Some things in this world are inevitable. Someday the sun will go supernova and take us all out. Pete Davidson will keep dating the most famous women in Hollywood. Skip Bayless will keep riding the Dallas Cowboys like a roller coaster.
One of those inevitabilities just hit the news: a wrestling legend from the fever dream that was 1980s pro wrestling has released an energy drink.
This drink is none other than WOOOOO! Energy by the absolutely prolific Ric “Nature Boy” Flair.
You read that right. The drink is called “Wooooo!”, five O’s and an exclamation point. You have to admire Flair’s blind faith that anyone under 40 will recognize the brand. The man is 74. Sure, he’s younger than some presidential candidates, but that doesn’t mean he should be anywhere near an energy drink.
Ordering it was odd, too. It was nowhere on Amazon, so I ordered from the brand’s Shopify store and got a UPS tracking number by text.
When the package showed up, was it a nice box with neatly organized cans? Of course not. It was an oversized cardboard box, duct-taped shut, with the cans scattered inside like Flair personally spiked each one in like a volleyball, with a custom “WOO” for every order.
A sparkling… mushroom elixir?
The drink is described as a sparkling mushroom elixir. As I went to take my first sip of Strawberry Banana, I paused right before it hit my lips as the word mushroom registered. Sure, the odds that Ric Flair would lead an unsuspecting public into a psychedelic trip were small. But they were not zero.
Since I hadn’t budgeted a psilocybin trip into my weekend, I did some research. This drink is not intended to make you trip; it uses functional, non-psychedelic mushrooms. I even did some eye-opening reading on their health effects. I give it three weeks before I’m kicked off Caffeine Shark for trying to convince the team how rewarding foraging is.
The variety pack has three flavors:
- Strawberry Banana
- Dragon Fruit
- Lemon
Tyler’s review: 7.3/10
Don’t judge a book by its cover. This is a good energy drink. They sacrificed some carbonation for more fruitiness, and it works in a refreshing way. It doesn’t match the easy-drinking flavor of powerhouses like Celsius and Alani Nu, but it definitely has a unique profile.
Jared’s review: 6.4/10
We embrace healthy debate at Caffeine Shark, so here’s Jared’s take on the Lemon:
“WOOOOO is trying to do way too much here. Mushrooms, caffeine, Himalayan pink salt, and Ric Flair??? I feel like a caffeinated man confused at IKEA right now. The lemon comes through pretty strong, and there’s a funky aftertaste I associate with the salt, but it could also be the mushrooms. I like how ambitious the drink is, but I don’t think I’d seek this flavor out again.”
Will it hit a shelf near you?
Probably not. I enjoyed it, but it feels like a passion project, the energy drink equivalent of Elon Musk selling a flamethrower. We all know it’s a bad idea, but it’s entertaining and I’m here for it.
More celebrity cans: Kim Kardashian’s Alani Nu flavor, Jerry Rice’s G.O.A.T. Fuel, and Logan Paul and KSI’s PRIME.
