After cutting a fun promo with his good buddy Sting after Tony Schiavone announced the location of Revolution 2024, the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina, Ric Flair found himself in hot water when, while filming a segment for Rampage, he delivered a line that needless to say, didn't go over too well with fans at the Target Center or who read about it online.

“Flair invited all the women in the audience from ages 18-28 to meet him in his hotel room,” Ric Flair said via The Boulder on Twitter. “No boyfriends or husbands.”

Yikes, well, that's certainly an awkward thing for a man in his mid-70s to say.

Now granted, while some fans pointed out that this line is actually a throwback to some of Flair's old on-mic mainstays, we live in a very different world in 2023 than when the “Nature Boy” entered the business in the 70s, and as a result, fans took offense to the line, noting that once again, fans were right to question the value of this signing.

But what would AEW do? Would Tony Khan cut the segment entirely? Or would he let it run and accept that all publicity is good publicity? Well, as it turns out, TK split the difference, keeping the segment largely intact but using some studio magic to get rid of the offending line.

“Not only did Ric Flair and I do the first and last show on TNT, but we did the very big, gigantic Nit – I can't say that word on television, there are copyright laws and everything else – but we a massive match at the Mall of America which you guys already know,” Sting said. “I've had great matches in this building against Lex Luger or with Lex Luger, remember as the tag champs? Remember Bam Bam Bigelow? Does anyone remember Bam Bam? I wrestled Bam Bam right here. Lots of great memories here, and it's good to be back with all of you. Thank you for the memories, thank you Tony Khan, thank you Tony Schiavone, and the ‘Nature Boy' Ric Flair, thank you. Woooo!”

Sting passed off the mic, and fans leaned forward to see what Natch had in store.

“Wow, from 1972 till today, and believe it or not I'm still alive and that's saying a lot. I've covered a lot of ground and had a lot of fun but the three or four people that are always going to be special in my life, and you're gonna love these names, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky ‘The Dragon,' and the guy I think I've wrestled at least 1,500 times over our career, the great, and ‘Icon' is even enough to begin, Sting. So serious to be back in my hometown and to share this moment and this ride, and I mean, this is an incredible ride, think about the history of our business. I've been with him since 1988, and I'm going to be with him at the end. And that doesn't happen in real life, guys. And you know what? We've stayed as respectful and honest with each other as the day we met, and that's amazing in this world. You're the man, brother!” Ric Flair told the crowd.

“We're gonna dance all night and dance real long and we're gonna stay out on and stay a little longer. I cannot tell you we're we'll be at like the old days but I can tell you we'll be going AEW strong. Wooo!”

Welp, there you go, folks, if you didn't know, you'd think the offending line wasn't even on Rampage, because it wasn't aired for fans solely watching from home. But for the fans who already aren't big fans of Flair, this feat of editing didn't change Flair's standing one bit, something he took to social media to address in an attempt to appease the haters before the show hit the TNT airwaves.

Ric Flair apologized to fans ahead of Rampage.

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Neck brace Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "I should have seen this coming, in hindsight" with the 2024 Young Bucks on his left and 2024 Jack Perry on his right with the 2024 NFL Draft logo as the background.

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Neckbrace Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "WWE is the Harvey Weinstein of professional wrestling" with the NFL Network logo as the background.

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Matthew Jackson of the Young Bucks with a text bubble reading "We're trying to get this place back to what it was supposed to be" nexto to Nicholas Jackson of the Young Bucks and Jack Perry with the AEW logo as the background.

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After learning of the backlash his promo received from the “woke” fans online, Ric Flair took to social media to address his promo, apologizing to Tony Khan for embarrassing the company and offering to leave outright if the AEW CEO doesn't want him around anymore.

“I Am So Tired Of Hearing All This Negativity! I Don’t Need To Work, And I Don’t Need The Money. Can’t I Simply Enjoy Being By My Dear Friend Sting’s Side For The Next Few Months,” Ric Flair shared on social media. “Without So Much Hatred? I Know I’m Old, But That Doesn’t Mean I Can’t Enjoy Life! I Have Earned The Right To Do Whatever I Want & I’m Exactly Where I Want To Be! I Appreciate Everything Tony Khan, But I’m More Than Willing To Walk Away If I Am Embarrassing You And Your Company. All I Can Say Is I’m Sorry!”

While more than a few AEW fans would happily accept Flair's offer, it's hard to imagine Khan will feel the same way after one bad line that didn't make it to air. If, however, Flair were to say something even more offensive on a live mic, then who knows, maybe the “Nature Boy” may prove more of a liability than an asset after all. Expect to see more pre-records like on Dynamite from Flair moving forward just in case.