#FiftyMatches: Nitro's Last Night

Sting v. Ric Flair

WCW Nitro
March 26, 2001

"Thank you Steve Borden. Thank you Ric Flair, for everything you've meant to this sport." -Scott Hudson

For the most loyal fans of World Championship Wrestling, it still must feel like the ultimate indignity. The last thing they would see before the two stars most synonymous with their beloved wrestling promotion faced off was Vince McMahon, the man most responsible for putting WCW out of business.


On the scale of mind-blowing nights in the history of professional wrestling, the final episode of WCW Nitro rates somewhere well north of an 11. The company had been on the ropes for some time, but the series of events that spelled its final and complete demise as a competitive entity to the World Wrestling Federation came swiftly. Television programs were cancelled. A desperate, last-minute attempt was made to keep the promotion alive, but it was too late. WCW, and its long, storied history, was purchased by the WWF for mere millions.


For many, it's hard to understand how crushing those events were for the fans who loved WCW. Some never moved on. They're too proud, too die-hard, to ever allow the WWF, and later WWE, to fill the professional wrestling void left in their lives. For those fans of WCW, this match was the closest thing to a consolation they would get: Ric Flair and Sting writing the final chapter in the history of the company they helped build.

The match is little more than a greatest hits collection from both men. You get the feeling they could have done it in their sleep. To be perfectly honest, it's not much to write home about. Ric Flair even commits the sin of competing in a t-shirt. For a while, it almost seems like it's all just an excuse for Tony Shiavone and Scott Hudson to list the accolades of both men, and WCW as well. It's a eulogy under the guise of a wrestling match.


I think there were a lot of people watching this match who thought this was the last time either Sting or Ric Flair would appear in a wrestling ring. Today, we know that was far from the truth. Both men still had a lot to give, even after some fans stopped asking for it. Still, even with the benefit of hindsight, this final encounter on WCW Nitro is thick with memories, uncertainty and even a hint of regret.


When it's over, there's nothing left to do but watch two of the greats embrace and listen to Tony Schiavone thank the fans and profess the love and dedication he and so many others put into a company that may not have gone out on its own terms, but went out with its head held high.