Last week Sting announced that he would be officially retiring at Revolution in 2024, and Tony Khan followed up by announcing that he had a gift for Sting. This week on Dynamite the gift was revealed and it turned out to be Ric Flair.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that originally Ric Flair had a verbal deal with AEW a while ago and he was supposed to work with the company, but they decided it wasn’t the right time. It was also noted that AEW may be trying to bring in as many stars as possible as the company looks to renew their TV contract.
“I know that he was gonna go there right when that Dark Side of the Ring thing came out. I don’t know this but I was assuming that he was gonna go as the manager of Andrade. But he and Tony Khan had a verbal deal, and then after Dark Side came out, it was not the right time.
“It’s the (TV) contract year and I think they’re really trying to hotshot as many stars for ratings purposes because of the name value and things like that, but by doing that you’re also ageing the show, and nostalgia when it comes to TV ratings is usually a short drug, not a long-term thing.”
It’s not clear at this point in time what AEW’s plans are for Flair moving forward, but during the segment with Sting he told The Icon that he wants to ride the wave with him all the way to Revolution.
H/T WrestleTalk.com
