Ric Flair's 'final match' moved to Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. Additional tickets on sale

Ric Flair has wrestled at the Nashville Fairgrounds in the past, but that venue is not big enough for him these days.

Flair, 73, announced in May his final match would be July 31 at the historic fairgrounds as part of the Starrcast pro wrestling fan fest. Tickets sold out in 24 hours.

On Monday officials said the event would move to Municipal Auditorium, which is a larger venue (9,700 capacity), and additional tickets went on sale.

Flair's opponent and the rest of the event card have not been announced. The event will be streamed on FITE.

“On July 31, I’m still going to walk that aisle and style and profile as only I can," Flair said. "But now, (with a) a bigger crowd, brighter lights. The Nature Boy can’t wait to do what I do best. Wooooo!”

The additional tickets start at $39 and are available at RicFlairsLastMatch.com. Current ticketholders’ seats will be honored, and communication on the changes will be emailed this week.

“Like so many times before, having Ric Flair’s name on the marquee has the wrestling world buzzing,” said David Crockett, president of Jim Crockett Promotions. “On July 31, we look forward to bringing the fans at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, and our worldwide audience, a night of professional wrestling that they will never forget.”

Mayor  John Cooper declared July 31 Ric Flair Day in Nashville. The mayor also announced that the property at 500 Wedgewood Ave. for the weekend of July 29-31 will be known as the Nashville Flairgrounds, in conjunction with the three-day event.

Channel 4's Lindsey Nance joins Jay Cutler's multimedia platform

Jay Cutler added a familiar face to his multimedia platform Outsider when he hired former WSMV-4 personality Lindsey Nance.

Cutler, the former Vanderbilt and NFL quarterback who lives in Nashville, co-founded Outsider.com with Shannon Terry, a former Lipscomb basketball player who also created Rivals.com, 247Sports.com and On3.com.

Nance is a former Lipscomb cheerleader who spent four years at WSMV where she recently became a news anchor. She will serve in a versatile role at Outsider developing original shows and content around Nashville, sports culture and events.

“We shot a day in the life of Jay Monday where I’m interviewing him,” Nance said. “We’re doing a lot of fun stuff. This is honestly getting back to my roots and what I studied in college where I was having to come up with content on my own and finding my own stories. Being able to be creative and write those stories how I want to write them as opposed to reading someone else’s writing every day.”

Nance also served as sideline reporter for Belmont's ESPN+ broadcasts.

Cutler and Nance are at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend doing a podcast along with Marty Smith at the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400.

Checking on local players in the USFL

The USFL's 10-game regular season wrapped up last week and here’s a look at how some players with local ties performed.

Former Ravenwood and Tennessee State wide receiver Chris Rowland had 21 catches for 215 yards and a touchdown for Philadelphia. Rowland also had 13 tackles.

Wide receiver Taywan Taylor (Tennessee Titans) had 24 catches for 315 yards for New Orleans; running back Madre London (Tennessee Vols) rushed for 415 yards on 96 carries and scored a touchdown for Pittsburgh; cornerback Micah Abernathy (Tennessee Vols) had 71 tackles and two interceptions for Houston; safety Ladarius Wiley (Vanderbilt) recorded 47 tackles, a sack and an interception for Philadelphia and safety Arnold Tarpley (Vanderbilt) had 43 tackles and an interception for Pittsburgh.

Defensive end Tyshun Render (MTSU) had 29 tackles and 1.5 sacks for New Jersey; safety Cory Rahman (TSU) had 15 tackles for Michigan; cornerback Terrell Bonds (TSU) had 11 tackles for Pittsburgh; defensive end Mekhi Brown (TSU) had six tackles for Tampa Bay; lineman Paul Adams (Christ Presbyterian Academy) had four tackles for New Orleans and safety Eddie Graham (TSU) had three tackles for Michigan.

Belmont's Guy Lipscomb named All-American

Belmont sophomore Guy Lipscomb earned a spot on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America third team.

The former Franklin center fielder became the first Bruin to make the team since Matt Beaty and Drew Ferguson in 2015.

Lipscomb was the Ohio Valley Conference player of the year after leading the Bruins to their first regular season championship. He finished ninth nationally in batting average (.406) and fifth in stolen bases (42).

Jason Hinchman, a senior outfielder from Tennessee Tech, also made the team.

TSU's Chelsea Hudson lands head coaching job

Former TSU basketball player and assistant coach Chelsea Hudson, who also served as an assistant at Pearl-Cohn, is the new coach at Panola College in Carthage, Texas.

Hudson played at TSU from 2011-15 and became the Tigers 11th all-time leading scorer with 1,221 points. She led TSU to the OVC Tournament championship and an NCAA berth as a senior.

She returned to TSU as an assistant from 2019-21.

Hudson was an assistant at Panola from 2017-19. She spent last season on the staff at Tyler Junior College.

Hudson was on the staff at Pearl-Cohn in 2016-17 when the Firebirds went 25-5 and earned a berth in the Class AA state tournament.

MTSU caravan set for July 20-28

The MTSU Blue Raider Blitz summer caravan is set for July 20-28.

Members from the football team's coaching staff and some of the school’s other sports will be at each stop.

Season ticket information, posters, contests, prize giveaways and appearances by the spirit squads and the mascot Lightning will highlight the events.

Football season tickets can be purchased at each stop.

The stops include July 20 in Franklin at Party Fowl (noon-1:30 p.m.) and The Listening Room (6-8 p.m.);  July 21 in Manchester at Boskey’s Grille at Willowbrook Golf Course (noon-1:30 p.m.) and Smyrna at Lee Victory Park (6-8 p.m.); July 25 in Mt. Juliet at The Corner Pub Between the Lakes (noon-1:30 p.m.) and Shelbyville at the Bedford County Courthouse Square (6-8 p.m.) and July 28 in Murfreesboro at Cannonsbugh Village (6-8 p.m.).

I'Tavius Mathers returns to MTSU as graduate assistant

I’Tavius Mathers, who finished his playing career at MTSU in 2016, is returning as a graduate assistant.

As a running back at Blackman, Mathers was the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year and Tennessee Titans Mr. Football winner.

In three seasons at Ole Miss, Mathers rushed for 1,061 yards on 189 carries and scored seven touchdowns.

He transferred to MTSU for his senior season. He led the Blue Raiders with 1,561 yards on 232 carries and scored 17 touchdowns.

Mathers began his coaching career as an assistant at Blackman before moving to Wilson Central and then returning to Blackman through the 2021 season.

DCA great Christian Calvin has first art exhibit

Former Donelson Christian Academy football, basketball and baseball star Christian Calvin, who went on to play football at Tennessee (1992-93), had his first solo art exhibit at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center in Hendersonville.

About 300 people attended the show of abstract expressionism created with a putty knife on canvas textured with sand, glue, water and paint.

The exhibit will remain up until July 31 and most items are for sale with proceeds benefiting the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center.

Vandy signee Lynn Lim wins Tennessee Women's championship

Vanderbilt signee Lynn Lim won the Tennessee Women’s Amateur Golf Championship Thursday, and five other Middle Tennessee-area golfers finished in the top five at Chickasaw Country Club in Memphis.

Lim, a recent graduate of Station Camp, took the lead in the second round by shooting a 7-under-par 65. She posted a 71 in the third round for a 10-under-par 206 total.

Ashley Gilliam from Manchester was second (6-under) and Sophie Linder from Carthage was third (3-under). Caroline Caudill and McKinley Cunningham from Clarksville tied for fifth with Nashville’s Molly Hardwick and Signal Mountain’s Lindsey Hollis (3-over).

UT's Bryce Lewis wins top amateur tournament

Tennessee Vols senior golfer Bryce Lewis won the prestigious Sunnehanna Amateur Golf Tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The 69th annual four-day tournament is classified as a Class A event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Lewis, Hendersonville native and the 2016 Tennessean/Metro Parks Schooldays Tournament champion, shot a 5-under par 275 (64-70-66-75).

Duke’s Kelly Chinn and Georgia’s Maxwell Ford tied for second at 4 under.

West High and Austin Peay great Ronnie Fuqua dies at 73

Two-time Midstate track champion and The Tennessean 1967 Nashville Interscholastic League Trackman of the Year Ronnie Fuqua from West High died on June 18. He was 73.

Fuqua set the NIL record in the 440-yard dash at 50.2 seconds.

He also was a quarterback on West's football team and made the 1966 All-NIL team.

He went on to play football where he moved to running back and run track at Austin Peay.

From 1992-2004 Fuqua coached several sports at Clarksville High and in 2005 was named the football coach at Clarksville Academy.

Fuqua also worked as a TSSAA official for 40 years. He officiated college football games in the SEC and OVC for 16 years.

Author of book about fighting cancer will be at Vanderbilt Bookstore

Local author Kelly Motley will sign her book “The Fight for My Life: Boxing Through Chemo,” July 2 from 1-2:30 p.m. at Vanderbilt Bookstore.

The book chronicles how training and boxing helped Motley navigate a breast cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy.

The former public relations and marketing professional said the intense physical activity was a way for her to develop a stronger mind, body and soul.

Former high school coach Tony Majors dies at 73

Tony Majors, a former Midstate high school basketball coach, died on June 15. He was 73 and living in Hartsville.

Majors, a Trousdale County graduate, led the boys basketball team its best record at 29-3 in 1973-74 and in 1977-78 led the Eagleville boys’ team to a 25-5 record, its best in school history.

He also led Trousdale County to the state tournament.

Majors later coached the Smyrna boys before becoming the Hendersonville girls coach in 1979 where he also coached golf.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ric Flair last match: Wrestling event moved to bigger Nashville site