It’s certainly an interesting time to be a wrestling fan as the last few weeks have been full of surprises. Ahead of Dynamite this week it was announced that Tony Khan would be giving Sting a special gift, and the gift turned out to be Ric Flair.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Ric Flair had no contractual ties to WWE prior to his AEW debut. It was also noted that Flair likely would have ended up with the company much sooner, but all talks ended when the Dark Side of the Ring episode was released.

Tony Khan reportedly wanted Ric Flair to be part of the Sting retirement storyline and the idea is for Flair to be featured on AEW programming through March. It’s also believed that AEW will be promoting Ric Flair’s energy drink as part of the deal.

Sting recently shared a heartfelt tribute to Ric Flair when he posted the following on social media:

“He put me on the map in the very beginning, and @RicFlairNatrBoy is going to be with me every step of the way to the end, and we’ll go out together in a blaze of glory!

️ WWWOOOO! OOOWWW!

It’s showtime!”