Ric Flair, 73, handles 'pressure,' authors classic performance in winning his final wrestling match

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ric Flair did his trademark strut. He led the crowd in chanting «Woo!» The legendary pro wrestler even bled, the color red drenching his face and recognizable white hair like it would have in the 1970s or 1980s.

And fittingly, Flair's final wrestling match ended Sunday night here at a sold-out Municipal Auditorium with the figure-four leglock, the finishing move that is synonymous with «The Nature Boy.» Flair, 73, was the winner, of course, in a tag team match alongside partner and son-in-law Andrade against the team of Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. The attendance was nearly 10,000, per broadcast provider Fite TV.

Flair was clearly exhausted by the end of his first match since 2011, but he was healthy enough by the end to walk out under his own power and do an interview with longtime wrestling broadcaster Tony Schiavone. After the match, Flair was helped out of the ring, and he greeted his family in the front row, as well as pro-wrestling luminaries The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Mick Foley.

«I had one of my best matches of my career here with Ricky Steamboat,» Flair said. «All my family is here. We made jokes about me being married five times. All the kids are here. One wife, but all my granddaughters. My friends are here. I swear to God, guys. If I didn't have enough pressure on me tonight, f---ing Kid Rock walked into the locker room tonight.»

The grueling match was nearly 30 minutes long and, while it was clear Flair was not the same man who transcended pro wrestling in the '70s, '80s and '90s and Andrade, Lethal and Jarrett did the bulk of the hard-hitting moves, Flair was able to hold his own weight. He landed chops and punches, his donkey kick low blow and even took a vertical suplex from Lethal,