Ric Flair, 77, Hospitalized in Tampa After Fall Outside Restaurant; Says He Will Be Okay

Wrestling figure Ric Flair, 77, was taken to a Tampa, Florida, hospital Friday after a fall outside a Wagamama restaurant that cut his head and eye, according to TMZ. Flair said in an Instagram post Saturday that he spent the night at Tampa General Hospital, thanked the staff who treated him until 4:30 a.m., and said he is focused on recovery and will be okay. He shared a photo with a patch over one eye. Hours before the fall, he had canceled an appearance at the Washington State Horror Con in Seattle because of a blood clot in his leg. He said his doctors limited his travel to 3-4 hours and that a procedure to strip the affected vein is scheduled. TMZ's sources said he left his phone and drink at the bar, walked across the street and collapsed, and may have had a concussion. No cause of the fall has been given. His daughter Charlotte Flair joked on X that he would be fine.

Right-leaning outlets lead with the injury. The Daily Caller's headline stresses a bloody facial injury and sudden collapse, and it relies on anonymous TMZ sources for the bar, phone-and-drink and concussion details. It also quotes Flair's warning about blood clots and his reference to Jalen Hurts. The Washington Times headline stresses hospitalization hours after the clot disclosure. NBC News, on the left, leads with recovery and Flair's thank-you message, includes the smiling photo and Charlotte Flair's joke, and gives TMZ's fall account in brief, without the concussion or collapse details. Both sides agree on the Tampa fall, the clot and the cancellation. They differ mainly in tone and in how much unconfirmed detail they use. Deadline and TMZ track the left's update focus, centered on the eye patch.