Japanese Legend Mitsuharu Misawa Dies In The Ring
Full credit to The Wrestling Globe Newsletter for breaking this tragic story:
WRESTLING LEGEND MISAWA DIES IN THE RING
Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa has died in Hiroshima, Japan after being dropped on his head during a GHC tag team title match (Misawa & Go Shiozaki vs. Bison Smith & Akitoshi Saito) at Green Arena.
He took a high-angled back suplex at around 8:45pm. The ref asked Misawa whether he could move, and he responded by saying no, then a few seconds later he lost consciousness.
The match was stopped at 27:03 and all the NOAH wrestlers and officials came into the ring. A doctor was brought in from the crowd who tried heart massage as by then Misawa has stopped breathing. The heart massage brought back his pulse, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He was officially pronounced dead at 10:10pm.
Misawa, 45, was widely regarded as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time. He was a successful amateur wrestler, placing fifth as a
junior at the 1980 freestyle World Championships. He was trained professionally by Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer, Shohei Baba, and Dory
Funk, Jr. He made his professional debut on August 21, 1981 for All Japan Pro Wrestling. From 1984 until 1990, Misawa performed as the
second generation Tiger Mask, as All Japan had purchased the rights of the Tiger Mask gimmick from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
On May 14, 1990, during a tag match against Yoshiaki Yatsu and Hiromichi Fuyuki, he told his partner (and future rival) Toshiaki Kawada to unmask him, thus abandoning the Tiger Mask gimmick. A few weeks later, Misawa defeated Jumbo Tsuruta in his first main event at Nippon Budokan. The match at the time was seen as a turning point in the history of All Japan, with Misawa being established as a major star. For the rest of the decade he was one of the biggest draws in Japanese wrestling.
Following the death of All Japan booker Giant Baba, Misawa inherited the position of president. After disagreements with widow Motoko Baba and being removed by a board of executives in 2000, Misawa left All Japan Pro Wrestling; followed by natives Toshiaki Kawada and Masanobu Fuchi, and and two non-natives Stan Hansen and Maunakea Mossman to form Pro Wrestling Noah. Noah debuted on August 5, 2000, with shows that featured over 20 wrestlers that had resigned from All Japan.
On July 18, 2004, Misawa returned to All Japan to defeat Satoshi Kojima; he would also return once more on October 31, 2004 for the Keiji Mutoh 20th Anniversary: Love and Bump PPV, where he, along with Keiji Mutoh, defeated Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki in what billed as a special dream match.
Up until his death, Misawa continued to wrestle a full-time schedule, competing mostly in tag matches. At the Nippon Budokan on December 10, 2006, he defeated Naomichi Marufuji to win his 3rd GHC Heavyweight Championship. On August 25, 2007 it was announced that Misawa would be on the November Ring of Honor Glory by Honor cards in Philadelphia and New York City. The first night, he teamed with KENTA to face Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji, wrestling to a thirty minute time-limit draw. The following night, he successfully defended the GHC Championship against KENTA.
On March 2, 2008 Misawa was defeated by Takeshi Morishima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, ending his 16-month championship reign.
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Several wrestlers have commented on the shocking incident:
- Chris Hero: “Shocked beyond belief. Never been thru anything like this. Doesn’t feel real.”
- Gangrel: “had some great matches with misawa, so sad what a lost to our sport.”
- Matt Morgan: “Horrible news today guys. Just heard Japanese legendary wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa passed away. Misawa was always a class act towards me.”
- Jeremy Borash:: “Shocked to hear of the passing of Mitsuharu Misawa. Was lucky enough to meet him at last year’s Tokyo Dome show. What a sad tragedy.”
- Matt Hardy: “Just read that Mitsuharu Misawa passed away while performing in Japan on Saturday night. A very sad thing to hear.”
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Sort of makes Kennedy look pretty tame, doesn’t it?
Holy shit, that has got to be the single worst thing I have ever heard in wrestling, edging out even Owen Hart.
That’s… words just don’t describe the awful feeling here.
As with all contact sports the possibility of death always looms overhead.. no matter how much experience one has. Man this makes sad.
damn this is wack man. misawa used to have those long stiff matches its a wonder he didnt retire early.
… this news ruined my week seriously
you hear of wrestlers dying and its like normal part of the buiseness but misawa was one of my favorites
still cant believe hes gone man. no more elbows no more frosions dammit noah will never be the same…damn
Has a wrestler ever died in the ring like that? (from a bump that is, not a stunt like Owen) This is very sad and tragic. The kind of thing that changes in ring activity. My heart goes out to his family and everyone who knew him.
Surprisingly I don’t think they have. There’s been some heart attacks and paralysis, and the story of the rookie that died in a Japanese Dojo.
I feel so sorry for his family. It’s sad how his life had been cut short and my heart goes out to the wrestler who exicuted the move on him cause I’m sure he feels responsible for Misawa’s death. Atleast he died doing what he loved………..
Oh my god! Im sorry to say that I never saw Misawa wrestle but I read a lot about him and his legendary mark on professional wrestling. I know he was the second incarnation of the Tiger Mask legacy. I know of his accomplishment but I am deeply sorry.
Rest In Peace, “Tiger Mask II” Mitsuharu Misawa
My best wishes to his family, friends, his NOAH associates and the entire purosu community as they morn for a legend
Professional wrestling has just lost (but never forgotten) another great name to this great sport.
I am sorry and I say to Mr. Mitsuharu Misawa; “We will all miss you”
this is really sad , he was also only 45 that is not that old ,
i am thinking about his family feeling right now . but this is wrestling folk’s wether its WWE or japanese promotion , these wrestlers put their bodies and life on every move , every jump they do . we must respect every wrestler as much as possible because they only do this thing for our entertainment .
This is very sad.
I wish the Best to his family.
very sad to hear about anyone dying while at work…giving everything they have to the audience….even giving their life for it!!!
it takes TRUE dedication above and beyond !!!
its sad to see someone in the wrestling industry die like that he was probley the triple h of japanese wrestling:(
He was 46 just to point out he was going to turn 47 on the 18th
Very Sad indeed. My best to his family and friends. A man that has had more “5 Star” matches than nearly anyone. An absolute legend in the ring and HUGE loss for Japanese and World Wide Wrestling.
Sad
in loving memory of a great wrestler may god bless all wrestlers and alll of you his family is in my prayers