WWE Hall of Famer Typhoon (Fred Ottman) is officially home and ready to begin a lengthy recovery process after undergoing a difficult surgical procedure. Earlier this month, the legendary performer revealed a life-threatening medical emergency, and he was hospitalized for nearly 30 days. Ottman explained that his gallbladder had “exploded,” releasing dangerous toxins into his body. While he was briefly discharged on February 9 to wait for his condition to stabilize, he has now successfully moved past the necessary operation.
The 69-year-old veteran spoke about the toll the surgery took on his body. Due to the complexity of the procedure, doctors kept him under observation for several additional days before allowing him to return to his family.
“They released me from the hospital yesterday. They kept me in the hospital for an extra couple days for observation because the surgery was pretty tough,” Ottman said. “But I’m home with my beautiful wife Sheila. And I got home health care coming in and checking on me today. And then will become the road to recovery, which ought to take a while I believe,” Ottman shared.
During his month-long stint in the hospital, Ottman lost a substantial amount of muscle mass and is currently working through the process of learning to walk again. Despite the physical hurdles, Ottman shared immense gratitude for the wrestling community, which he described as his extended family.
“But I just wanted to keep you guys in the loop, and thanks for all the prayers and all the thoughts and everything and the cards and letters that have been sent to me. God bless you, each and everyone. I really appreciate the support. You know, you’re my extended family. So I just wanted to keep you in here. All right, I love you and I won’t bother you anymore. Have a great day,” he added.
Ottman enjoyed a career under various monikers, including Tugboat, Typhoon, and the infamous Shockmaster. His legacy was recently cemented when he and his longtime Natural Disasters tag team partner, the late John “Earthquake” Tenta, were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.
We wish him a speedy recovery.
