Ric Flair had a different plan for his involvement in Sting’s final match.
Shortly after The Icon announced that he would be retiring at AEW Revolution, 3 years on from his return match with the company, Tony Khan arranged a surprise for the legendary performer, none other than The Nature Boy himself, who had signed a multi-year deal with the company.
Aligning himself with Sting and even getting physical on a number of occasions, Flair would get involved in the retirement match in Greensboro by protecting his long-time friend from the extended beatdown from The Young Bucks. While Flair hoped the physicality would end, the 16-time World Champion ate 2 Superkicks for his troubles. Although his involvement was limited and did not have a direct effect on the match, there was reportedly a plan B.
Conrad Thompson, who is Flair’s son-in-law and played a large part in promoting The Nature Boy’s last match, discussed Sting’s final battle on the What Happened When podcast with Tony Schiavone. According to Thompson, Flair wanted to live up to his dirtiest player in the game moniker by betraying his friend one final time. Additionally, Flair asked Tompson to speak to Tony Khan to pitch the idea:
“He desperately wanted to turn on Sting,” [Flair said] “‘Conrad will you go talk to Tony? You’re friends with him, just go talk to him’ and I’m like ‘what are you talking about? ‘Just go and talk to him, try to convince him, me turning on Sting is best for business.’ I go ‘Ric you work here, you’re in the storyline, I think maybe you should tell him.'”
According to Thompson, Flair had already pitched the idea to Khan but requested that Thompson speak to the AEW President, with the requested phrase being ‘it’s only worked 10 other times.’
Flair did previously tease a betrayal after he was seen walking into The Bucks’s dressing room to discuss the final match. However, this alliance would quickly end when Flair attacked the EVPs on the go-home episode of Dynamite before being saved by Sting, who descended from the rafters one last time.
Ric Flair Thanks WWE Icon For Upcoming Opportunity
One of the most famous wrestlers in the world and one of the most fascinating life stories, many have wondered what a biopic of The Nature Boy would look like if brought to the big screen. In a recent announcement from The Rock, it was revealed that Flair’s life story would be adapted as part of an upcoming Seven Bucks Productions project from the WWE Legend. In response to the news, Ric Flair publicly thanked The Rock for the incredible opportunity.
In recent news, Ric Flair told Will Ospreay that he is one of the best wrestlers in the world today.
H/t to Wrestling Inc.