| From WorldWrestlingInsanity.com Insanity Year End Section
Matches are what the industry is all about. It's what gets you into the arena and keeps you coming back for more. Every promo, skit, story, and character is designed to help sell them. This year, one bout stood out to both staff and readers. It was - Whoooo - by God - historic...
2008's Match of The Year is...
Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair
Readers
"No other match this year had such significance and so much emotional investment by the fans and people in the wrestling business as Ric Flair’s (hopefully) final match. I think from a fans point of view it surpassed all expectations, Shawn’s “I’m sorry, I love you” is a moment that I’ll never forget (and good lord does my memory suck) and it lead to possibly the greatest real moment in WWE history on Raw the next night. Almost pipped to the post by Braden Walker’s debut match.
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"The WWE even realized how amazing this match was by awarding the Slammy to it. The retirement match of the greatest wrestler ever defintely provided more genuine emotions and reality than any other match I've ever seen. Flair, on his final night, delievered a show-stealer with the Heartbreak Kid that provided goosebumps, tears, and one final rendition of Sweet Chin Music for the Nature Boy."
"I wasn’t too sure I rated this so highly when I first saw it but the more you watch it the more you realise just how good a match this was and how fine a way it was for the top-flight career of one of the greatest ever to come to a close."
"I have to say that while there were other matches that were technically superior (dozens in both WWE and ROH, and a couple in TNA), few, if any, had the emotion and the sense of grandeur as this one. Even though it had a few technical flaws, to me, this is the epitome of the perfect match with the perfect setting. Two wrestlers you genuinely care about, fighting for more than you could ever imagine, in front of a sold out crowd at the biggest event of the year. And lets not forget the ending. Tell me how many people you know who saw that match didn’t go around repeating Michaels’, “I’m sorry. I love you,” line? Only the greatest of matches have you repeating lines from them."
"I gotta go with a tie between Nigel vs. Austin Aries at Rising Above (I know the match took place on 12/29/07, but it wasn't aired until this March), and Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WMXXIV. Nigel vs. Aries was an amazing match from a workrate standpoint, but HBK vs. Flair told an incredible story and was probably the most emotional match I've ever witnessed."
"This was just the perfect mesh of storytelling, drama, great working and a few highspots thrown in for good measure. Never mind that these two are considerably older than most of the people who typically qualify for these honors: for one night, these two were both at their absolute peak again. If parts of this match don't make "WrestleMania Moments" highlight reels for the next decade, I'd be shocked.
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