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Mecca · 06-13-2009, 04:37 PM

MISAWA PASSES AWAY AFTER BACKDROP IN HIROSHIMA MATCH

Mitsuharu Misawa, one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time, was declared dead at 10:10 p.m. Saturday night at a hospital in Hiroshima from an apparent heart attack after being being given a back suplex in a tag team title match.

Misawa would have turned 47 on June 18th.

Misawa, the president of Pro Wrestling NOAH, was teaming with Go Shiozaki in a match challenging Bison Smith & Akitoshi Saito for the GHC tag team championship in Hiroshima. Misawa was given the move at about 8:45 p.m. and knocked unconscious. They were about 27 minutes into the match when the referee immediately stopped the match seeing what had happened.

According to eye witness reports, Saito gave Misawa a "routine" back suplex that was described as a "7" in danger on a scale of one-to-ten. He did not get up. It was chaos in the ring as they attempted to revive him using CPR and the crowd was hushed for a while, and began a "Misawa" chant. He turned purple in the ring and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

His heart stopped beating in the ring.

The wrestlers were told on the bus that he had passed away.

While it is being reported that he passed away at the hospital, he may have actually passed away in the ring.

Misawa was the Japanese high school national wrestling champion at 187 pounds in 1980, and was recruited by Giant Baba into All Japan Pro Wrestling. He gained his first taste of stardom in 1984 when he was chosen to be the second Tiger Mask. After unmasking in 1990, he became an even bigger star after a series of singles matches with Jumbo Tsuruta.

He was Japan's biggest pro wrestling star of the 90s, and one could make a strong case for him as the top wrestler of the decade. He was the Wrestler of the Year in 1995, 1997 and 1999.

After the death of Shohei "Giant" Baba, Misawa wrestled a little over one more year for All Japan Pro Wrestling, while working as company president. After consistently butting heads with owner Motoko Baba, the widow of Shohei Baba, he and 90% of the All Japan roster quit the company to form Pro Wrestling NOAH.

The movie "The Wrestler" opened tonight in Japan. Because of the finish of the movie, this has become part of the story in some outlets in Japan.

Here's my take on it...

I do however think you'll see some questions come up like why was a 47 year old man working a 30 minute match.

It stuns me to see it happen because you think these guys are invincible he had gone for basically 25 years without a break.

He had quite obviously let himself go on staying in shape and had become overweight, which when you factor in his knees doing a cardio workout was probably a tear jerking thing to even think about.

NOAH was having some problems and he took the responsibility for them by stepping up to the main spotlight himself. Carrying the company as it's champ for a year and now as a potential tag champion trying to heighten Go Shiozaki's profile.

He was putting alot of pressure on himself and his body to do things it likely couldn't do anymore. The man was obviously a legend but I don't think he still should have been trying to work high profile 30+ minute matches. If he still wanted to work early on the card in 5 or 10 minutes to let the fans see their hero work, that would have been a great role for him.

I don't so much think it was the bump he took as it was just a buildup of everything. A man who was nearly 47 years old who had, had a very long and brutal career without any breaks. Now he puts his body which is breaking down in a position where he needs to do things alot of guys in their 20's can't do.

The thing that likely did him in, in the end is the same thing everyone loved about him. Even at 47 and breaking down the guy still had the spirit to do it.

I'll personally always remember him as the guy who personified the Kings Road style which is probably my favorite style.

06-13-2009, 04:37 PM	#5015
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $2257050	MISAWA PASSES AWAY AFTER BACKDROP IN HIROSHIMA MATCH Mitsuharu Misawa, one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time, was declared dead at 10:10 p.m. Saturday night at a hospital in Hiroshima from an apparent heart attack after being being given a back suplex in a tag team title match. Misawa would have turned 47 on June 18th. Misawa, the president of Pro Wrestling NOAH, was teaming with Go Shiozaki in a match challenging Bison Smith & Akitoshi Saito for the GHC tag team championship in Hiroshima. Misawa was given the move at about 8:45 p.m. and knocked unconscious. They were about 27 minutes into the match when the referee immediately stopped the match seeing what had happened. According to eye witness reports, Saito gave Misawa a "routine" back suplex that was described as a "7" in danger on a scale of one-to-ten. He did not get up. It was chaos in the ring as they attempted to revive him using CPR and the crowd was hushed for a while, and began a "Misawa" chant. He turned purple in the ring and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. His heart stopped beating in the ring. The wrestlers were told on the bus that he had passed away. While it is being reported that he passed away at the hospital, he may have actually passed away in the ring. Misawa was the Japanese high school national wrestling champion at 187 pounds in 1980, and was recruited by Giant Baba into All Japan Pro Wrestling. He gained his first taste of stardom in 1984 when he was chosen to be the second Tiger Mask. After unmasking in 1990, he became an even bigger star after a series of singles matches with Jumbo Tsuruta. He was Japan's biggest pro wrestling star of the 90s, and one could make a strong case for him as the top wrestler of the decade. He was the Wrestler of the Year in 1995, 1997 and 1999. After the death of Shohei "Giant" Baba, Misawa wrestled a little over one more year for All Japan Pro Wrestling, while working as company president. After consistently butting heads with owner Motoko Baba, the widow of Shohei Baba, he and 90% of the All Japan roster quit the company to form Pro Wrestling NOAH. The movie "The Wrestler" opened tonight in Japan. Because of the finish of the movie, this has become part of the story in some outlets in Japan. Here's my take on it... I do however think you'll see some questions come up like why was a 47 year old man working a 30 minute match. It stuns me to see it happen because you think these guys are invincible he had gone for basically 25 years without a break. He had quite obviously let himself go on staying in shape and had become overweight, which when you factor in his knees doing a cardio workout was probably a tear jerking thing to even think about. NOAH was having some problems and he took the responsibility for them by stepping up to the main spotlight himself. Carrying the company as it's champ for a year and now as a potential tag champion trying to heighten Go Shiozaki's profile. He was putting alot of pressure on himself and his body to do things it likely couldn't do anymore. The man was obviously a legend but I don't think he still should have been trying to work high profile 30+ minute matches. If he still wanted to work early on the card in 5 or 10 minutes to let the fans see their hero work, that would have been a great role for him. I don't so much think it was the bump he took as it was just a buildup of everything. A man who was nearly 47 years old who had, had a very long and brutal career without any breaks. Now he puts his body which is breaking down in a position where he needs to do things alot of guys in their 20's can't do. The thing that likely did him in, in the end is the same thing everyone loved about him. Even at 47 and breaking down the guy still had the spirit to do it. I'll personally always remember him as the guy who personified the Kings Road style which is probably my favorite style.
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