Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: aew, ric flair, wrestling

AEW Signs Multi-Year Deal with Ric Flair, Will Hawk Energy Drink

Ric Flair will stick around AEW long after Sting's retirement as The Nature Boy has signed a multi-year deal with the beleaguered company.

AEW's slow transformation into late-stage WCW continued Thursday as the company announced it had signed a multi-year deal with wrestling legend Ric Flair, which includes making his "mushroom-infused elixer," Wooooo! Energy, the official energy drink of AEW. Flair made his AEW debut last week when he was given by AEW owner Tony Khan as a "gift" to Sting ahead of the latter's next retirement. Flair said he'd like to stick around AEW until Sting's last match in February, but it looks like he'll be sticking around for longer than that, until either the multi-year deal expires or… well… you know…

A two-time WWE Hall of Famer, Flair was rumored to be headed to AEW in 2021 before an episode of Vice TV's Dark Side of the Ring recontextualized stories about Flair's stylin' and profilin' antics as alleged sexual misconduct (which Flair denies), forcing wrestling fans and companies who had celebrated those exact same antics for decades to claim to be disgusted by them for a few months. That soon blew over when everyone realized nobody actually watches Vice TV, and the apparently uncancelable Flair was welcomed back to WWE for a while and now has joined AEW for the foreseeable future, hampering recent attempts by Tony Khan to demonstrate moral superiority about such matters.

"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," said Tony Khan in a press release announcing the deal. "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," said Flair. "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!"

"We've all been a part of a 'Wooooo!' moment. Time stops, crowds erupt, and people unite to celebrate the extraordinary. It's electric. You hear it, feel it, and never forget it," said Chad Bronstein, President and Chairman of Carma HoldCo, parent company of Wooooo! Energy. "This is so much more than a partnership. Together, Ric Flair, AEW, and everyone at Wooooo! Energy will create more unforgettable moments for generations of wrestling fans."

"I'm currently available. Call me, brother," was not a quote by Hulk Hogan from the press release, but it might as well have been.

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