A pro wrestling great is battling serious health issues.
Barry Windham, a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack at the Atlanta airport.
Windham’s niece, Mika Rotunda, who is the sister of pro wrestlers Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas, announced the news and posted a GoFundMe that seeks to raise $200,000.
“He is currently in the ICU and has undergone an emergency procedure to save his life. As a family, we are impatiently waiting to hear that he will be okay. But as of now, the future is uncertain,” Rotunda wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“As is the future for many in his position. And for those who have formerly devoted their lives to their craft. Barry Windham, has an iconically, decorated resume as an American professional wrestler. He traveled all over the world for decades, entertaining people of all ages with his athleticism and undeniable charisma.”
The 62-year-old Windham’s wrestling career spanned from 1979 until 2010. He performed in NWA’s Championship Wrestling, AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions and had multiple stints in WWE (then called the WWF) and WCW.
He was a particularly big star in the mid-to-late 1980s, as a member of Ric Flair’s Four Horsemen stable. Between NWA, WCW and WWF, Windham was a seven-time tag-team champion, and won several individual belts, including the US championship and TV title.
The Four Horsemen were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
On the GoFundMe page, Mika Rotunda wrote that her uncle does not have health insurance.
“After those countless years of wrestling matches, traveling and entertaining world wide, he experienced a number of taxing injuries and ended up undergoing multiple surgeries,” she wrote. “That led to other health complications. Barry hung his boots for the last time in the early 2000’s. Since then he has been limited with work due to his medical history as well as left without health insurance.
“To face these times is one of great stress and hardship. As well as one that comes with extensive medical expenses he is taking on. That is overwhelming to say the least. We are politely asking for any increment of financial assistance to help cover his medical expenses and bills and see him through this time.”