Ric Flair signs multi-year contract with AEW

Ric Flair is sticking around in AEW on a long-term basis.

AEW issued a press release on Thursday announcing that Flair has signed a multi-year contract with the company. Flair made his surprise AEW debut on Dynamite last week, reuniting with Sting as part of Sting’s retirement tour.

It was also announced that Flair’s Wooooo! Energy will become the official energy drink of AEW. Wooooo! Energy will be sold at AEW shows, it will be stocked in wrestlers’ locker rooms, and it will be seen on the announcers’ desk during AEW broadcasts.

In a press release, Tony Khan commented on the deal:

Last Wednesday, the ‘Nature Boy’ made his epic return to TBS, more than 35 years since the Flair vs. Sting rivalry first began on the Superstation. It’s truly an honor to welcome the legend himself – and Wooooo! Energy – to AEW.

Ric cemented his legacy as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time long ago, and now his world-renowned persona and his amazing wrestling mind will be major assets to AEW’s programming and our position globally. Most importantly, it’s fitting that the final chapter of Sting’s iconic career will unfold on TBS with Ric Flair by his side.

“I’ve been in the wrestling business for over 50 years,” Flair said. “Together with AEW and Wooooo! Energy, I’ve never been more excited, and I’ve never had more energy! When the Nature Boy promises a show, you know how it’s gonna go! Wooooo!”

Sting will have his retirement match at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view in 2024. Last Thursday, Sting noted that Flair would be with him “every step of the way” on this journey.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Flair likely would have been in AEW sooner if it wasn’t for the controversy surrounding Vice TV’s “Plane Ride from Hell” episode of Dark Side of the Ring. The episode aired in 2021. On the show, flight attendant Heidi Doyle recounted her story of Flair exposing himself and forcing her to touch his genitals. Flair has denied the allegations.

“Flair had no contractual ties with WWE,” Meltzer wrote. “He probably would have come in earlier as they were in talks when the Dark Side of the Ring episode hit and pretty much all talks ended. But Tony Khan wanted him to be part of the Sting storyline.”