"One of my really close friends" - AEW's Tony Khan about recent WWE release

AEW President Tony Khan opened up about his relationship with Ric Flair, calling him one of his "really close friends".

Ric Flair was backstage recently in AEW, but in the All Out media scrum, Khan stated that he didn't speak to the WWE Hall of Famer about coming to the company. Instead, the two discussed Andrade El Idolo and his progress in AEW. The AEW President noted that the two-time WWE Hall of Famer cares about his family and wants to see Andrade do well in AEW.

"I've talked to Ric because he's one of my really close friends," said Khan. "I can't say about AEW, but what I talked to him most about is his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo, who is a top performer here, and he's one of our big stars and he's got a huge match coming up on AEW Rampage on Friday night against Pac. And I really believe Ric is family-first person. He really cares about that. And he wants to see Andrade El Idolo do really well here." (H/T ComicBook)

Andrade debuted in AEW in June 2021 after being let go by WWE in March.

Ric Flair on joining AEW

"I haven't heard a word" - Ric Flair says he hasn't gotten an offer to join AEW yet

On a similar note, while speaking with Renee Paquette on her podcast, Ric Flair stated that he hadn't yet heard from Tony Khan about joining AEW following his WWE release.

"People started the rumors, 'Ohh, he's going to AEW," said Flair. "'You and Tony Khan are friends.' I mean, we are friends, but I haven't heard a word from Tony."

Flair was backstage last week during AEW shows and posted videos of himself with AEW stars Marko Stunt and Orange Cassidy. The pro wrestling icon also recently appeared on NWA's 73rd Anniversary pay-per-view, where he delivered a passionate message.

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