In 2017, Ric Flair nearly passed away. And to honour his countless achievements, WWE created a video package to showcase what he meant to them.
Throughout his storied career, ‘The Nature Boy’ has solidified himself as one of the most outstanding performers in wrestling history. He captivated audiences with his sensational performances and charisma on the mic for nearly four decades.
He became renowned for his ability to make a match against anyone main-event worthy, regardless of their skill level. He could sell a moment better than anyone else and set a higher pace than every athlete on the roster.
En route to winning 16 World Championships, he provided wrestling enthusiasts with some of the greatest match-ups of all time.
His trilogy with Ricky Steamboat is undeniably the stuff of legend, and who could forget his epic rivalry with Barry Windham?
Although he’s now 73, the sporting icon is as much of a hero as the day he retired. So when he experienced a worrying health scare, the entire community rallied together in the hope he would recover.
WWE prepared a video package to play in the event that Ric Flair didn’t make it
After excessive alcohol abuse, Flair developed kidney and heart issues. Therefore, medical experts decided to place him in a medically induced coma. During an interview with The Pivot Podcast, he explained how near he came to death and how the WWE intended to celebrate his legacy.
As per Wrestling News.co, Flair said: “31 days later, I woke up in the ICU. For 13 days, I was on life support. I had no memory for six months. I could remember going forward, but I had no memory of the past. They wrote me off. I was operated on on Monday morning. The WWE made a package because it was, like, a 5% chance that I would make it through it. It makes you re-evaluate everything.”
He then explained his decision to carry on drinking: “But at the end of the day, I still think that if you’re not hurting anybody, and you’re certainly not being malicious, I don’t think it’s wrong to have fun. I’m not going to stop. I spent a year worrying that I was going to die every day.
“Once you’ve been that sick, I mean, all you do, and it’s kind of like getting over that anxiety, then you start feeling more comfortable. Then I had one beer, and one champagne, and then two beers and then a couple of years now and drinking the vodka once in a while. I guess the best way to put it is there’s nothing left for me to do. I’m going to have fun. My family is all in a good place.”
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