Report: Why Ric Flair didn’t appear on the 2025 Blood & Guts edition of AEW Dynamite

Ric Flair was originally scheduled to appear on the 2025 Blood & Guts edition of AEW Dynamite with Ricky Steamboat. However, only Steamboat was involved in a segment with FTR.

Flair was in attendance for the show and spoke with fans before Dynamite went on the air. According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, Flair ended up leaving due to him being in “a ton of pain” from a recent rotator cuff tear. Meltzer noted the following while speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio…

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

He was booked to appear on the show. I don’t know if he was going to be a part of that Steamboat angle, but it probably was the case. He just felt that he couldn’t do that angle. He was in a lot of pain so he actually went home after he did his promo, which is before the show started, so he was there, but he was hurt.” (quote courtesy of WrestleTalk.com)