The Nature Boy is back in a wrestling promotion. Ric Flair made his AEW debut this past October, surprising fans as Tony Khan’s gift to Sting, who is set to retire from the ring at AEW Revolution in Spring 2024. Flair showed loved for his longtime rival and made it known that he wants to be on Sting’s farewell tour alongside him, making note that he will be present at AEW Revolution next year especially. Knowing that Flair has ambitions to be with AEW until next spring at the earliest, many became curious as to if the 16-time world champion would be on a per-appearance deal or if he would sign a full-on AEW contract.
Ric Flair Signs Multi-Year AEW Contract
The Nature Boy is All Elite.
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As announced in a press release, Ric Flair has signed a multi-year deal with All Elite Wrestling. Beyond his televised appearances, this contract will make Flair’s Wooooo! Energy the exclusive energy drink of AEW.
Speaking to ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, Flair detailed how this partnership came about.
“I actually texted him that we had an energy drink and asked if he would be interested in having a sponsor for the show,” Flair said. “We started negotiating with him and then he called me and said, ‘Would you want to come to work?’ He had talked to Sting and I said, ‘Hell yeah.’ The only people that knew about it of course were Chad Bronstein (President and Chairman of Carma HoldCo, parent company of Wooooo! Energy), myself, Sting and Tony. I came in as a surprise and it just was a wonderful experience. Sting and I have been working together for 31 years. What a moment.”
Flair has been associated with energy for his entire professional wrestling career, as few possess the stamina that Flair showed on a weekly basis inside the ring. That said, the energy drink business is new to the rolex-wearer.
“Chad came up with the idea. They brought it to me,” Flair said. “Everybody knows Chad is a wrestling fan when he has time to be, but he grew up wrestling fan. He knows that all the arenas go Wooooo! anyway, no matter whether it’s hockey, wrestling or whatever. I’ve drank Monsters and Red Bull and all that, and this drink puts ’em to sleep.”
“It’s an all natural energy. It’s a functional mushroom, so it’s not a psychedelic, that can be carried at any store,” Bronstein added. “I saw Ric at the LA Rams game before we started working together. Every stadium, anywhere you go, they scream ‘Wooooo!’ What he has done is he created a culture with the Wooooo! Our whole thought process was developing Wooooo! Energy because Wooooo! creates energy, momentum in arenas on a daily basis.”
Considering Sting is set to ride off into the sunset in just about five months, Flair inking a multi-year deal suggests that he will have more to do on AEW TV than just stand alongside The Icon. When asked who he hopes to work with, Flair pointed to one man.
“Oh, MJF. Most definitely,” Flair said. “That kid is great.”
AEW returns to television this Friday with AEW Rampage on TNT.
