WWE legend Ric Flair has revealed that he has skin cancer for the second time in three years.
The 76-year-old WWE Hall of Famer, famously known as the “Nature Boy,” shared the update after initially denying rumors on X (formerly Twitter), saying he wanted to keep the diagnosis private.
But now, Flair is ready to open up.
Speaking to People, he confirmed: “It’s the second time in three years that I’ve been dealing with skin cancer. I will be undergoing treatment next week.” He added: “Appreciate the concerns!”
Flair, a 16-time world champion and one of the most iconic figures in professional wrestling, is set to begin treatment next week, as reported by The Sun.
This isn’t the first health scare for the Memphis-born wrestling icon, whose real name is Richard Morgan Fliehr.
Back in August 2017, Flair was hospitalized with stomach pains.
Things quickly spiraled. Within hours, the North Carolina native was in the early stages of kidney failure and teetering on the edge of congestive heart failure — the result of years of alcohol abuse.
Doctors told his family he had just a 20% chance of survival. He was placed in a medically induced coma, had part of his bowel removed, and a pacemaker inserted.
“I crashed in an airplane and broke my back, I’ve been hit by lightning,” Flair told People in 2017. “But this is totally different. Anything I’ve been through before is nothing like this.”
Flair credits much of his survival to then-partner Wendy Barlow, who stood by him through the ordeal.
Although the couple split in September 2024, he shared a powerful message on social media: “I’ll Never Ever Be Able To Thank Her Enough For Standing By My Side Through My Terrible Health Crisis In 2017. She Never Left My Side! And For That I Will Always Be Grateful!”
Their relationship — and Flair’s brush with death — was highlighted in the 2022 Peacock documentary Woooooo! Becoming Ric Flair. In it, Barlow revealed how Flair coped by stepping deeper into his legendary persona.
“I don’t know how he survived. What he did was go back into Ric Flair, to be a character so he didn’t have to feel,” she said.
Despite his age and mounting health concerns, Flair has remained incredibly active. Born in 1949, he began wrestling professionally in the early 1970s and went on to dominate across WWE, WCW, NWA, and even New Japan.
Remarkably, he was still performing in the ring as recently as last year at AEW events.