Ric Flair Opens Up About His Health Scare and Alcoholism: 'I’ll Never Drink Again'

The wrestling legend says his recent hospitalization "scared the shit out of [him]."

This is a photo of Ric Flair.
Getty

Image via Getty/Sam Greenwood

This is a photo of Ric Flair.

Ric Flair says he’s broken back, been struck by lightning, and survived a plane crash; however, none of those experiences compare to the scare he had last month.

In the second week of August, it was reported that the 68-year-old professional wrestling legend was hospitalized for heart-related issues and eventually put in a medically induced coma. It was later revealed Flair was in the early stages of kidney failure as well as congestive heart failure caused by years of alcohol abuse. He was able to pull through after doctors successfully removed part of his bowel and inserted a pacemaker, but the Nature Boy still has a long road to full recovery.

“It scared the shit out of me,” he told People magazine from a recover center in Atlanta. “I’m not out of the woods yet.”

In the interview, Flair opened up about his struggles with alcoholism and how it took him a while to realize he had an addiction. He said his drinking problems started early in his career, when he began using it to “bond” with his WWE colleagues.

“I never drank when I was working, but as soon as work was over, I went right to the mill,” he told the publication, before admitting he used alcohol to alleviate pains caused by wrestling injuries. ​“I didn’t think I was an alcoholic, but obviously I was [...] I’ll never drink again. I never want to go through this again.”

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