There's a ton of excitement surrounding Ric Flair's last match, which will take place during SummerSlam weekend, but the WWE Hall of Famer is dealing with a very painful foot injury. After months of speculation, Flair's opponents and tag-team partner have been set. He'll be teaming with son-in-law and AEW star Andrade El Idolo, and they'll be doing battle with WWE Senior Vice President Of Live Events Jeff Jarrett and ROH standout Jay Lethal.
That's quite the collection of names, and it shows that AEW and WWE aren't averse to having their talents appear side by side. To some degree, this is a continuation of a trend that fans saw during John Cena's recent 20-year anniversary. Various AEW wrestlers who'd formally worked in WWE, including Chris Jericho, were allowed to cut video messages for Cena that aired live on Monday Night Raw. Don't expect a co-branded pay-per-view between the two companies, but these olive branches matter.
In true Ric Flair fashion, he's been training hard for his match, which will headline Starcast V. In the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer detailed the foot injury that The Nature Boy is dealing with. "Flair has been bothered of late with a very painful foot issue, plantar fasciitis, which would keep a wrestler in his prime out for several weeks. But he’s working nonetheless. He was in a lot of pain over the weekend but was improving by press time." During an interview with Busted Open Radio, Flair detailed how he planned on dealing with the pain ahead of the match. "I would just deaden it if I had to (shoot up with a numbing agent before the match), you know me, but it affects me daily."
Meltzer also shared just how much work Flair has been putting in to get his body ready for this match. Fans have been concerned about his well-being because he has a pacemaker and is 73, but it sounds like he's doing all he can to be as prepared as possible. Flair has teased hitting a crossbody off of the top rope during Starcast V.
It was also reported by Meltzer that Andrade is dealing with a foot injury too, but he's not willing to allow that to prevent him from wrestling in this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. The Starcast V card is loaded with some of the best independent talent around. From Impact, The Wolves are squaring off with The Motorcity Machineguns. Out of MLW, Killer Kross and Harry Smith will wrestle, while Forbidden Door standout and NJPW star Clark Connors will take on Ren Narita, among others. It's unclear how involved Charlotte Flair will be, as she's under a wrestling contract with WWE.
Sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Busted Open Radio