVER WRESTLE AGAIN...

Thirty-six years is also almost as long as I have been on this EARTH!

No wonder I am a lifelong Flair fan;
as long as I have been aware of him, anyway
and it it definitely possible that I was a Flair fan BEFORE I even became aware of the guy's accomplishments...!

Accomplishments that are all in the realm of make-believe and showmanship though; but that's okay since I myself am but a dream weaver, a scribesman, and, besides, NONE of our deeds, no matter WHAT WE ACCOMPLISH ON THIS PLANET AND IN THIS LIFE, will remain - what will remain, are our SOULS and their worthiness is for Someone Else to pass judgment upon...

But I am digressing again...
Back to wrestling!

Now that Ric Flair is gone - we have, for a few years at the very least, Ric Drasin to turn to! "The other Ric" aka "The Equalizer" is awesome, I tell you: as much as Flair is an improved Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, Drasin is an improved Superstar Billy Graham (and no, Ric D is not to be confused with Dave Sullivan, WCW's wrestler once known as the Equalizer too - just as Superstar B.G. is not to be confused with the televangelist!)
Plus, when Ric Drasin makes a film (the projected "The Midnight Bell" pitting vampires against wrestlers) it will be closer to cult classic material like masked luchadore Santo used to make - not 'Baywatch' crap as Ric Flair participated in (the highlight of which was when he told Kevin Sullivan to lay off Macho Man Randy Savage on the beach, after a sneak attack by the man Flair calls (affectionately?) "the devil"...
(No, folks, that's not quite "classic fare" - not in my book...!
In all fairness to Flair and all that; he wasn't a Shakespearian actor! He played the crowd well (can still do it, in a managerial role, à la Classie Freddie Blassie - if he so chooses) but that is not actual "acting"... But I digress yet again...)

I am proud to count Ric The Equalizer Drasin among my top 40 MySpace friends!
Couldn't find Flair on there though; apparently, "Flair don't do MySpace"...
Well, maybe he will now that he's retired...?

Flair eluded a forced retirement (forced by DEFEAT! Storyline-wise, anyway...) against the likes of Mr. Kennedy, soon-to-be crowned King of the Ring William Regal, Umaga, self-proclaimed legend-killer/reigning world heavyweight champion Randy Orton, Triple H, MVP and everyone's boss himself, Vince McMahon and handpicked the one that he would allow to put him in the retirement home/Hall of Fame - HBK Shawn Michaels.

His 36 years in the business gave him that right - at least.

Still, he was put away by a superkick to the JAW.
Ugh.

Such a business that treats its longest-standing and constantly proven and performing model employees like THAT may not be the "ideal business" at all...

Nice send-off they gave "Naitch", sure...
complete with chants of "thank you Ric"
and clapping aplenty -
but still...

McMahon is happy now: he put away WCW and now Flair too.
Next up: tarnish Rey Mysterio, humiliate Paul Wight and crush every last bit of WCW's legacy and nostalgia amongst the fans the same way they are so "brilliantly" making use of old NWA/WCW footage on WWE 24/7 and Eddie Guerrero's widow on their second-rate brand, Smackdown...
Oh, and abusing old WCW titles and the Cruiserweight division as well.

Again, to read more about how I feel about it,
check out the Lukewarm Blog.

5 commentaires:

Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ a dit…

They do say that Ric Flair faced them all...

And beat them all!

From Bruiser Brody to Brock Lesnar - he did wrestle everybody there was to wrestle, indeed!

From Wahoo McDaniel to that yahoo Vince McMahon - he sure did beat them all too, pinning them for the 1-2-3... wooooooooo!

But...

Nature Boy Ric Flair will never wrestle ME - Luminous Luciano!

That is a tragedy in itself.
:(

Cause... if Flair ked his Horsemen - I would have led my Musketeers! Or "Luminous Seven" - yeah!

And, if the Liberace of wrestling, Rico, managed to steal one from the Nature Boy...
So could Luminous Luciano!

*lol*

Now, we'll just never see it happen... Not on Pay-Per-View, not on Smackdown... Certainly not on Nitro or Thunder, where I had wanted to see it occur!

Well, maybe I can wrestle Ric's son Reid... or David, if he ever returns to the ring himself.

British Bulldog's son, Bret Hart's nephew, Jerry Lawler's little bastard - they're all easy pickings and I have no interest in wrestling them!

But wrestling a Flair - now, that's an honor!

And it doesn't have to be Ric's daughter either!

Although that would be more than an honor then - *LOL*

'Nuff said!

Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ a dit…

And I would be remiss if I didn't add...

Woooooooooooo!

No, that's not it...

Rather, if you do click on any of the links in time to get to see some of the testimonies and "good wishes" in video over at wwe.com...

Tully Blanchard talks about the 5 years he spent with Flair and the Horsemen, practically 24/7, giving it all for the wrestling fan (as well they should; no fans, no business and no business = no cash! Flair knew best; he had good business sense! Woooooooo!)

J.J. Dillon talks about the treasured memories of those "good times" - which included partying together... Horseman-style! All part of that Horseman lifestyle, eh? TMI, Dillon...

Greg Valentine talks about the days when he and Ric were tag-team partners; shortly after his dad, Johnny Valentine, and Ric Flair had been tag-team partners too. And then Greg "The Hammer" had found out how tough Ric Flair really was when he was his opponent a few short years later, following his first stay in the McMahon Circus up north...

Dusty Rhodes also chimes in: he says, in his own inimitable colorful style, that there are legends, there are icons, and those words are used lightly at best these days... But "from day forth, Ric Flair is a National Treasure". How nice coming from such an arch-rival, eh? They were really best friends the whole time through, of course...

The best and most stunning testimonial though is Harley Race's.

Race, the rugged "unbeatable champion" of the early 1980s, a throwback to an earlier era already back then - the first to fall before the Nature Boy who did "defeat them all" on his way to over 16 World Championships...

And what does this tough, hard-as-nails, hardened by the years man named Harley have to say...?

He says, and I quote, that: "if there's any way for a man to love another man without losing his dignity, that's the way I appreciate (you) Ric Flair" and he states that he did tell this to Flair the moment he got inside the ring for the send-off and "thank you Ric" goodbye chants...

Wow.

That's right - "wow", not woooooooo!

Wrestlers are just big softies with hearts of gold - and there is a true bond between these fine thespians, artists of the squared circle; artists who are nothing like the dumb blokes found in boxing...

Ric Flair is the Rembrandt of the Ring - his canvas was the wrestling ring, just like it was for Harley Race, Buddy Rogers, Lou Thesz...
And countless more.

True camaraderie exists between these guys - just like true animosity as well (just ask Bruiser Brody's assassin...)

But in overwhelming abundance, it is the camaraderie that exists - and that is always amazing to see.


Appearances are deceiving.
They really are.

Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ a dit…

Some typos, earlier...
"Flair ked his Horsemen..." instead of "Flair led..." - of course.

Then, in the 2nd comment, "testimonies and "good wishes" in video" instead of "testimonials and good wishes on video"

Well, nobody's perfect, ok?

*lol*

On a sidenote now, on MySpace, the WrestlingRevealed.com dudes told me, flat out, that Vince McMahon will never resurrect WCW because he "thinks negatively" of that "name" (couldn't be because of any knowledge of French that he might have, is it? "Les W.C." does mean something else, but... I still say he is bitter about the company that very nearly ruined him completely!)

Still, I had another reply for those dudes...



IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT VINNIE MAC THINKS!
*WCW* rolls off the tongue much better than ECW and even moreso than "WWE" EVER WILL! A well-written angle of WCW guys leading an INSURRECTION, REVOLUTION or whatever other name they want to give it, would be a 1000 times better than any "backlash" that leads nowhere fast or an umpteenth "judgment day" that fails to be either decisive or apocalyptic in any way! KING OF THE RING REGAL would be ideal now to lead a revolt; with, perhaps, Ric Flair returning in a supporting role...

BUT, I know, VKM will never do it, okay it or anything, because he is full of rancor and venom - EVEN when he WINS! Imagine when he loses...





On another sidenote, TULLY BLANCHARD himself is now Luminous Luciano's friend on MySpace...!

He really wants to sell me a copy of his autobiography, but still - an original member of the Four Horsemen! Woooooooo!


Diamonds are forever -
and so are the Four Horsemen!
And Ric Flair!
And Luminous Luciano!
(By association, you know...?)

Wooooooooooooo!

*lol*

Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ a dit…


''WCW'' is quickly catching on as a NEW HASHTAG on social media now...!!!

HAHAHA

How do you like THAT, McMahon??? HUH???

Just like the Diamond Cutter...
Or Flair's Thunderous Chops... (of flops, mind you...)
Or Arn Anderson's Devastating Spine Buster...!

YOU NEVER SAW IT COMING... McMAHON!!!

You... ninny!

*ROTFLMBO*

Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ a dit…



*WCW LIVES* therefore...

And it is McMahon's brand of ''WWF'' that has disappeared completely off the face of the earth... except for those who support the World Wildlife Fund, of course.

Sad, eh?

:-(