Ric Flair reveals iconic ‘I’m sorry, I love you’ moment at WresteMania with Shawn Michaels wasn’t planned
It has been 12 years since Ric Flair's final WWE match.
He is a legend in the business and had a glorious wrestling career that has spanned around 40 years.
And that final match, at WrestleMania 24 in 2008, saw one of the most iconic moments in the company's history.
Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before, but the stipulation of his match the next day was if he lost, he had to retire.
Shawn Michaels was his opponent. Two of the greatest ever in-ring performers came together for one final showdown in the winter of their careers.
Michaels defeated The Nature Boy with a Sweet Chin Music, but it's best remembered for the words he uttered before delivering it.
"I'm sorry, I love you."
It has become a WrestleMania moment that is still played today and will be for generations to come.
When talkSPORT caught up with Ric Flair before WrestleMania 36, he was asked about it and he revealed it wasn't supposed to happen.
"Yes [it's my favourite WrestleMania moment], by far. And that wasn't rehearsed, that wasn't even discussed. That was just raw, pure emotion. He knew that I didn't want to leave. I think Vince knew that too, but it was time. I wish that I had never wrestled again and that was my last match.
"But, I think I've outlived [that work] thanks to the things I did after that and hopefully it will be remembered as the last thing I did in wrestling. Besides working with my daughter which has been a tremendous treat for me."
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Speaking on Steve Austin's 'Stone Cold Podcast' in 2015, Michaels said it was a dream come true to share that moment and it all just happened organically.
"I told him that I loved him and I can't say it without getting weepy half the time," Michaels said. "You have to understand, the guy who was in the ring with him, I was in there in body but inside it was the 15-year-old kid who watched him every Saturday. It was, 'Thank you for giving me this honour, and I love you for it.'"