WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and veteran WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler were among the surprise roasters at The Roast of Ric Flair on Friday night at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was roasted by wrestlers, celebrities, friends, and others, while he watched from his throne on the stage. The Rock and Ziggler checked in via video as did some of the other roasters. You can see clips and photos below.
Flair was introduced by sportscaster Brad Nessler, who was the Roast Master. He was in good spirits for the event, and at times was seen getting emotional during many of the different speeches.
Rock checked in from a tarmac and recalled some Flair memories from his childhood, and how kind Flair was to him when he was just 8 years old. Rock also recalled meeting Flair years later at a NWA convention, and how Flair treated him special, and made him feel so special. Rock went on about getting to work with Flair years later, and revealed how when his own father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, passed away in January 2020, Flair was one of the first ones to text him and say he would be at the funeral.
Rock pointed to Flair’s incredible accomplishments, calling them business-shifting and crediting Flair for creating new paradigms, but aside from those and that “Ric Flair drip” that he brought to the game, The Great One thinks the best thing about The Nature Boy is the human being that he is. Rock thanked Flair for being such a good, kind human being, and for being kind to his family, especially his grandmother when he worked for her in Hawaii as that still means a lot to Rock today. Rock sent love to Flair and congratulated him on his last match, and ended the message with a “Wooo!” to the crowd.
Ziggler, billed as Nick Nemeth, dropped F-bombs about Flair losing to The Miz and said it should’ve been him. Ziggler also praised Flair as an icon, a legend, and the greatest of all-time, and joked that he is more importantly Ziggler’s windshield repair spokesman, a reference to Flair’s endorsement deal with CarShield. Ziggler also recalled time spent with Flair and WWE Hall of Famer Gene Okerlund, and finished his promo with a shot.
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray ripped up a script he said was written for him, and got the crowd to give a “standing fucking ovation” to The Nature Boy. Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs also appeared live on the stage and appeared to be doing great health-wise. Legendary actor/comedian Chevy Chase also sent in a brief video, where he called Flair number one and held up his middle finger. WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page joked about Flair never actually retiring and polled the fans with a survey in a tribute to WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall.
Flair ended the Roast with his own speech at the podium, and that’s where he really broke down crying when talking about wife Wendy and in response to the “thank you Ric!” chants. Twitter user @TrevorDame has a pretty interesting recap of the Roast, including what sounds like a bizarre segment with WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff. You can read his lengthy thread at this link.
Starrcast V weekend will wrap on Sunday with Flair’s return to the ring as he teams with son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to face Jay Lethal and WWE Hall of Famer & Senior Vice President of Live Events Jeff Jarrett. This will be the main event of the one-night-only “Jim Crockett Promotions Presents: Ric Flair’s Last Match” event at the Municipal Auditorium.
Below are several clips, photos and tweets from The Roast of Ric Flair:
@TheRock showed up on the #RoastOfRicFlair… Wow! Moving. Thank you Rock. Thank you Ric! #starrcast pic.twitter.com/TpMJWIpgxW
— “Mr. International” Cyrus Fees 🎤🌎 (@cyrustheshow) July 30, 2022
Many thanks to former World Heavyweight Champion & one of the greatest performers of today, @HEELZiggler, for the message to @RicFlairNatrBoy during the #FlairRoast at #STARRCASTV!
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy pic.twitter.com/8lRqlWuBdf
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
When it was @bullyray5150’s time to speak at the #FlairRoast, he decided to take an unconventional route.
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy #STARRCASTV pic.twitter.com/KLeK0vaI4i
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
Great to see The Nasty Boy, Brian Knobbs, at The Roast of Ric Flair!
📺: https://t.co/VTjob3qiz6 #STARRCASTV pic.twitter.com/YXi5n3Xnk2
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
.@RealDDP surveys the crowd at The Roast of @RicFlairNatrBoy!#STARRCASTV
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy pic.twitter.com/xaEY1tApa7
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
.@RicFlairNatrBoy walks that aisle for #RoastofRicFlair streaming on @FiteTV @StarrcastEvents #RicFlairsLastMatch #RicFlair | @Kevkellam @bradgilmore pic.twitter.com/SjvPupvlYN
— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) July 30, 2022
.@Torrie11 has taken the stage…
…and our hearts. 😍🥰🤗
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy pic.twitter.com/IlPL5mY70U
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
#RoastofRicFlair is rolling now, a really fun vibe in the air. No one is pulling punches. Stream on @FiteTV #Starrcast pic.twitter.com/APM2QKdmiZ
— Kevin 'Heff' Kellam (@Kevkellam) July 30, 2022
I’ve seen some aggressive roasts in my day, but that @RicFlairNatrBoy roast took the cake!!! Congrats to the NAITTTTCHAAAAA BOOOOYYY and @StarrcastEvents for such an incredible night!!! Ric is my hero!!!
— Dean “Mojo” Muhtadi (@MojoMuhtadi) July 30, 2022
.@therocket951’s own @thecasiokid had some specific… insight… on @RealDDP at the #FlairRoast.
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy#STARRCASTV @RicFlairNatrBoy pic.twitter.com/ect9qeBCgi
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
It’s a FULL house here in #Nashville for The Roast of @RicFlairNatrBoy #STARRCASTV!
Members of the @Titans, @PredsNHL, celebrities, Hall of Famers & more are here with thousands of fans to salute The Nature Boy!
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy pic.twitter.com/bQr94YWhjR
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
Shout out to long time friend of #STARRCAST @RonFunches for taking the time to take part in The Roast of @RicFlairNatrBoy!
📺: https://t.co/VTjob38HHy #STARRCASTV pic.twitter.com/U4yubmfJxi
— #StarrcastV (@StarrcastEvents) July 30, 2022
Ric Flair proclaims Vickie Guerrero and Stephanie McMahon are the greatest female heels of all time!#RoastOfRicFlair @RicFlairNatrBoy @StephMcMahon @VickieGuerrero @StarrcastEvents @FiteTV pic.twitter.com/Yg281LB4uZ
— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) July 30, 2022
What a night, thank you @RicFlairNatrBoy pic.twitter.com/y0VDaj83qJ
— SHULI (@shalomshuli) July 30, 2022
Thank you @RicFlairNatrBoy what awesome night @StarrcastEvents pic.twitter.com/I8TM5Nu0YM
— Darren Schaefer (@DarrenSchaefer7) July 30, 2022
I miss @shalomshuli on the Stern show but watching him kill the room live @StarrcastEvents was awesome.
— justin davis (@jd2040) July 30, 2022
DDP and Torrie Wilson at The Roast Of Ric Flair.@RealDDP @Torrie11 #WCW #RicFlairsLastMatch @StarrcastEvents pic.twitter.com/tBcx51sS2w
— 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐕𝐞𝐧 (@WrestlingCovers) July 30, 2022
Let’s party! @StarrcastEvents @RicFlairNatrBoy #StarrcastV pic.twitter.com/FibBkLLGyy
— Jameson Hutchison (@Jamesonrulez) July 30, 2022
Ready for the roasting! pic.twitter.com/huxN9JCF2O
— 🐝Santa Vol 🍊🎅🏈⚾️🏀🐝 (@Santa_Vol) July 30, 2022
The Rock and Dolph Ziggler Make Surprise Appearances at The Roast of Ric Flair