Ric Flair tells an insane story of the time he was struck by lightning
Pro wrestling legend Ric Flair's career was nearly ended before it really began in 1975 when he was in a plane crash that left his back broken in multiple places. Following the crash, Flair transformed his body from that of a hulking bruiser to the Nature Boy who became a worldwide superstar.
During an interview with ESPN's Dan Le Batard Thursday, Flair recalled another near-death experience he had in the late 1970s immediately after exiting a plane.
Via ESPN:
"I was getting off a plane in Richmond, Virginia. They didn’t have the jetways back then, back in the late 70s, and I was late for a match. I was World Champion then, I was wrestling [Ricky] Steamboat at the Richmond Coliseum. Finally… they let us all get off the plane. I got off, I was walking, and I didn’t go 10, maybe 15 feet and all of a sudden I felt this pressure boom, and man, my umbrella shot 50 feet in the air. I thought, 'What the hell?' Lightning hit the top of my umbrella, bounced off and hit the guy in the eye five feet behind me and killed him. Right there. I just stood there looking at the guy and froze, it scared me to death. People were running out the door to get the guy."
You can listen to the full interview here.
