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Ric Flair, 73, returns to wrestling ring for 'final match' in July at Nashville Fairgrounds

Ric Flair will return to the wrestling ring at Nashville Fairgrounds for his "final match".

Flair, 73, will lace up the boots for the first time in 11 years as a part of the Starrcast pro wrestling fan fest on July 31 under the banner of Jim Crockett Promotions at the Fairgrounds, according to the event's website. Flair's opponents and the rest of the event card has not been announced. The event will be streamed on FITE, and tickets go on sale May 27.

Flair's last match was in TNA (now IMPACT Wrestling and still based in Nashville) in Sept. 12, 2011. Flair wrestled on a part-time basis for a few years after his official retirement match from the WWE at WrestleMania 24 in 2008. The WWE Hall of Famer had health issues in 2017 that threatened his life —including early-stage kidney failure, heart issues that required a pacemaker and the removal of a section of his intestines, according to an Associated Press report.

Former professional wrestler Ric Flair on the field before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans at TIAA Bank Field on December 19, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Former professional wrestler Ric Flair on the field before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans at TIAA Bank Field on December 19, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida.

However, video surfaced on social media earlier this month of Flair working out in a wrestling ring with Jay Lethal.

JCP was the former wrestling promotion that expanded regionally in the 1970s through the early 1990s headlined by Flair and other wrestlers like Dusty Rhodes and The Rock N' Roll Express. The July 31 card will start at 6:05 p.m. ET, a throwback to weekly start times from JCP's heyday.

Starrcast is a three-day pro wrestling fan fest founded by podcaster (and Flair's son-in-law) Conrad Thompson, and often takes place in the same place and around the same time as major wrestling shows. July's Starrcast is the fifth such event and will take place on the same weekend as WWE's SummerSlam event at Nissan Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: WWE: Ric Flair back in wrestling ring. Final match: July at Nashville