And then, there was one.

One more dance for the most respected in-ring competitor in professional wrestling; one more opportunity for the consensus best of all time to remind fans of his greatness and himself of the legacy he has compiled over the course of five decades in the industry.

Ric Flair walked that aisle, joining his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to battle Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett in the match that drew the crowd, sold the tickets and had the eyes of the industry focused on Nashville.

The hype was at a high, the pageantry, too.

Then came the match.

Lethal and El Idolo carried the majority of the in-ring action, with Jarrett popping in and out to provide old-school heel heat and Flair getting spots in here and there. He bled, because of course he did, and even managed to fake a heart attack to set up an eye poke to Lethal.

Yes, you read that last sentence correctly.

The babyfaces won because Flair was never going to lose, and he cut a tearful post-match promo after giving props to Undertaker, Mick Foley and Bret Hart at ringside. Confetti fell and the show went off the air with images of Flair from decades past.

When his greatness was never in doubt and long before he would wrestle his final match. And the next one. Then, this one.

Before diving into that, though, it is absolutely imperative to give El Idolo, Lethal and Jarrett major props. They were in a high-pressure situation in which their work was going to be key to whether the match was successful or not.

They did their jobs and made sure Flair was in the position he needed to be for the key spots in the match.

With that said, this probably never should have happened.

No, it is not on this writer, fans or even Flair's peers to tell him when he has to step away from the squared circle. He put in the work to get the match to the ring and absolutely earned the right to do whatever he wants in an industry he has been so hugely influential in.

He wanted this, and he got it. But that does not mean he should have.

Flair was out of it on more than one occasion, appearing unaware of what was going on around him. At one point, El Idolo slipped brass knuckles on his shaking hand in a moment that was not so much entertaining as it was concerning.

Fans chanted "you've still got it," but he did not. As he stood bleeding, limping his way around ringside and basking in the cheers of the fans, it felt less like a celebration of one of the greatest this artform has ever seen and more like the extended cut of the great film The Wrestler, in which Mickey Rourke's Randy the Ram risks health and well-being for one last go-round in the squared circle.

Flair's body of work earned him this night. His contributions to the industry are why legends like The Phenom, The Hitman and The Hardcore Legend gathered around the guardrail to pay respect.

As great as he was, as enormous as his legacy is, and iconic as he will forever be, this absolutely must be his last match because, by the time that bell rang to signify its conclusion, it was not nostalgia running wild but, rather, discomfort.

Flair is on the Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling, a legend among fans and his peers. Let him stay that way.

Or as the band Fuel once memorably sang, "leave the memories alone."

Flair and El Idolo defeated Jarrett and Lethal

C, maybe. The presentation and effort were off-the-charts, but it still made for one of the most unusual, at times uncomfortable, watches in recent memory.

Top Moments

• Cameras caught The Undertaker at ringside, with wife Michelle McCool and their daughter, sitting next to his legendary rival and fellow Hall of Famer, Mick Foley.
• Flair broke out the big gold belt version of the world's heavyweight championship that he made famous as the headliner for Jim Crockett Promotions, the NWA and WCW.
• David Crockett put over the fact that Lethal, by training with Flair for his in-ring return, knows what the Nature Boy can and cannot do.
• Flair strutted, then thrust his hips toward Karen Jarrett at ringside in a spot that popped the crowd.
• The crowd erupted for Flair's Figure Four on Lethal.
• Flair's eldest daughter, Megan, attacked Karen Jarrett at ringside. 
• Andrade slipped a pair of brass knuckles on his father-in-law's hand, helped him to his feet and watched as he knocked Jarrett unconscious.