Ric Flair is ‘awake, communicating & progressing’ Saturday, his rep said Saturday, amid a frantic week filled in which he was put in a medically-induced coma and operated on.
The 68-year-old pro wrestling legend, according to his rep Melinda Morris Zanoni on Twitter, was awake and responsive, even engaged in a spirited rant on one of his nurses as he claws his way back to health.
‘He did cut a promo on a nurse yesterday so anyone that knows [Flair] knows that’s a very, very good sign,’ Zanoni tweeted, using a bit of pro wrestling parlance.
Comeback trail: Ric Flair, 68, is ‘awake, communicating & progressing,’ his rep said Saturday, amid a frantic week filled in which he was put in a medically-induced coma and operated on
Zanoni said that the Nature Boy has suffered ‘complications’ amid his health battle, so he ‘needs rest’ for the foreseeable future.
Zanoni thanked Flair’s fans for ‘the outpouring of prayers [and] well wishes’ and ‘love [and] respect’ sent his way, joking that offers pouring in to donate ‘a kidney seemed a little excessive.’
The 16-time World Champion ‘is a survivor,’ Zanoni said, reminding followers that Flair survived an October 1975 plane crash and ‘being struck by lightening’ in the 1970s.
Zanoni urged Flair’s fans, ‘Don’t believe everything [you] read,’ saying that some of the information that has circulated about Flair’s heath crisis has been ‘false.’
The latest: Ric’s rep Melinda Morris Zanoni issued a series of updates about the wrestler’s health
The wrestling icon, known for ‘stylin’ and ‘profilin,’ was in critical condition after his surgery on Monday, his fiancee Wendy Barlow said via statement on Facebook, obtained by TMZ.
Wendy wrote of her fiance: ‘Just want to give an update to my friends and family as I have been unable to talk on the phone without crying and just feel shocked over events.
‘I took Ric to the hospital Friday night with severe abdominal pain,’ she explained. ‘From that moment on all seems like a nightmare…multiple organ problems. Not to go into too many details I want everyone to know he still needs prayers as he is still in critical condition.
‘And no he did not have colon surgery…it was another surgery. I have been by his side since Friday and will continue to make sure he is getting the best care possible,’ she concluded.
Sending love: A number of Flair’s peers in the wrestling business have taken to Twitter to offer their support for the 16-time World Champion
Zanoni earlier this week confirmed Flair had undergone surgery which had been a success on Monday, but that there was ‘still a long road ahead’ to recovery for the star.
Flair was checked into intensive care near his Atlanta home last week by his family. Before the operation, a representative for the ex-WWE star – who quit the ring in 2011 – told TMZ Sports he was in a medically-induced coma and awaiting surgery after being admitted to hospital early on Saturday morning.
Reports that there might be something wrong with Ric were initially dismissed by members of his team on Saturday, but that all changed late Sunday night.
Duking it out: Flair famously battled with wrestling luminaries such as Hulk Hogan (pictured here), Ricky Steamboat and Terry Funk
Traumatic: The news comes four months after Ric asked for prayers for his fiancee Wendy Barlow who was in a serious car crash (pictured in May 2017)
Flair also posted a birthday message to his friend and fellow wrestler Hulk Hogan just one day before he checked into the hospital.
‘Happy Birthday To My Brother HH!’ wrote Flair. He then reposted a photo of himself with Hogan and Zanoni on Facebook late Friday, writing: ‘WOOOOO!’
Mail Online has contacted Ric’s representative for comment.
Fighter: The athlete was snapped at the ESPY awards in July of 2016 in LA
Famous family: Flair and his daughter Ashley, whose ring name is Charlotte, were snapped in Germany last year
The star previously revealed he had been called a ‘medical miracle’ because doctors found no health problems during a routine medical four years after he retired.
He said on his podcast in 2015: ‘I don’t have any health issues. Everybody else has hips and knees. I had to go to Pittsburgh for a physical because they wanted me to do some in-ring stuff.
‘I go there to see the heart specialist. They tested me for four hours. The doctors said, “There’s something wrong with you, has to be,” and I said “Yeah, it’s called an hour Broadway every night brother.” The guy looked at me and said that I was a medical miracle.’
Unbeatable: Ric is largely considered to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time, boasting 16 WWE world championship titles
Rivalry: Ric took on Hulk Hogan during his Hulkamania tour in Australia in 2009
Couple: In April Ric tweeted alarming news about his fiancée, writing: ‘Please pray for my fiancée who was just in a serious car wreck,’ he wrote. ‘She is at the hospital.’Barlow (L) and Flair (R) are seen here on the set of Celebrity Wife Swap in February 2013
In April, Ric tweeted alarming news about his fiancée, writing: ‘Please pray for my fiancée who was just in a serious car wreck,’ he wrote. ‘She is at the hospital.’
Barlow also hails from the world of professional wrestling, as she was Flair’s valet, known as Fifi the Maid, for the now-defunct outfit WCW, which stood for World Championship Wrestling.
Barlow and Flair dated for three years before he proposed to her last July. Ric has previously been married four times.
‘Please pray for my fiancée who was just in a serious car wreck,’ Flair wrote; ‘She is at the hospital’
True love: Barlow and Flair dated for three years before he proposed to her last July; Barlow (L) and Flair (R) are seen here on the set of Celebrity Wife Swap in February 2013
Iconic: Ric is seen in a typically flamboyant stage costume in Perth, Australia in November 2009
Ric is largely considered to be the greatest professional wrestler of all-time, and the only WWE Superstar to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice.
Mail Online has contacted reps for Ric for comment.