Ric Flair hasn't even been a member of AEW for a month, at least officially, and yet, not even the addition of Adam Copeland has earned as many headlines not just among hardcore professional wrestling websites and industry periodicals but in the mainstream culture too, with the “Nature Boy” stopping by everywhere from ESPN to Variety to talk his new ventures in and out of the ring.
Naturally, one of the questions that comes to the forefront more often than not is the comparison between his former employer and his current one and how AEW can pick up ground against their chief wrestling rivals.
Discussing that very topic with Gabby AF, Flair noted that, in his opinion, there's only one major difference between AEW and WWE, and it has more to do with time than any creative decision either promotion is making.
“The only difference between AEW right now, in my estimation, and WWE, is the fact that WWE has been there so much longer. I think AEW's in its fourth year now or something like that, and they're you're chasing a monster that's been around…since the late '70s and early '80s, when they started going national… across the country with network TV, and of course cable,” Ric Flair told Gabby AF via Fightful.
“And I'm sure Tony, in time, I hope I live long enough to see it catch up… But I think everybody is happy, and the wrestling people love wrestling. AEW did 81,000 people in London, and they're going back again in August. So that made a statement in and of itself, that's more people than we drew at SummerSlam when I was there in 92. I think it's a Wembley Stadium record. So they're alive. They're alive and well.”
Alright, technically, Flair is spot on in his assertion that WWE has a pretty strong grasp on the professional wrestling world, as they have both the brand equity and the name recognition among the general population. While AEW fans may argue that their preferred promotion has a better in-ring product, overcoming that hurdle may prove incredibly difficult, if not borderline impossible.
Booker T weighs in on Ric Flair's multi-year AEW contract.
With Ric Flair not only signed to AEW but locked in on a two-year deal fueled at least in part by his Woooo! Energy drink, wrestling fans and media alike have been discussing what value the “Nature Boy” brings to his new home and why Tony Khan would risk some of his fanbase's goodwill to sign a WWE Hall of Famer in his 70s with a checkered history in terms of his treatment of women.
One person who believes Flair still has plenty to offer is none other than Booker T, who revealed on his Hall of Fame podcast that he believes “Natch's” clout could be huge for AEW if weaponized correctly.
“There’s a lot of value left in Ric Flair, man. I mean, just yeah, just his image alone. He’s doing so many things right now at the age he’s still like Ric Flair. He may be the oldest guy in wrestling who still walked through the airport. No wheelchair, no walker. He ain’t getting on with the senior citizens. That’s not a reply. I’m a serious man. Remember the conversation I had I told you I had with Ric Flair around WrestleMania one time? Flair told me that he would never retire. Never. ‘I’m never going to retire.' Never going to quit, you know, and believe him. I believe him because this is who he is, man. This is what he does,” Booker T said via 411 Mania.
“And then to bring that brand to you, it’s going to, you know, it’s going to help those guys. It’s going to help him a whole lot. And one thing that Ric Flair does also. He’s like Trump, like the way Trump used to be. You know what I mean? It’s for, it’s cool. Everybody wants him to be a part of their brand. Everybody wants to talk about him in rap songs stuff like that. Ric Flair and what he’s going on. It’s going to help those guys a whole lot. And for me, Ric Flair, he’s another one, man, he’s another one. Just like Sting should never retire, he’ll never retire. What are you going to do? Are you going to sit at home and get old? Ric Flair is a guy that’s going to run into the wheels, fall off, and for him to be around those young guys, bro, that’s only going to, you know, motivate him even more. So, for me, I’m glad to see him do it.”
Is Booker T correct? Will Flair help to bring in superstars from outside of the business to collaborate with AEW and the performers on the roster? Or will this wave of media interest subside like it always does and leave AEW with nothing more than a few minutes of Flair on weekly television, providing nothing much to the promotion? Fans will have to keep tuning into the product to find out.