There was the original version in addition to versions if Flair passed before the show or during.
On multiple occasions, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has spoken about his health scare in 2017 that left him hospitalized. Flair is on the record saying that he was given a five percent chance of survival.
Mike Mansury, who serves as AEW’s Executive Producer and Senior Production Executive, shared a story from that time period while on Talk Is Jericho. At the time, Mansury was working for WWE and he was helping produce the broadcasts for Monday Night Raw.
He shared that as the company was getting updates from Flair’s family regarding his health, there were show preparations made in the instance that he passed away. He stated that there were three different versions of the show on-hand.
There’s so many to list (highlights from my time producing WWE Raw). I would say one of the more nerve-racking moments I had ever doing Raw and one that stands out like crazy to me is the night we all thought Ric Flair was gonna die. So Ric had-had a really bad health situation and I think they basically were ready to give him last rites and everything else in-between. So, we had-had three versions of the show prepared. We had the version that it was gonna be executed as it was written, a version that we would do if Ric, God forbid, passed before the show and then if he had passed during the show.
We were getting updates through the family as the day was progressing and I remember just being like, ‘Holy sh*t.’ I felt the enormity of that sort of situation. Being in position where probably one of the most iconic names in the business is — 100 percent (we’d have to change the course of the show), and then all the elements that would kind of domino effect into that. That was a pretty nerve-racking time. I mean, also because of the relationship that I developed with Ric. It was pretty nerve-racking and you know, thank God he pulled through. He’s alive and better than ever now, all these years later but, that’s definitely one of the shows that just really, really sticks out in my brain like, woof.
In 2022, Ric Flair wrestled in what is billed as his final match. He believes he suffered a legitimate heart attack in the match. To read Flair’s comments regarding that, click here.
If the quote(s) in this article is used, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcription.
