When AEW decided to sign WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair to a multi-year contract, it turned heads around the professional wrestling world, but not always for the right reasons.

A controversial act who is as popular outside of the ring as he is unpopular among hardcore fans of the sport, AEW drew pretty much every reaction one could imagine from fans online, from excitement to see one final run for the “Nature Boy” to confusion over why Tony Khan, who supportedly wanted to create an alternative to WWE, was pulling ideas right out of their playbook – or worse, pull draw from a well WWE wasn't even willing to drink from anymore.

And yet, in the humble opinion of Booker T on his Hall of Fame podcast, he believes Flair's signing has already done exactly what AEW intended, as he's generated plenty of buzz and will continue to do so without the potential for backstage alterations a la CM Punk.

“He made headlines, man. He’s All Elite. And the thing is, I’m not surprised,” Booker T said via 411 Mania. “How many times have I said it? Quite a few. You already know where I’m going, right? The boys, they’re gonna go pick it up [the check]. They’re not going to leave the check on the table. And if it’s Tony coming around signing them, we know they are going to be big, all right? They’re going to be substantial. They’re going to clear as well. It’s going to be a bag. You know that I’m thinking about the damn bag. Man? I got a contract coming up, and I’m. I’m gonna be. I’ll be like Punk. I’m gonna be looking for the big one. I am looking for a big bag, man, you know? I’m not surprised.”

Turning his attention to Flair's actual role in AEW, working alongside Sting on his “one last ride” through professional wrestling, Booker couldn't be happier to see how it turned out, as he believes the pairing is perfect.

“I was reading that Ric Flair may want one more match in AEW. What do you think about that? I think that that might be the perfect send-off – Ric Flair-Sting, one more for old-time’s sake. Let’s go out there and, you know, do it just one last time.  Let’s walk that aisle one last time. Let’s style and profile one more time. Limousine riding, jet flying. Whoa! Son of a gun. One more time. If that was to happen, just like Ric Flair’s last match, I think it had, what, 8,000 or 9,000 people showed up. If Ric Flair and Sting stepped in the ring one more time, they might sell out. They might have sold 20,000 people, man…20,000 might want to come out and witness that spectacle just one more time. Would you pay to see it in one of these big arenas? Just one more time, Ric Flair. Make that walk down the aisle just one more time with the stinger. One more time. Not just not just the crotch Sting. I think if you’re going to do it, he has to go back to the old Sting. Buzz cut.”

Alright, will Sting and Flair actually wrestle a match together at or before Revolution in 2024? Goodness gracious, you would hope not, but hey, Flair has already said he not only wants to take bumps but would happily die in the ring, so at this point, it's impossible to know what's going to happen.

Booker T doesn't think Ric Flair is in AEW to produce matches.

While Booker T believes adding Ric Flair to All Elite Land is a good idea, one thing he firmly doesn't expect to see happen is the “Nature Boy” doing any producing backstage, as he does not think that's what Tony Khan brought him in to do at all.

“I don’t think Ric Flair is going to be watching those guys’ matches or anything like that. Trust me. That’s not why Ric Flair is going to be in that company. He’s not going to be someone sitting at the monitor critiquing somebody to jump off something. That’s just not Ric Flair. I mean, because he’s he’s he’s he’s, well, disconnected from the way the work is done in the ring today. He’s just that’s just my opinion on that. But as far as being able to bring name recognition to, well, when people see his name on the ballyhoo or see his picture on the ballyhoo and whatnot, you know what I mean? Yeah, man, that’s huge. That’s huge. And Ric Flair for him to have a multi-year deal. Yeah, that’s just that’s insurance bro. That’s all it is. And for me, I hope that I’m in, you know, as good a shape as Ric Flair when I get that age. And you know, I can get a deal like that. Seriously, seriously, that’s just the way of life. Seriously. It really is. Big ups there.”

On paper, Flair would actually be a pretty good producer, as he's forgotten more about professional wrestling than 99 percent of fans will ever remember and has actually shown that every now and then on his podcast, like when he helped Konosuke Takeshita with his chops. Still, expecting Flair to become some sort of coach just isn't what he was signed to do, as there's just too much money on the table for the “Nature Boy” to be teaching classes on wrestling psychology.