That’s right, wrestling fans! You heard me right: at 74 years young, Ric Flair will make his return to the ring. He will sign on with AEW on a multi-year deal, which comes shortly after longtime friend Sting announced his retirement.

This sets the stage for a final showdown between two of wrestling greats, most likely in early 2024. Now that’s not all; Ric recently released Woooo! Energy Drink, which netted a multi-year endorsement deal with exclusive rights for AEW.

Now AEW and wrestling in general are not my bread & butter. So I reached to some old school wrestling fans from the WCW and WWF days of the 80’s and 90’s to see how they feel about Flair making a comeback.

While speaking with these guys, one thing came across quickly… AEW equated to WCW 2.0 at this point, and fans are not happy about it.

Two quotes for me summed it up. One: “He was such a great heel in America” – which reflects his bad guy image that America loved. Two: “I knew he was angling for a contract after last week’s drunken debacle on TV.

Flair has no business in a ring or on TV.” This sentiment reflects a feel that for Flair it’s over, time to retire, and to let the new generation have at it.

By Vincent Quezada

*Photo courtesy of Fightful Wrestling Twitter & AEW*