Pro wrestling Ric Flair recently had a rant against WWE for playing a role in him losing his Roots of Fight clothing line endorsement deal. Various rumors existed over past few days about why he couldn’t continue with his branding agreement. Dave Meltzer and other wrestling insiders have confirmed Flair working with AEW over the past few years caused WWE to end the partnership.
Flair shared the following message on Twitter a few days ago:
“I Woke Up This Morning To Find Out That I’m No Longer Allowed To Be With @rootsoffight Per @WWE. Let Me Think- I’m The Only Wrestler To Ever Be On 30 For 30 & Ranked In The Top 25 Of All Time, An Emmy Nominated Documentary-Courtesy Of The WWE, Which I Should Have Won But l Lost To A Team Not An Individual. 21 World Championships, But I Always Played By Your Rules And Kept It At 16.
Paid Vince McMahon Back 800k When He Said He Would Forgive It. I Honored It. Fortunately, I Still Make 1 Million Dollars From The GREAT Ryan Fiterman @FitermanSports. 500k From Ric Flair Drip. And Thank God For @TonyKhan. What More Of My Legacy Do You Want To Destroy WWE? You All Grew Up Loving Me And I Set The Bar. Now You Are Trying To Kill Me And Diminish My Legacy. Thank You, But It Ain’t Happening. Nice Try. LFG!”
The long message was a bit confusing and made fans wonder what exactly happened to make Flair so upset with WWE.
Why WWE Blocked Ric Flair’s Deal
The AEW status of Flair is unknown since he only joined the company to be part of Sting’s retirement tour back in 2024. Flair got to help his greatest rival close out his career and struck a short-term deal with AEW to use his energy drink as a sponsor.
AEW has not used Flair in a long time, but he has made some rare appearances. Flair took part in a special segment honoring former wrestler and NFL player Steve “Mongo” McMichael after he passed away.
The most recent instance of Flair working with AEW featured him announced to appear on a live Dynamite with Ricky Steamboat. However, Flair was pulled due to his health problems preventing him from appearing. WWE clearly does not want to work with anyone mildly associated with AEW and showed that by pulling Flair’s deal.
Ric Flair Apologized To WWE For Rant
Flair’s rant about losing his Roots of Fight deal led to a lot of drama on social media. However, Ric eventually apologized by posting another message on Twitter expressing love for what WWE gave to him.
Charlotte Flair is still a top star in WWE, so Ric likely did some damage control to ensure that his daughter didn’t get heat over his comments. However, Flair did make a decision to do business with AEW and gets money from their action figures.
WWE is not out of line for cutting bait with Ric since no other talent currently benefits from both promotions. Flair could return to WWE on a legends’ deal once his time in AEW is completely over, but that doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon.
WWE Ended Ric Flair’s Endorsement Deal Due To AEW Presence