Ric Flair mourns the death of wrestler who said he gave Flair an 'ass-whuppin'

Wrestler Ric Flair is mourning the death of one-time opponent Big Van Vader at the age of 63.

Big Van Vader, whose real name was Leon White, died after battling "a severe case of Pneumonia, " his son, Jessie White, tweeted on Wednesday morning.

About a month ago, White tweeted, his dad was diagnosed with the illness. "He fought extremely hard and clinically was making progress," White tweeted. "Unfortunately, on Monday night, his heart had enough and it was his time.

"Sorry To Hear About The Loss Of Another Great!" Flair tweeted. "Rest In Peace My Friend!"

In a 2016 interview posted on YouTube, Vader recalled one famous match in Charlotte with Flair.

"I credit Ric Flair for taking an ass-whuppin''" for 15 minutes," Vader said in the interview.

Vader said he let Flair beat him only because Charlotte was Flair's hometown.

In the end, Vader said, "I was feeding him my face."

White was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in November 2016, Sports Illustrated reported. He was given two years to live but continued to wrestle, according to the magazine.

Leon White, who also went by Vader in the ring, began his wrestling career in 1985 with the American Wrestling Association, UPI reported. He'd retired from the National Football League due to an injury, according to the news service.

White became a three-time World Championship Wrestling world heavyweight champion, UPI reported. He had famous feuds with wrestling legends Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ron Simmons and Flair, according to UPI.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Ric Flair mourns the death of wrestler who said he gave Flair an 'ass-whuppin'."