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WWE legend Ric Flair, 76, shares major update on skin cancer battle after surgery

WWE legend Ric Flair, 76, shares major update on skin cancer battle after surgery

Daily Mail​2 days ago
Ric Flair has revealed he is skin cancer free once again after successfully overcoming his second diagnosis in the space of three years.
The WWE legend, 76, sparked fears last month when he announced that he was battling the disease for a second time, before pulling out of a scheduled meet-and-greet in Mississippi roughly a week later.
At the end of June, he told fans that surgery was 'coming up' while asking them to keep him in his prayers and sharing a photo of his stomach - which appeared to have a number of sutures in from previous treatment.
And roughly three weeks later Flair has confirmed that op was a success, meaning he has beaten skin cancer again.
The 'Nature Boy' took to Instagram to share a photo of himself sporting bandages on his forehead and left arm in a medical facility and wrote: 'Thank You Academic Alliance In Dermatology! I'm Now Cancer Free! WOOOOO!'
Fans flooded the comments with tributes to Flair, including one who wrote: 'Thank God!!!! Diamonds are forever, and so is Ric Flair'.
The WWE legend sparked fears last month by announcing he was battling the disease again
'To many more healthy years, Naitch!! WOOOO,' said another.
'Let's gooooo!! Keep Going Naitch,' posted a third.
While one simply commented: 'WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!'
Flair is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time with his daughter, Charlotte, following in his footsteps.
He first declared that he would be retiring in 2008 after losing to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 but has continuously returned to WWE in rare appearances.
In the years since, Flair has tragically suffered with a number of significant health issues.
In 2017, he was in a coma for 11 days and reportedly near death after his intestine ruptured.
Flair had been hospitalized with stomach pains and just a few hours later suffered early stages of kidney failure. He also came close to congestive heart failure as a result of alcohol abuse.
Despite his family being told he only had a 20 percent chance of surviving, Flair eventually recovered after being placed into a medically induced coma and having an obstructed piece of bowel surgically removed.
The 'Nature Boy' is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time
In 2019, he was rushed to the emergency room after reportedly suffering a 'very serious' medical emergency. He later underwent successful heart surgery at the Atlanta hospital.
Boasting 16 WWE world championship titles, Flair cemented himself as one of the greatest icons of the ring. He is also the only WWE superstar to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice.
He rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s with the WCW and the WWF (now the WWE), and he ultimately headlined WrestleMania VIII in 1992.
Flair continued to wrestle well into his 60s and recently made an appearance at 2019's WrestleMania 35.
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Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson pays tribute to ‘childhood hero' Hulk Hogan
Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson pays tribute to ‘childhood hero' Hulk Hogan

Glasgow Times

time22 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson pays tribute to ‘childhood hero' Hulk Hogan

The 53-year-old spoke about meeting Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, for the first time in 1984 as a fan aged 12 when he handed him back his 'Hulkster' headband after it had been thrown into the crowd. In an Instagram post paying tribute to Hogan, who was a leading figure in wrestling during the 1980s and won six WWE Championships, Johnson said: 'Rest in peace, Terry Bollea aka the immortal Hulk Hogan. 'To millions of little kids you were a childhood hero – myself included. 'In 1984, I gave you your 'Hulkster' headband back, in the locker room in Madison Square Garden – I was the lucky kid caught it when you threw it in the crowd. 'You were wrestling Mr Wonderful, Paul Orndorff, that night in the main event. You were shocked and so happy after the match because you told me that was your very last headband and if it weren't for me, you'd have no way of getting that exact one made again. 'You promised me that you would get more made and give me a 'Hulkster' headband of my own as a thank you gift. 'A month later in Madison Square Garden, you did just that. You kept your word, with a handshake and a 'thanks kid', and that meant the world to that little 12 year old boy.' Johnson, who is well known for his appearances in the Fast And Furious film series, went on to speak about how at the age of 29 he faced his hero in the ring at Wrestlemania. He added: 'The match was to decide who would go down in history, as the greatest of all-time. 'When you kick out of my Rock Bottom finisher – just listen and feel that crowd go electric, all for you. I've never felt anything like that in my entire wrestling career. It takes two to tango, but that historic crowd reaction was all for you. 'You may have passed the torch to me that night, but you, my friend, you drew the house, meaning you sold out every arena and stadium across the country in your prime as Hulk Hogan, on your way of becoming the greatest of all-time. 'From deep in my bones, and on behalf of this wild and crazy world of professional wrestling that we love, I say to you now, and forever, thank you for the house, brother.' US President Donald Trump also paid tribute, posting on his Truth Social platform: 'We lost a great friend today, the 'Hulkster', Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart. 'He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week. 'He entertained fans from all over the world, and the cultural impact he had was massive. 'To his wife, Sky, and family, we give our warmest best wishes and love. Hulk Hogan will be greatly missed!' Former WWE star Hogan was found 'experiencing a serious medical-related issue' in a house on Eldorado Avenue and he was taken to Morton Plant Hospital, after Clearwater police department in Florida said officers and fire crews responded to a 'medical-related call' shortly before 10am on Thursday. Hogan died at 11.17am in hospital and there are 'no signs of foul play or suspicious activity', Major Nate Burnside said. WWE star John Cena also paid tribute to Hogan, posting a picture of the wrestler with Andre The Giant on Instagram. His death was confirmed by the WWE, who posted a statement on X saying: 'WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. 'One of pop culture's most recognisable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. 'WWE extends its condolences to Hogan's family, friends, and fans.' Hogan headlined the first Wrestlemania in 1985, and his last WWE match was against Randy Orton at SummerSlam in 2006. Hogan's friend and fellow former professional wrestler Ric Flair wrote on X: 'I am absolutely shocked to hear about the passing of my close friend @HulkHogan! Hulk has been by my side since we started in the wrestling business. 'An incredible athlete, talent, friend, and father!' The legendary Hulk Hogan ❤️💛 — WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2025 Hulkamania was coined in the mid-1980s, as he pushed professional wrestling into the mainstream. He was known for his large muscles, with arms he called his 24-inch pythons, along with his bright blond hair and handlebar moustache. Fellow wrestler Triple H said: 'WWE would not be where it is today without the larger-than-life characters that compete in the ring… and few, if any, loomed larger than Terry 'Hulk Hogan' Bollea.' The former professional wrestler, whose real name is Paul Michael Levesque, described Hogan as 'the archetype of what it meant to be a 'Superstar' – a global sensation that inspired millions to work hard at whatever it was they wanted to accomplish'. His look 'made him recognisable to fans around the world' and 'was simply put, iconic', said the now-chief content officer at WWE. Triple H, 55, added: 'As a Real American or the leader of one of the industry's biggest factions, he transcended and elevated the entire business to heights never before seen – in every country and on every continent. WWE would not be where it is today without the larger-than-life characters that compete in the ring … and few, if any, loomed larger than Terry 'Hulk Hogan' Bollea. He was the archetype of what it meant to be a 'Superstar' – a global sensation that inspired millions to work… — Triple H (@TripleH) July 24, 2025 'There was no-one like The Hulkster and there very well may never be another. My family sends their condolences to his family, friends, and fans.' Major Burnside said: 'Our personnel is providing the family with the necessary resources. I'm strongly encouraging everyone to keep the family in their thoughts and respect their privacy during this difficult time.' Police are 'conducting a death investigation, which is standard in these types of cases', he added.

WWE icon Nikki Bella's reaction to Happy Gilmore 2 scenes being cut as star 'devastated'
WWE icon Nikki Bella's reaction to Happy Gilmore 2 scenes being cut as star 'devastated'

Daily Mirror

time34 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

WWE icon Nikki Bella's reaction to Happy Gilmore 2 scenes being cut as star 'devastated'

WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella was left 'devastated' when she discovered all of her dialogue scenes had been cut from the flick Nikki Bella has revealed her shock at discovering all of her speaking scenes were axed from Happy Gilmore 2. ‌ The eagerly anticipated sequel featuring Adam Sandler as the hot-headed professional golfer finally dropped on Netflix this Friday (25th July). ‌ Crammed with appearances from sporting icons and comedy favourites, Bella was set to feature alongside fellow grapplers MJF and Becky Lynch. ‌ They even backed the movie on the red carpet during the film's premiere earlier this week, but Bella was left stunned when she settled down to view it. After catching wind of whispers that some of the film's footage had been slashed from the final version, she was "devastated" to learn the chopped scenes featured all of her spoken parts, reports the Mirror US. ‌ Breaking down the situation on The Nikki and Brie Show, she revealed: "So this is what I'm gonna say. Happy Gilmore 2 was awesome. I laughed the whole time. And there was so much I didn't know. "Now, I remember hearing a few months ago that 20 minutes was gonna have to be cut out, and I'd been praying that it wouldn't be my stuff. "Well guess what? All my talking stuff got cut. And not just me, it's the whole group of people I filmed with." ‌ Bella disclosed she and her wrestling mates had several "funny scenes" that were stripped out. Whilst she was undoubtedly gutted, she acknowledged the choice was simply part of the film-making business. "I get it when I'm watching the whole thing," she continued. "For 20 minutes to be taken out, and to keep the heart of Happy Gilmore, it had to happen." ‌ Despite this, Bella couldn't hide her disappointment after working with comedy legends on one of the most anticipated sequels of the year. Watch Stranger Things on Netflix for free with Sky from £15 Sky Get the deal here Product Description ‌ "I mean, I'm not gonna lie, like inside I was really bummed, and like devastated, yeah and like red-faced," she confessed. "Like even though I mean, like, whatever, but you know when you're like oh my gosh? Like, it just, like I was like, sad you know? "I almost wish I like knew, especially because I did media right before that, and I'm like oh my gosh I'm this character, don't even end up knowing my name!" ‌ However, despite her disappointment, Bella's scenes being cut hasn't tarnished her view of the film itself. "But it's okay," she said. "Honestly like, the movie is so good. The movie is so good! "It's the best movie I've seen in years. I'm not even just saying that." Happy Gilmore 2 is available to stream on Netflix.

Revealed: How WWE stars really felt about Hulk Hogan after wrestling legend's death at 71
Revealed: How WWE stars really felt about Hulk Hogan after wrestling legend's death at 71

Daily Mail​

time37 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Revealed: How WWE stars really felt about Hulk Hogan after wrestling legend's death at 71

While he is regarded by many as the greatest wrestler in history, the late Hulk Hogan divided opinion amongst his fellow WWE stars before his tragic death this week. Hogan passed away at the age of 71 early Thursday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Clearwater, Florida home, confirmed later in the day. Medics rushed to his property before taking him Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The sporting icon's passing has sent shockwaves across the world, with a host of high-profile figures - including wrestling superstars past and present - expressing their sadness at the news. Yet Hogan did not enjoy positive relationships with all of his WWE colleagues over the years. Some wrestlers failed to see eye to eye with Hulk behind the scenes, such as fellow legend Bret Hart. Hart, who threatened to succeed Hogan as the face of the WWE in the early 1990s, was initially friends with his predecessor before their relationship deteriorated when the latter refused to drop the WWE Championship to him at SummerSlam 1993 in a proposed passing-of-the-torch moment. The Canadian felt Hogan purposely tried to sabotage his career, including when he dropped the championship himself to Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9 months later. After his loss, Hulk headed into the ring moments later and somehow walked away with the title himself - despite never being scheduled for a match. In the years since, Hart has claimed that he was initially supposed to win his match against Yokozuna that night, only for WWE boss Vince McMahon to alter those plans at the last minute to appease Hogan by making him the champion again. Bret recalled in his 2009 book: 'I was really thinking, 'Go ahead, Hogan, take from me what I worked so hard to get. We'll see just how long you last!'' Hogan and Hart only ever wrestled each other on one occasion, but it came when both were members of rival promotion WCW - where they also clashed heads over the former's level of influence behind the scenes. In 2006, Hart is even said to have blanked his nemesis' offer of a handshake at a WWE Hall of Fame event, and the pair regularly trashed each other in the media up until Hogan's death this week. Hogan said about Hart after appearing on Logan Paul's 'IMPAULSIVE' podcast last year: 'Bret Hart hates everybody. It's not just me - it's [Ric] Flair, it's Vince. You know, 'I'll never work for Vince again after what happened to my family,' and then he's back. It just never ends with him.' Hart, meanwhile, had another dig at his rival earlier this year during an interview with combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani. 'When you watch a lot of the wrestlers today, you don't see anybody imitating Hulk Hogan or Ultimate Warrior,' he claimed. 'You see a lot of wrestlers today really trying their best to capture my style, or some of the guys that I worked with, like Dynamite Kid, or Curt Hennig, my brother Owen [Hart] and stuff like them. 'Yeah, they're wrestling my style, and that's the biggest compliment I can get from today's generation is that.' Since the news of Hogan's passing, Hart is yet to pay tribute to his former adversary. Another WWE great who had a complicated relationship with Hogan over the years is 'The Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels. Michaels shared the ring with his fellow Hall of Famer at SummerSlam 2005, a match he lost as part of an agreement for him to go on and win a future contest between them. However, Hogan is believed to have gone back on that agreement prior to the match at SummerSlam, which infuriated 'HBK' and led to his comedic overselling - when wrestlers dramatically overexaggerate reactions - during their SummerSlam clash. WWE bosses were said to be unhappy with his antics that night, but Michaels' performance went down so well with fans that he was quickly let off the hook. Hogan refused to entertain a rematch and that proved the only time two true icons of the sport collided. A legend. A larger-than-life presence. Hulk Hogan didn't just work in this business… he transformed it. Rest in peace, Hulkster. — Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) July 24, 2025 'We were going to do a best of three, and in the last minute, [Hogan] backed out,' Michaels recalled in 2014. 'So that day [at SummerSlam] - and I will admit this - I poked the bear all day. I already knew what I was gonna do, I was gonna go out there and do business, but I was gonna make him earn it, just to be a pain in the butt all day. And that was something I did just for my own enjoyment.' Despite their fallout back in 2005, Michaels and Hogan repaired their relationship and were on good terms before the latter's death, with HBK posting on Thursday: 'A legend. A larger-than-life presence. Hulk Hogan didn't just work in this business… he transformed it. Rest in peace, Hulkster.' Not all of the WWE stars who feuded with Hogan over the years fell out with him due to wrestling issues, nevertheless. In 2015, the all-time great encountered one of the most high-profile scandals of his career when a leaked audio caught him using a racial slur when discussing his daughter Brooke's dating life. The outrage forced the WWE to terminate their contract with him. The organization also removed all references to him from their website, his merchandise from the official shop and his entry to the Hall of Fame page. 'Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it,' Hogan said at the time in a statement to PEOPLE. And despite pleading for forgiveness over his offensive comments, which eventually got him back into the Hall of Fame, Hogan's scandal was too hurtful for some of his peers to ever forget. Former WWE star Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), who now competes under the All Elite Wrestling banner, referred to Hogan as a 'racist' when discussing controversy surrounding wrestling icon Triple H last year. MVP denied calling Triple H, who is now the WWE's chief content officer, a racist despite claiming he provides less opportunities for 'talent of color'. And to argue his point he said: 'My opinion on how he [Triple H] books talent of color, that's a different conversation, but I never said the man was racist. Hulk Hogan is racist. He said it himself, "I'm a little bit racist." He said that. As far as Triple H, I don't know that he is.' Earlier this year the two-time WWE United States champion doubled down on his criticism of Hogan, calling for him to be removed from any hypothetical Mount Rushmores over the controversy. 'There are many people that would make the case that Hulk Hogan should be on it,' he said when asked to name his own Mount Rushmore of wrestling legends. 'I think he's disqualified in my opinion, because… he's who he is. Self-admitted, unapologetic, so that's that.' In January of this year, Hulk was booed during a surprise appearance at Monday Night Raw in Los Angeles - which retired WWE hero Mark Henry was far from surprised by. Henry revealed in an interview with TMZ shortly after Hogan's hostile reception that he had offered to try and help him repair his fractured public image in the wake of the racism scandal, only for it to fall on deaf ears. 'He never wanted to go forward and fix it,' he claimed about Hogan. 'That's what happens when you think that everything is gonna go away. It's not gonna go away. He thinks it's gonna go away. That it's not gonna be that dark cloud over his career.' 'I offered,' Henry continued, 'to say 'Hey let's do a tour of the black colleges, law schools, and explain what happened.' He didn't want to do that.' The Undertaker, meanwhile, admitted he had little sympathy for Hogan after he was brutally jeered by fans in LA. When asked if he felt bad for Hulk on his 'Six Feet Under' podcast, The Undertaker laughed: 'No.' He then added: 'I got feelings. I got feelings for people. [But] sometimes in life, things come back.' He has also had run-ins with the likes of CM Punk, who branded him a 'piece of s***' back in 2021, but Hogan was also supported by a number of wrestling stars who called for him to be forgiven. Wrestling royalty Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson said in 2015: 'I've known [Hulk Hogan] for a lot of years. My dad helped train him in Florida in the '70s when he was breaking into the business. My uncles helped train him as well. So I'd not known him to be racist. 'I was pretty disappointed with what I heard, like all of us, by the way,' Johnson added. 'Pretty disappointed. 'It's funny, it's one of those things where, and not justifying what he said, but we've all talked trash, especially in private. He said what he said and he's paying the price.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Undertaker (@undertaker) WWE icon Booker T also insisted his good friend deserved a 'second chance' after begging for forgiveness. 'Everybody deserves a second chance,' he argued. 'It's what life is all about.' Despite his subtle remark about the 2015 scandal, The Undertaker also paid tribute to Hogan following his death on Thursday. 'The wrestling world has lost a true legend,' he wrote on Instagram along with a photo of one of their earlier matches together. 'His contributions to our business are immeasurable and for that I am appreciative. Thank you, Hulk Hogan.' Hogan's long-lasting legacy in the sport and the many friendships he formed means he was largely adored in the wrestling community, though he also encountered his fair share of controversy over the years and irked some of his colleagues in the process.

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