WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was pulled from Tuesday's SmackDown tapings in Mississippi due to having to undergo surgery, and the company issued a statement about his status following the procedure.
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Flair was booked to appear as a guest referee on SmackDown, which tapes Tuesday night and airs on Friday, but he was pulled due to the need to have minor surgeries reportedly on his stomach.
"The Nature Boy" was also pulled from the WWE's NXT Takeover II: Fatal Four Way event last Thursday that aired on the WWE Network.
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The WWE issued the following statement about Flair undergoing a successful operation:
"WWE Legend Ric Flair is recovering from successful surgery and will miss tomorrow's scheduled guest referee appearance at SmackDown," the company wrote on WWE.com. "Ric is doing well and we look forward to him returning to WWE in the near future."
It was revealed last Thursday morning just hours before Flair was set to appear on the NXT special to introduce Kenta, who will now be known as Hideo Itami, that the WWE Hall of Famer would not be able to appear.
Wrestlingheadlines.com later reported that Flair was hospitalized at Gwinnett Medical Center in Georgia on Sept. 9, two days before NXT Takeover II. The site noted that a source revealed that Flair had been hospitalized at the same facility twice since Sept. 3 and it was believed that the minor surgeries had something to do with his stomach.
PWInsider later reported that Flair was in fact hospitalized in Georgia where he underwent several successful minor surgeries and that the condition he was in was not life-threatening.
Aside from NXT and SmackDown, Flair was reportedly set to make an appearance at Night of Champions Sunday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in some capacity, but has been pulled from that show as well.
There have been rumors that the WWE may call up Flair's daughter, who goes by the ring name Charlotte, in order to give Flair a full-time on-screen role since they've had little to do for him since deciding to try to bring him back for a regular role.
Charlotte defeated Bayley at NXT Takeover II to retain her NXT Women's Championship, so a promotion seems to be on the backburner for now.
While Ric Flair won't be making these appearances over the next week, there is at least good news in regards to his health and recovery.
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