Belief That Ric Flair Couldn’t Help AEW If His Life Depended on It

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is one of the biggest names in the world of professional wrestling. Flair’s accomplishments are truly second to none and him debuting in AEW was seen as a big deal. However, it appears some believe he couldn’t help AEW even if his life depended on it.

Tony Khan welcomed The Nature Boy Ric Flair to AEW in October 2023 as a special gift to Sting in honor of his retirement, which took place earlier this year at the Revolution pay-per-view. Flair’s last televised appearance was during the Revolution event, where he accompanied Sting and Darby Allin. During the event, Flair received superkicks from The Young Bucks.

AEW has been receiving criticism recently for their perceived lack of creativity and poor booking. On the Story Time with Dutch Mantell podcast, the 74-year-old wrestling veteran commented that Ric Flair cannot contribute to AEW’s success. Mantell mentioned that Flair, now 75 years old, does not resonate with the younger audience.

Dutch Mantell added that AEW’s decision to involve Flair was likely influenced by his endorsement deal with the Wooooo energy drink, and that his presence in the company may be more about this arrangement than his ability to enhance AEW’s programming.

“Ric Flair couldn’t help AEW if his life depended on it because Ric Flair is 75 years old. He doesn’t appeal to the young demographic anymore. I appeal to them more than he does, but the only reason he is there is because they… didn’t he sell the Wooooo [energy] drink to them? [Yes] and I think they pick up his salary and he just got to be around.”

“If he don’t want to do something, he just tells them, ‘No I’m not doing it.’ So it’s not like they’re his boss, the Wooooo drink company is his boss and all day to show their ad and pay Ric. So whatever that is, and I haven’t seen him in months.”

We will have to wait and see when the WWE Hall of Famer will make his return on AEW television, as it is likely fans still won’t get to see him for an extended period of time even now.

Do you believe AEW shouldn’t have signed Ric Flair in the first place? Sound off in the comments section below!