Claim: WWE wrestler Ric Flair was declared brain dead on 16 May 2019. 
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Astrocytoma
text: Rally Championship, was diagnosed with astrocytoma in 2003. Four years to the day after winning the World Rally Championship, on 25 November 2005, Burns died in Westminster, London, aged 34, after having been in a coma for some days as a result of his brain tumour. Professional wrestler Matt Cappotelli was diagnosed with a grade 2/3 astrocytoma in December 2005, scuttling plans to promote Cappottelli to the main WWE roster. Cappotelli, who won a contract with WWE through the third season of their reality program Tough Enough, was the Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Champion at the time of his diagnosis

title: Ric Flair
text: WWE adopting the ring name, Charlotte (which was later changed to include the Flair surname). On March 29, 2013, Reid died from an accidental overdose of heroin, Xanax and a muscle relaxer. In December 2005, a judge issued arrest warrants for Flair after a road rage incident that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina in which Flair allegedly got out of his car, grabbed a motorist by the neck, and kicked the door off the motorist's sport utility vehicle. Flair was charged with two misdemeanors, injury to personal property and simple assault and battery. This incident was ridiculed on WWE

title: Ron Bass (wrestler)
text: in Florida's construction market. He also became an Amway salesman in the Tampa area. He had one son. In July 2016, Heard was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit is litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. In March 2017, Heard was hospitalized due to a burst appendix. He died on March 7 at the age of 68 due to complications following surgery. Ron

title: Ric Flair
text: reconciled and were friends until Sammartino's passing in 2018. Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), better known as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestling manager and retired professional wrestler signed to WWE under its Legends program. Described by many sources as the greatest professional wrestler of all time and the best American performer of the 1980s, Flair had a career that spanned 40 years. He is noted for his tenures with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Since the mid-1970s, he

title: Ric Flair
text: for our country. And I'm here to excite the crowd". Flair endorsed Ted Cruz during the 2016 presidential election. Flair has a heart condition called alcoholic cardiomyopathy. On August 14, 2017, Flair had surgery in Georgia to remove an obstructive piece of his bowel, which led to various complications, most seriously kidney failure, necessitating dialysis treatment and ongoing hospitalization. He was discharged from rehabilitation and allowed to return home on September 21. Flair engaged in an off-screen rivalry with Bret Hart. In October 1993, Hart gave a radio interview in which he said Flair "sucks" and described his workplace, WCW,

title: Ric Flair
text: next match Flair lost would result in a forced retirement. Later in the night, Flair defeated Orton after a distraction by Chris Jericho. It was revealed on the 15th anniversary of "Raw" that the win or retire ultimatum only applied in singles matches. Flair won several "career threatening" matches against the opponents such as Triple H, Umaga, William Regal, Mr. Kennedy, and Vince McMahon himself among others. On March 29, 2008, Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2008 by Triple H. The day after, Flair wrestled at WrestleMania XXIV in

title: Ric Flair
text: his match against Sting. Flair continued to make appearances for TNA until April 2012. In April 2012, Flair tried to have his TNA contract terminated, which led to TNA filing a lawsuit against WWE for contract tampering and eventually firing Flair on May 11. Having been inactive since his September 2011 injury, Flair announced in a December 3, 2012 interview that he would never wrestle again, owing chiefly to an on-air heart attack suffered by age peer Jerry Lawler following a "Raw" match three months earlier. On March 31, 2012, while still contracted to TNA, Flair became the first person

title: Ric Flair
text: Horsemen, he is also a member of the NWA Hall of Fame, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. Flair is officially recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion (eight-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWF Champion), although the number of his world championship reigns varies by source, ranging from 16 to 25. He has claimed to be a 21-time champion. He was the first holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (which he also held last). As the inaugural WCW

title: Randy Anderson
text: Jett and Anderson. According to story line Randy Anderson was still fired when Ric Flair became WCW President in 1999 and reinstated him. Anderson continued as a referee in WCW until his battle with cancer forced him to retire in 1999. Anderson was an amateur wrestler in high school, winning a state championship in the 119-lb class. Anderson was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 36. He was diagnosed after recognizing his symptoms while reading a medical magazine. Because of a malignant tumor, he had to have his left testicle removed. Anderson died on May 5, 2002 as

title: Ric Flair
text: Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), better known as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestling manager and retired professional wrestler signed to WWE under its Legends program. Described by many sources as the greatest professional wrestler of all time and the best American performer of the 1980s, Flair had a career that spanned 40 years. He is noted for his tenures with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Since the mid-1970s, he has used the moniker "The Nature Boy". A major

title: Don Leo Jonathan
text: United States Navy. He lived in Vancouver, British Columbia since 1963. He was married to a woman named Rose. After retiring from professional wrestling, he pursued a career in underwater inventions and exploration. He survived bladder cancer. In July 2016, Jonathan was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit is litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. A month before his death, US District Judge

title: Ric Flair
text: knocked unconscious, no decision could be reached. A returning Eric Bischoff came to the ring and began ordering the timekeeper to ring the bell, which he eventually did, awarding the match and the presidency to Sting (who promptly gave it up upon receiving it). Flair won his last world titles in his career by winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice during 2000, the company's last full year of operation. When WCW was purchased by the WWF in March 2001, Flair was the leader of the villainous group called the Magnificent Seven. Flair lost the final match of "Nitro" to

title: Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide
text: the kind of brain damage previously seen in people with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, as well as in some retired boxers. Michael Benoit agreed to have his son's brain analysed by the same neurosurgeons. On September 5, 2007, Julian Bailes, the chief of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, conducted a news conference in New York City to announce the results of Benoit's postmortem brain examination. In December 2009, nearly 30 months after Benoit's death, Dr. Omalu confirmed to ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that the death of a second WWE wrestler, Andrew Martin, known in WWE by his ring name Test,

title: Ric Flair
text: of Fame members and Flair demanded he respect them, before punching Jericho. Flair appeared a month later to distract him during a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match. Jericho then challenged Flair to come out of retirement for WrestleMania XXV; instead Flair managed Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat in a three-on-one handicap match at WrestleMania in a losing effort. On May 17, Flair returned during the Judgment Day pay-per-view, coming to the aid of Batista, who was being attacked by The Legacy (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase). On the June 1 episode of "Raw", Flair challenged

title: Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide
text: "Outside the Lines": By late 2017, CTE research in professional wrestling reached a point where numerous wrestlers who died had their brains inspected for research in postmortem research, where numerous wrestlers were later found to have CTE. These included Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney, Jimmy Snuka, and Mr. Fuji. , over 60 professional wrestlers and representatives of deceased wrestlers are in litigation against WWE in an attempt to hold the organisation accountable for their "long-term neurological injuries" as a result of multiple concussions and CTE. They are represented by Konstantine Kyros of Kyros Law Firm, PC, who previously represented former NFL

title: Sting (wrestler)
text: Flair's "WOOOOO! Nation" podcast that he required surgery to correct cervical spinal stenosis, and is "lucky that a catastrophe didn't happen" in his match with Rollins at Night of Champions. It was announced on the January 11, 2016 episode of "Raw" that Sting would be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016. He was the second active WWE wrestler to be inducted – the first being his inductor, Ric Flair. Sting ultimately reneged on having surgery; on March 22, 2016 he explained that he felt "completely normal" and had none of the side effects associated

title: Jim Ross
text: his autobiography that Ric Flair was present on an airplane when he first met Jan, denying that he introduced them. He has two daughters from two previous marriages and two granddaughters. He cites Steve Austin and Jerry Lawler as his closest friends. Ross suffers from Bell's palsy, which sometimes temporarily paralyzes his facial muscles. The symptoms first occurred on January 30, 1994. In late 1998, following the death of his mother, Ross took a break from "WWE Raw" as the effects of his grief reportedly aggravated his palsy; Michael Cole filled in for him. In 2007, encouraged by sales of

title: Timothy Well
text: injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit is litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. On January 9, 2017, Smith died from kidney failure at his home in Greenup, Kentucky. He was 55 years old. Timothy Well Timothy Alan Smith (September 8, 1961 – January 9, 2017) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Rex King and Timothy Well. He wrestled in several promotions, including the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Much of his

title: Ric Flair
text: to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, the second time as part of the class of 2012 with The Four Horsemen. On December 17, 2012, Flair returned to WWE as a non-wrestling personality on the annual Slammy Awards show to present the Superstar of the Year award to John Cena, who in turn gave the award to Flair. Flair's return was interrupted by CM Punk and Paul Heyman, escalating into a confrontation that ended with him locking Heyman in the figure-four leglock. After clearing the ring, Flair was assaulted by The Shield, until Ryback and Team Hell

title: Nick Bockwinkel
text: 30, 1961). The couple divorced in 1967. Bockwinkel remarried in 1972 to Darlene Hampp, with the marriage lasting until his death. The couple lived together in Las Vegas, Nevada. In November 2007, Bockwinkel underwent triple bypass heart surgery. In 2007, he was elected President of the Cauliflower Alley Club, a non-profit organization. In 2013, Ric Flair told Stone Cold Steve Austin on his podcast that Bockwinkel had Alzheimer's disease. Bockwinkel's wife Darlene denied Flair's claim, but did acknowledge that he had health problems which she wanted to keep private. In August 2014, Bockwinkel stepped down from his position as Cauliflower