When AEW announced in late 2023 that they’d signed Ric Flair to a multi-year deal, a decision that was criticized at the time. The announcement from AEW also mentioned Flair’s Woooooo Energy drink.
The storyline reason for bringing in Flair came down to him being revealed as Tony Khan’s gift to Sting ahead of his retirement at the Revolution PPV. Flair said he couldn’t pass on this opportunity and wanted to be along for the ride with Sting until his retirement at Revolution.
The AEW President has confirmed that Flair’s deal with AEW was very similar to Randy Savage’s with WCW in the mid-1990s. Part of getting Flair was also having the energy drink cover a significant portion, if not all, of Flair’s salary in All Elite Wrestling. WCW did this for the Slim Jim sponsorship that came along with Randy Savage.
“We’re not paying Ric Flair; Ric Flair is essentially paying us,” Khan said in a previous New York Post interview. “We’re getting paid by Wooooo Energy for all of his appearances, so we’re collecting revenue from them.”
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer pointed out that fans may have noticed there haven’t been graphics for the drink on AEW television as of late, and unless something changes, it doesn’t appear fans will be seeing ads for it in the future.
Meltzer wrote, “There was no explanation given but unless something changes it does look like that deal is over with.” It’s unclear how this impacts Flair’s status with the promotion.
