Wrestling legend Ric Flair’s involvement with WWE rival AEW has ended prematurely, according to media reports. It wasn’t exactly a success story
Just eight months after wrestling icon Ric Flair signed with WWE rival AEW, the “Nature Boy’s” commitment has apparently been quietly and secretly terminated.
As Fightful and the Wrestling Observer both report, no further appearances by the 75-year-old in Tony Khan’s league are planned. Flair had reportedly signed a two-year contract. The separation came to light because AEW recently stopped promoting the energy drink marketed by Flair. The sponsorship deal, which was originally announced for several years, is also said to have lapsed.
AEW deal with Ric Flair: only a limited coup
The dazzling bon vivant Flair is one of the best, most popular and influential show fighters in history, but his signing proved to be only a limited coup for AEW: There were several negative headlines surrounding the legend, who fell out with WWE in 2021, came under scrutiny shortly afterwards due to renewed allegations of sexual harassment from 2002 – and celebrated a rather undignified ring comeback in 2022, which almost ended fatally due to a later diagnosed heart attack.
At AEW, the father of WWE star Charlotte Flair played a supporting role in his companion Sting’s farewell feud with the Young Bucks, outside of which Flair came under fire several times: one occasion was an incident in which he was kicked out of a restaurant in a drunken state, another was a public online dispute with former WCW league officials.
A promo by Flair at AEW’s Rampage show that was laced with sexual innuendo also caused a stir and was cut short by the league – and garnered so much criticism on social media that Flair publicly apologized to Khan and promised “that if I damage your reputation and that of your company, I’m willing to leave at any time”.
What actually led to the split and who initiated it is not known. Flair’s departure is one in a series of prominent departures at AEW. Most recently, Flair’s companion Arn Anderson and Mark Henry also left the promotion. Parallel to Flair’s departure, CJ Perry also announced that she would no longer be with AEW. The former Lana of WWE had a series of appearances alongside her still-husband Miro (Rusev) at the end of 2023
