Ric Flair was rushed to the hospital Friday after a fall outside a Tampa restaurant, hours after revealing a blood clot that canceled his Seattle appearance.
The 77-year-old WWE Hall of Famer walked out of a restaurant in Tampa, Fla., on Friday morning, suddenly fell, and cut his head and eye open before leaving in an ambulance, the New York Post reported, citing TMZ.
The injury came just hours after Flair told fans he was dealing with a blood clot in his leg, that doctors had capped his travel, and that he had to scrub a scheduled appearance at Washington State Horror Con in Seattle.
Flair posted the update on X under his Ric Flair® account on October 23, 2026. He apologized to fans, to the convention, and to his agent, Steve Solomon.
In his own words, the Nature Boy made the stakes plain.
"Unfortunately, I Am Dealing With A Blood Clot In My Leg, And My Doctors Have Limited My Travel To 3, 4 Hours."
He added that Seattle fell outside that window and that recovery came first.
"Seattle Falls Outside That Range, And As Disappointed As I Am, I Have To Put My Health And Recovery First."
Flair also warned that blood clots are not a minor inconvenience. He pointed to recent complications involving clots in the lungs for NFL quarterback Jalen Hurts and said he had to follow medical advice.
"Blood Clots Are Extremely Serious And Can Be Life-Threatening. We Have Seen This Recently With Jalen Hurts And The Complications Involving Blood Clots In His Lungs. It Is A Reminder That This Is Not Something To Take Lightly, And I Must Follow Medical Advice."
He said he was scheduled for a procedure to treat the affected vein. The Post and TMZ accounts did not name the hospital, the restaurant, or his condition after the ambulance ride.
This is not Flair’s first serious health scare. In 2017 he was placed in a medically induced coma after multiple organ failure.
In May he said he was dealing with “health issues” and needed time to focus on his health after a public rant tied to what appeared to be a trademark fight with his son.
Friday’s sequence was blunt: a clot announcement and canceled fan appearance in the morning window, then a sudden fall outside a Tampa restaurant and a trip to the hospital by ambulance. No official medical statement beyond Flair’s post and the TMZ-sourced injury details was included in the reporting.
Flair built a career on walking into chaos and finishing the match. When doctors draw a hard line on travel and a clot turns a sidewalk into an ambulance ride, finishing the match means listening, not toughing it out for a convention stage.
