Update On Ted Turner's Health And Recent Activities

Former WCW owner Ted Turner was apparently in good spirits at his recent birthday. 

Turner's name returned to the pro wrestling limelight during a recent AEW segment when Turner Classic Movies' Ben Mankiewicz did an intro for "Timeless" Toni Storm, whose current persona draws historical inspiration from Turner's era of broadcasting and film. This throwback inspired some people to question Turner's current condition, and according to "Fightful Select," Turner is doing relatively well for himself.

Turner, who suffers from Lewey Body Dementia, recently celebrated his 85th birthday with his friends, family, and colleagues, as per the report. He was described as being in high spirits and was seen interacting with friends at his birthday celebration. Turner has kept his life relatively private in recent years but still co-chairs several foundations and companies, according to the "Fightful" report.

Turner is a prominent name in the broadcasting history of professional wrestling, and while he is most associated with the earlier days of wrestling programming, he is still mentioned semi-frequently in the wrestling sphere with people discussing if he should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, or speculate on his opinions of AEW programming.

While he never set foot inside a wrestling ring, his contributions to the professional wrestling world were essential to its spread. Turner founded WTBS, which was eventually renamed TBS, in the late '70s. In the '80s, he was the head of WCW, whose rivalry with Vince McMahon's WWE sparked the iconic Monday Night Wars. Around the same time, Turner founded Turner Network Television (TNT). While WCW was ultimately sold to and merged with WWF, both TBS and TNT went on to be the homes of AEW programming, which, in a repeat of history, is currently WWE's biggest competition.