TIFTON — The Tift Theatre came alive Wednesday night for the ultimate local main event. Legendary professional wrestler Ric Flair was in town for a special appearance.

Multiple-time world champion and two-time World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer, Flair was booked locally by McAlpin Entertainment. He spoke on stage at the Tift Theatre, mostly answering audience members’ questions.

For those who became fans of Flair during the 1970s or 1980s, he delivered much of the “Nature Boy” persona, albeit with a wink and a nudge.

Flair was introduced by WALB television anchor Cade Fowler, who came back on stage leader to read additional questions.

Born in Tennessee, raised in Minneapolis and a longtime resident of Charlotte, N.C. before moving to metro Atlanta in recent years, Flair made no bones about his wild past. He started off joking about marriage, that it “took me five times to figure it out.” Flair’s mate, Wendy Barlow, was with him for an earlier autograph session, but was backstage for the remainder of his appearance.

He told his audience he was “very blessed” to be here, especially considering a medical emergency in August 2017 where he spent several days in a coma.

Questions began with audience members asking questions from their seats.

Among the queries were::

If he preferred the Four Horsemen or in Evolution. Horsemen, although, “We couldn’t have ever been around during social media.”

Biggest fear when his daughter Ashley (who wrestles as Charlotte) entered wrestling? It wasn’t getting physically hurt. “I didn’t want her to have to handle being Ric Flair’s daughter,” he said. Charlotte has excelled. “She persevered,” he said.

Why is the wrestling viewing audience now smaller than it was in previous year. Not having the competition of WWE versus WCW, he said. Also the WWE was having to bring along younger stars.

“You can’t make a new star in one year,” he said. Flair mentioned many of wrestling’s biggest names from the 1990s and 2000s. Many didn’t wrestle anymore or are on limited schedules. Sadly, he said, “Half the guys in my decade are dead.” Flair said he considers Steve Austin to be the biggest star ever.

When one audience member told Flair he was sports entertainment, Flair wouldn’t agree (but did say “I influenced more people”). He said he does not like using the term “great,” believing it has been used too much and too early, using former baseball player Jose Canseco as an example.

As Flair has been spotted at more University of Georgia events, he did chat a bit about football. Flair said he couldn’t believe LSU did not score against Alabama Nov. 3. He hoped Georgia was not looking beyond Auburn (which was played Saturday night).

Flair thinks the Bulldogs will compete with Alabama in the SEC championship and that quarterback Justin Fields will play a big role.

“Don’t think [head coach] Kirby Smart isn’t planning something big,” he said.

After talking about UGA, Fowler went back to the stage to ask a few more questions that had been submitted.

What would Flair have done if he hadn’t become a wrestler? He said wasn’t sure, but figured he “would have been selling something.” Flair said he kept wrestling so long because it’s “all I know how to do.”

The toughest wrestler in the ring he said was Harley Race. Asked who the greatest three wrestlers he ever faced were, he limited it to the prime of his career. As much as he said he hated leaving out individuals such as Wahoo McDaniel and Terry Funk, then offered four names: Race, Dusty Rhodes, Sting and Ricky Steamboat.

Before Flair spoke on stage, he signed autographs, posed for photographs and spoke with fans who bought VIP tickets. Items he signed ranged from the usual — pictures, action figures, title belts, DVDs — to the unexpected: A toy limousine (a reference of his many catchphrases, “kiss-stealing, wheeling-dealing, limousine-riding, jet-flying son of a gun”) and multiple University of Georgia caps.