Wrestling icon Ric Flair reveals skin cancer diagnosis for ‘second time in three years’

Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Ric Flair has been diagnosed with skin cancer again, he has revealed.

“It’s the second time in three years that I’ve been dealing with skin cancer,” the 76-year-old said in an interview with People published on Friday. “I will be undergoing treatment next week.”

His comments come only a month after he denied rumors he had any type of cancer.

“I’m Sorry People Have Been Misled By Social Media, But I Don’t Have Cancer Of Any Kind. Thank You For Your Concerns And For Everyone Reaching Out,” he initially wrote on X on May 5. “I Am Absolutely Fine, And Unfortunately, You’ll Have To Live And Put Up With Me For Another 25 Years!”

Flair has previously opened up about his physical health. In 2017, he went to hospital because he had stomach pains before being put on life support a few days later. He was also put in a medically induced coma, since he was going into the early stages of kidney failure, as a result of alcohol abuse.

“Between 3,700 and 4,000 calories worth of booze — soda or a splash of cranberry — every day. Like 20 drinks a day,” he said during an appearance on ESPN's Dan Le Batard Show in 2017 about his alcohol intake.

He recalled of being admitted to the hospital: “They told my kids that everything had shut down — kidney failure, congestive heart failure, everything shut down. The joke was, with the doctors, that the only thing that was alive and kicking, sitting at the bar waiting for me, was my liver.”

He later had a part of his bowel removed and a pacemaker inserted.

During an appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von in 2023, he looked back on the health scare and said he didn’t drink for a year after it.

“And at one time, I was taking steroids and I took an overdose of one,” Flair said. “My heart went like this [racing] and the guy said, ‘You’ve been drinking too much.’ He thought I had cardiomyopathy. So I did the whole sober thing for a year. It’s not hard for me to quit drinking. They put me in rehab. I had no problem quitting drinking.”

Flair’s wrestling career spanned 50 years. He joined the WWE in 1991, making his TV debut on Prime Time Wrestling that year. He had his final professional match in 2022 when he was 73.

In September, Flair also announced his split from his partner of 13 years, Wendy Barlow. At the time, he acknowledged how grateful he was for Barlow’s support, especially during his 2017 health scare.

“As With Every Couple, We Have Experienced Our Ups And Downs. I Think It’s Important For Everyone To Know Right Now That We Have Decided To Part Ways Respectfully. 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!” he wrote on X.