WWE News: Ric Flair Scheduled To Undergo ‘Serious’ Heart Surgery As Wife Issues Statement

Following conflicting reports on the medical emergency Ric Flair was hospitalized for on Thursday, the latest update on the WWE Hall of Famer’s situation notes that he will be going through a “serious” heart procedure on Friday.

In a news clip from Fox 5 Atlanta that was posted on Thursday evening, reporter Will Nunley cited sources close to Flair’s family, who said that the wrestling legend was scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday at an Atlanta-area hospital. While Flair and his wife, Wendy Barlow, were expecting the need for some sort of procedure prior to the medical emergency, Nunley added that the nature of the operation is “still quite serious.”

Fox 5 Atlanta’s report came hours after Barlow issued a statement to TMZ, where she confirmed that her husband was indeed hospitalized on Thursday morning, but did not offer any details on Flair’s specific health issues.

“Due to ongoing health complications, Ric was taken to the hospital and is expected to undergo a procedure tomorrow morning, after which he expects to fully recover.”

As reported on Thursday by The Inquisitr, Ric Flair’s medical condition was described by TMZ as being “very serious,” though this was seemingly downplayed by the 16-time WWE champion’s son-in-law, Conrad Thompson, minutes after the original report from the entertainment outlet. In a pair of tweets, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp cited Thompson, who claimed that Flair’s condition “is not as grave or serious” as it was purported to be, and that his father-in-law was hospitalized for what he referred to as a “planned procedure” ahead of the Starrcast II wrestling convention in Las Vegas.

Ric Flair Expected To Fully Recover, Per Wife's Statement – https://t.co/PXaLb3ayfb

— Cultaholic Wrestling (@Cultaholic) May 16, 2019

Thompson’s statement was later countered by Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin, who tweeted on Thursday afternoon that Flair had been “dealing with some heart issues as of late” and that his trip to the hospital, despite what Thompson suggested, was not planned.

According to a report from People, Flair has been plagued by numerous health issues this decade, including a medical emergency in the summer of 2017 where he was reportedly given a 20 percent chance to live and placed in a medically-induced coma. Eventually, Flair recovered from this health scare, which resulted in part of his bowel being removed due to an intestinal blockage, though the publication noted that Flair was also found to be “in the early stages” of kidney failure and “on the verge of” congestive heart failure due to a long-running drinking habit.

Following the aforementioned operation, Flair told People and other publications that he had quit drinking in an effort to ensure that he doesn’t go through a similar life-threatening situation in the future.

Despite having long retired from in-ring competition, Ric Flair has made occasional appearances on WWE programming and was last seen on television at WrestleMania 35 last month, when he helped Triple H defeat Batista by interfering in their No Holds Barred match at the event.