Former WWE superstar Ric Flair is reported to have undergone suspected Heart Surgery on Monday and remains in a 'serious condition' according to TMZ.

The 68-year-old, who has been wrestling for five decades, was admitted to hospital on Saturday morning before being quickly transferred into the intensive care unit. It is understood that he was then put into a medically induced coma whilst awaiting surgery sometime this week.

It is unclear whether this was the planned procedure, or in fact for any other complications that may have arisen.

Pray for the nature boy

Originally a rep for Ric Flair urged fans not to panic and that it was just 'routine monitoring'. Melinda Zanoni, CEO of Legacy Talent who represent Flair, took to twitter to reassure his fanbase by tweeting:

However, on Sunday, she released another rather more alarming statement:

Nothing to indicate he was suffering lately with health issues

It seems Ric Flair, nicknamed 'The Nature Boy', was in good health up until recently, even working and appearing at events.

Zanoni posted a picture on social media of them together on August 4, while Flair himself posted a tweet on Friday, wishing a happy birthday to his friend and former fellow wrestler, Terry Gene Bollea, often referred to as Hulk Hogan.

'Happy Birthday To My Brother HH!' Ric Flair wrote.

Ric Flair is widely considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He was born Fred Phillips in Memphis Tennessee in 1949, with his wrestling debut coming in 1972. After signing with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), his first match came on December 10 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. That night he adopted the ring name 'Ric Flair', which would ultimately become the name he would permanently go by.

Over the course of his illustrious career, he won numerous titles including both the WWE and WCW championships as well as being a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion.

This ultimately embedded his legacy as one of the all-time wrestling greats. However, several serious incidents early on in his life almost meant he never made it as a professional wrestler. After incredibly being struck by lightning twice, in October 1975, he was one of five passengers injured in a plane crash. A Cessna 3100Q twin-engine plane suffered mechanical failure and crashed in North Carolina. He broke his back in three places and doctors told him he would never wrestle again. Luckily, Flair never took much notice of what they had to say and after completing rehab, he returned to the ring and started on a huge journey of success.

Ric Flair is understood to be in a hospital in the Atlanta area and is said to have his family around him.