Ric Flair and his son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, defeated Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett in his retirement match on July 31st, 2022. Fans were concerned about Flair’s health going into the match, as an elderly man with a peacemaker in his chest, and they were also concerned for him during it.
Fans expressed concerns about Flair’s appearance in the match, though Flair has blamed his performance on a lack of hydration caused by his weight management regime, which included a strict diet during training for the match.
During a guest appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST, Flair revealed that he suffered a legitimate heart attack during the fight.
“Yeah, I trained (for my last match), I got in the best shape, ever since I was 20 years old, and then I had a heart attack during the match. I had a heart attack during the match. A lot of people didn’t (know). I didn’t know myself until about six months ago because I went and got a — I go to the heart doctor like every six months because I’ve got the pacemaker, right? And they put that on me when I was real sick, not because I had a problem with my heart, but because they couldn’t get over the fact that my heart rate was so low, but it was from all of those hour-long matches and all that cardio.”
Flair stated that he used to do 500 free squats every day because not every town had a gym, or he would do step-ups from a chair. He stated that his heart rate was always around 48, and he later underwent a calcium scan after becoming concerned about a few wrestlers dying from heart problems over the years.
“The guy takes me in and if you look at your heart like a round pie, there’s a piece of my heart right here, this big, it’s black, it’s gone. The guy said, ‘You’ve had a heart attack in the last two years.’ I said, ‘I never hurt.’ He said, ‘Have you passed out in the last two years?’ And during my last match, I passed out three times, and I thought it was because I was dehydrated. So I went in the locker room, I was with Kid Rock and Taker. I just drank two bottles of Gatorade and went back out to Kid Rock’s place all night long. But I had a heart attack. It didn’t hurt, no, none. I feel great, that’s my problem. I’m sure I’m just gonna fall off a chair one day (he laughed). They’re gonna say, there he is. Get that little son of a b*tch up out of here.”
Flair made his last appearance on WWE television two years ago, introducing Charlotte for a segment on Raw 30 in January 2023. He signed with AEW last year, and he appeared on Sting’s retirement tour, which concluded at Revolution.
You can check out the complete podcast below:
(H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcription)
