It's being reported that Ric Flair and WWE Chairman & CEO Mr. Vince McMahon officially began negotiating about a month ago regarding Flair's return to the company.

McMahon and WWE officials do plan on having Flair do physical roles on television, and they had him undergo medical testing to make sure he was healthy enough to do so. Flair has passed the tests and he is expected to be used on programming fairly often, including an upcoming angle with WWE Champion C.M. Punk. 

However, do not expect to see Flair compete in an official match, as both Flair and WWE officials are adamant about honoring Flair's stipulation from his match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 back in 2008.

Flair's return was kept a secret from people backstage and he reportedly stayed in a trailer until it was time for him to appear on television.