Live in the Amway Arena, where two nights ago, Flair was inducted into the Hall of Fame, they tease first John Cena, then Triple H, but it's Randy Orton coming out to start the show proper. No one gave Orton a chance of retaining, and even Randy may have a case of amnesia, because it was just last week where he said he would win because of that. Now, he demands respect. Surprisingly, John Bradshaw Layfield, who beat Finlay last night, comes out, and challenges Orton. JBL leaves before Orton can muster a retort, and while he does, Matt Hardy swoops in from out of the crowd to attack. I guess this means Matt is being reassigned back to Raw instead of challenging MVP for the US title. Orton manages to escape, losing only his shirt.

After the break, Hardy is confronted by William Regal. Hardy requests a match with Orton, which Regal has to think about.

Match 1: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. Cryme Tyme Yo, yo, yo! Shad Gaspard & JTG are back after several months away. The 3-time tag team champs don't merit an entrance, in fact their music is fading as we cut back to the ring. Not a good sign, as we all know by now. The ending seemed to come out of nowhere. JTG was the face in peril, but after Murdoch missed a corner charge, JTG rolled up Trev and gained the fall! Winners: Cryme Tyme.

Cade & Murdoch can't believe it, as this ended so suddenly.

Footage is shown of Ric Flair defeating Harley Race to win the NWA title at Starrcade in 1983. Fellow Hall of Famer Gordon Solie and Bob Caudle are at the mic's for this classic match.

Shawn Michaels is headed to the ring to, according to Jim Ross, pour out his heart and soul. In another surprisingly short segment, Michaels talks about having a lot of bad emotions about beating Flair. He has too much respect and love for the Nature Boy not to bring his "A" game. He had a chance to "pull the trigger", as he put it, and he took it. He left the ring soon after.

Backstage, Shawn is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened. Regal tells him that "you did what you had to do", but adds that in his own opinion, it should've been done long ago. Shawn turns to his left, and finds Batista, visiting from Smackdown, glowering. Uh-oh!

Match 2: Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes vs. Brian Kendrick & Paul London (non-title) When was the last time the tag titles were defended? Oh, well. As with Cade & Murdoch in the last match, Kendrick & London don't get an entrance. Two weeks ago, Kendrick left London to the not-so-tender mercies of Umaga, but nothing has been said or done about that since, even though Kendrick was on the heel side of a 24-man tag last week on ECW. Holly paid his homage to Flair with a series of knife-edge chops to London, the last of which sent London to the floor. London lands feet-first after a backdrop and tags in Kendrick who meets Rhodes with a slingshot dropkick and a running dropkick. London low-bridges a hesitant Holly over the top. Rhodes sends London over with a lariat, but Kendrick rolls him up and bridges to gain the fall. Winners: Brian Kendrick & Paul London.

Footage is shown from Wrestle War 1989 when Ric Flair defeated Rick Steamboat to win his "6th" world title. JR & Caudle were calling this one.

Highlight reel up now from Wrestlemania 24, the first outdoor Mania in 15 years.

Match 3: Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk (non-title) Last week, these two were tag team partners, and a miscue by Jericho cost them the match. Last night, Punk gained a small measure of payback by winning the Money in the Bank ladder match. Short, back & forth match between them, as they traded kicks to start. Jericho missed a springboard dropkick, and acted as if he might've lost a tooth or injured his jaw. He missed a baseball slide dropkick, and Punk made him pay for it on the floor with a savate kick to the temple. Jericho missed a faceplant bulldog, and Punk missed with a lariat, setting up the Code Breaker. Winner: Chris Jericho.

Footage is shown of Flair winning the 1992 Royal Rumble, with Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan at the desk. They even showed a clip of Flair's post-match speech.

Big Show is out now. He puts over Flair telling him two nights ago that he was the greatest big man the Nature Boy ever faced. He says he's going to go back to doing what he does best, but no sooner than he says no one can stand up to him, well, cue the Great Khali. A staredown ensues, and Show tells Khali to back off. Khali growls something unintelligible. They appear poised to throw down, then staredown again, before Khali leaves. Hmmmmmm.

Match 4: Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy (non-title) These two have hooked up before, and their finishers are both variations of the same move, the Ace Crusher, more commonly known here in the US as the Diamond Cutter. The question, then, is who would strike first? Orton, with the RKO, or Hardy, with the Twist of Fate? If you recall the matches Orton had with Matt's brother Jeff, well, you get a good idea of what to expect. Easily the best match on the card in terms of psychology. Hardy was on the offensive from the word go, but then Orton began to turn it around. Back came Hardy, landing a Side Effect for 2. He went for the Twist of Fate, but Orton blocked it. Hardy with a backslide for 2. Hardy went to the middle rope, but Orton went to the floor. Hardy followed, and finally connected with the Twist. However, in the time it took for Hardy to drag the "dead weight" of Orton back into the ring, the champion had time to recover, and snapped off an RKO out of nowhere. Winner: Randy Orton.

Dusty Rhodes, one of Ric Flair's long-time rivals and contemporaries, tells us how words like "icon" & "legend" have been thrown around lightly. As of now, Flair is to be considered a national treasure. Amen, Dusty.

Backstage, as Orton catches his breath in the locker room, JBL comes in, admires the belt, and leaves.

Match 5: Maria Kanellis vs. Santino Marella (anything goes match) After his interference enabled Beth Phoenix to get the measure of Maria last night at Wrestlemania, the jealous former IC champion has insisted on this match. Earlier, Maria wanted him to call it off, after being told by William Regal that only Marella could do so. Santino then put his foot in his mouth by bad-mouthing the Divas in general, which netted a slap in the face from Maria.

This wasn't much of a match, and Maria got some help, as Ashley, Victoria, Michelle McCool, and others came to her aid. They drew & quartered Marella, and then Maria head-butted him in the groin. Enough said. Winner: Maria Kanellis.

Maria blew Santino a kiss on her way out, seemingly her way of saying good-bye to their relationship.

Ric Flair is out for the final time to address the fans, to thank them for the memories. He is not sad that his career is over, but he is thankful for the greatest wrestling career in the history of the business. The speech is short, but we've still got some time. Triple H finally appears, as you had to know he would. He bows and hugs Flair, and then it's a steady stream of guests. The 4 Horsemen are represented by JJ Dillon, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, & Dean Malenko. Greg Valentine and Rick Steamboat are here, too. Harley Race comes down, escorted by Mickie James & Michelle McCool. Harley is officially the luckiest man in the room, even though Mickie & Michelle head to the back for a moment. Ric's 3rd wife, Tiffany, and his 4 children are out. There's also Batista, Chris Jericho, John Cena, and Shawn Michaels. Lots of hugs. Hunter calls out the rest of the crew. Edge & Big Show lead the way, as the locker rooms empty. Everyone, including divas & referees are out. CM Punk, Edge, and Batista are all doing bows. Randy Orton is wiping away tears. Edge & Punk, it appears, are leading a chant of "Thank you, Ric!", that seems to last forever. There isn't going to be a dry eye in the house after this is over. Thank you, Ric. Thanks for the memories.