10 Shocking AEW Behind The Scenes Revelations

6. AEW At One Point Planned To Sign Ric Flair

AEW All Access CM Punk
AEW/WWE

Back in August 2021, it was reported that Ric Flair was "a lock" to sign with AEW once his WWE non-compete clause had expired. Of course, this was at a time when the Nature Boy had been released by the market leader, with claims that he was fired for complaining about Charlotte's booking, while Flair himself instead stated he asked for his release.

Regardless, the Dirtiest Player in the Game was on the cusp of becoming a free agent, and his friendship with Tony Khan - whose wedding Ric even attended - meant that there was obvious interest in making the legend #AllElite.

By all accounts, it was simply a case of counting down the days until Ric Flair was able to pen an AEW contract, and the belief was that he may be used as the manager of his real-life son-in-law Andrade El Idolo. And then, well then 16 September rolled around.

What happened on 16 September, you ask? Why, that was when the Plane Ride from Hell episode of Dark Side of the Ring aired.

In that third season Dark Side offering, it was alleged that Flair exposed himself to a flight attendant in addition to other sexual assault allegations directed at the 16-time World Champion.

As per Flair's former podcast co-host Mark Madden, it was at this moment that any deal to join AEW was off as Tony Khan completely distanced himself from the two-time WWE Hall of Famer, even uninviting Ric from Tony's birthday party.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.