RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling Hulk Hogan goes down....under, that is!

Last year’s Wrestlemania 24 weekend will always be remembered for the greatest send-off in the history of professional wrestling.

It’s when “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, at the age of 59, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, wrestled his “farewell” match against Shawn Michaels, and was honored on Monday Night Raw like no other before him.

The week was magical, electric and emotional. It’s unlikely that there will ever be another pro wrestling retirement ceremony to match it — not for Shawn Michaels, not for Triple H, not for The Undertaker. It was a moment in time that will never be forgotten.

Many had hoped Flair, widely regarded as the greatest performer of the modern age of pro wrestling, would ride off into the sunset and leave that moment behind to be cherished forever.

That’s when the scene fades to black. In the perfect world, the good guy always gets the girl, sinks the basket at the buzzer, scores the winning touchdown.

But that’s only in the movies — and professional wrestling — where the ultimate outcome is designed to send the fans home happy.

Ric Flair, the forever limousine-riding, jet-flying, kiss-stealing, wheeling and dealing son of a gun, has lived his gimmick. And that’s not about to change anytime soon.

The 16-time world champion has always maintained that he loves the wrestling business with a passion. It’s consumed his life for the past 35 years — so deeply that it’s left relationships, including several wives, in its wake. He’s openly admitted it and lamented the fact many times. It’s even in his book for everyone to see.

His marriage to his third wife dissolved just months after officially “retiring” from the business. She wanted him to be Richard Fliehr. He still wanted to be Ric Flair.

Deep down inside, though, we all knew he could never be anyone but Ric Flair.

His announcement last week that he’s coming out of retirement to work a tour of Australia in November with Hulk Hogan might have come as a shock to many fans who never wanted to see Flair in the ring again with anyone, much less Hogan, who’s always seemed to maintain the political edge in their dealings over the years.

There was always a distinct difference, other than ring ability, between the two. Hogan once boasted he was bigger than the business. Flair, however, always said the sport meant everything to him, and that he would never be able to do enough to repay it.

The truth is that Flair’s been itching to get back into the ring since he officially left it. He tried to stay away, bit it was like caging a wild bird who wanted to be free.

And it’s not like Flair has been idle since his last match. Over the past year he’s been on the road more than he was during the end of his in-ring career. On Friday he became the official face of the North Carolina Education Lottery when he helped unveil a new instant “Wooooooo!” scratch-off ticket at an event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. There’s a good chance his image may be on tickets in surrounding states soon.

On Thursday he was speaking to high school students and helping kick-start the annual fundraising campaign for the United Fund of Marion County.

Offers pour in on a daily basis for the Nature Boy, and he has spent nearly every weekend the past year making special appearances at autograph signings, wrestling conventions and independent shows.

But he misses the spotlight. And the real spotlight for Flair has always been inside a wrestling ring.

At age 60, Flair doesn’t claim to be the best in the business anymore, having long left that label to younger and more current superstars. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still step into the squared circle and entertain an audience. It’s where he most feels at home. There he truly is in his element.

And that’s where the situation stands today.

Two of the biggest stars in the history of professional wrestling will return to the ring for a tour of Australia in two months. Flair will once again work with the man he shared the pro wrestling spotlight with over the past quarter-century.

Former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, no stranger to Flair, is helping promote the “Hulkamania — Let the Battle Begin” tour.

The tour, which begins Nov. 20, will cover four cities in Australia, but officials hope to add more. It has all the makings to turn into something much bigger than an Aussie campaign.

Flair, who is at his Wrestlemania 24 weight of 228 pounds, plans to immediately begin training for the tour, and says he’ll be in wrestling shape by the time he steps back into the ring.

Flair, however, probably won’t have to work that hard to carry the 56-year-old Hogan, whose physical limitations in the ring have been a major concern in recent years. Hogan hasn’t worked a match since a Summer Slam appearance in 2006 against Randy Orton. And he looked far from ring worthy three years ago.

Flair believes Hogan will be able to go when the tour gets under way.

No matter, says Flair, who vows he won’t get back in the ring unless he meets his own personal standards. To that end, he says, he’ll be working hard and training until show time.

Hogan has lobbied hard to get Flair on board for a tour, and has told him in the past that Flair was the only person he could have a match with. Hogan proved his loyalty by helping his longtime adversary out with a show last December in Charlotte that Flair was using to showcase son Reid. Hogan appeared at a high school gym for free.

And, of course, there’s the monetary reasons that make working the tour good business sense.

The joke has always been that Ric Flair has burned through more money than the considerable amount he’s ever earned. And that’s not too far from the truth.

Even Hogan has taken major financial hits because of a messy divorce and family problems. He’s become a tabloid magnet in recent years. He filed a lawsuit just last week against his former lawyers for billing him more than $1 million for services that Hogan claims should have been free. He and ex-wife Linda are are simultaneously selling both their multi-million-dollar Pinellas County (Fla.) homes following their contentious divorce.

The major consideration in Flair’s decision to return was getting approval from the two people most involved in his retirement — Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. His respect for both, he says, superseded his personal desire to get back in the ring. It was Michaels who sent him out in that special retirement match, and McMahon who provided the backdrop. Flair says he would have never signed a deal without their blessing.

In a real world, Michaels told his friend, there would have been no better ending than Wrestlemania 24. But there’s never really that one last match. Not in the wrestling world.

Perhaps no one understands that world better than Vince McMahon.

Time will tell if it was the right decision for Flair. But considering what Ric Flair’s given to the business — the blood, the sweat and the tears — no one should begrudge him the chance.

- The Hogan-Flair tour also will include The Nasty Boys, Ken Anderson (formerly WWE’s Ken Kennedy) Eddie Fatu (formerly WWE’s Umaga), Charles “Godfather” Wright, Sean Morely (the former Val Venis), Lacey Von Erich and Shannon Moore. The group is attempting to sign former WWE champ Jeff Hardy to the tour, although Hardy has a slight situation to deal with before he can head out on tour.

The recently WWE-departed Hardy was arrested nine days ago on multiple drug charges after a raid on his North Carolina home. Police allegedly found anabolic steroids, a large amount of painkillers and cocaine residue on drug paraphernalia. One of the charges is opium trafficking. That count carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years upon conviction.

One major star who won’t be doing the tour is former world champion Bill Goldberg.

“Zero plans to join Hogan’s Tour ... The old man wants all the $ for himself. Plus three reality shows on tap,” Goldberg wrote on his Twitter account.