Reason Ric Flair Didn’t Appear on AEW Dynamite Broadcast Revealed

Ric Flair was advertised to appear alongside Ricky Steamboat during Saturday’s AEW Collision and again during the November 13 episode of AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts. But when the show aired, Flair was nowhere to be seen. Now, the real reason behind his absence has been revealed—and it came down to a painful and sudden injury.

According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, Flair was present at the Greensboro Coliseum but couldn’t go through with the televised segment due to a torn rotator cuff. Despite being in visible pain, Flair made a brief appearance for the live crowd before the show went on the air, but skipped the scheduled on-screen moment entirely. Meltzer broke down exactly what happened:

“Ric was there. He suffered a torn rotator cuff. I believe it was from a fall, but I’m not sure exactly how he got it. But he just got it. And he went to the show and he came out to talk to the fans.”

Flair even tried to hide the extent of his injury:

“He took his arm out of a sling because he didn’t— I guess he didn’t want them seeing his arm in a sling, but his arm was in a sling.”

Originally booked to appear on the show, Flair’s role was reportedly dropped at the last second due to the injury.

“He was booked to appear on the show. And I don’t know if he was going to be in that Steamboat angle, but… I would think it’s a pretty good chance that was the case. And just felt that, you know, he couldn’t do that angle. And he was in a lot of pain.”

Flair quietly exited the venue after his brief pre-show promo:

“He actually went home after he did his promo, which was before the show started. So he was there, but he’s hurt, you know, so that’s the deal.”

Bryan Alvarez added more context on the awkwardness fans noticed during Steamboat’s solo segment:

“I would presume he was supposed to be in that segment, because Ricky Steamboat looked like he was asked at the last second. That was not Ricky Steamboat’s finest hour in that.”

Meltzer followed up to clarify Steamboat was always intended to appear—but likely not alone:

“Steamboat was gonna be in the segment. It wasn’t going to be— Steamboat was always going to be in the segment. I presume that it was for both of them to be out there. But, you know, unfortunately… I hope Ric gets better. You know, injuries suck. And that’s that.”

So while Ric Flair did technically appear in Greensboro, his on-screen absence was due to a legitimate injury that sidelined him just before showtime. AEW fans were left watching an improvised version of what was likely meant to be a nostalgic segment with two wrestling legends.

Were you disappointed Ric Flair didn’t appear on Dynamite? Would you like to see the Steamboat–Flair reunion rescheduled once Flair heals up? Share your thoughts below.

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