'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Professional wrestling is scripted. Almost every fan around the world knows the fact that the matches are choreographed, and the feuds staged. Although most of the fans understand and appreciate the art of pro wrestling, there are those who go to great lengths to take shots at the industry and the wrestling fans.Till 50 years ago, the people involved in the wrestling business protected ‘kayfabe’, and never went out of character. You have people who broke their backs in a plane crash, yet showed up for shows just to make sure that the fans and the media do not get a wind of how the business works. While there are millions of fans around the world who support professional wrestling, there are those who continue to bash the business and the wrestlers.Professional wrestling, in its very essence is the most demanding job in the world today. While other athletes have day offs between their games or fights, the wrestlers travel for 300 days a year, working nearly 5 days a week! They continue to put their bodies through constant abuse and endure unimaginable pain, and still keep coming back for more.Professional wrestling is only for those who truly love the business, and adhere to the famous quote of “The show must go on”. There were instances when the wrestlers injured themselves – broken bones and torn ligaments, but they pushed themselves to finish the bout. Although such a thing is unheard of in other sports, the performers and wrestlers take pride in what they do.In this article, we take a look at five different instances when the performers, unfortunately, lost their lives in the ring, either while performing or because of other circumstances.
#1 Mitsuharu Misawa
One of the greatest names in professional wrestling lost his life in the middle of the ring, as the legendary Mitsuharu Misawa passed away after the conclusion of a tag team match in 2009. Misawa, much like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in the United States, was one of the most respected wrestlers in Japan.
He started Pro Wrestling NOAH after falling out with Giant Baba’s wife after he took over the organization, due to the passing of Baba. Misawa had many classic encounters with the likes of Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta, which have achieved legendary status in professional wrestling.
Although Misawa wanted to retire for a long time, with NOAH not in a great financial position and the organization unable to produce a large pool of top stars (Except for the likes of KENTA, who is now in the WWE), Misawa had to continue performing in the ring. As fate would have it, the man who dedicated his life to professional wrestling finally took his last breath in a wrestling ring.
After Misawa took a belly to back suplex, he didn’t get up, and although the fans and the other wrestlers didn’t suspect anything wrong in the beginning, they soon understood the gravity of the situation, as the wrestlers flocked the ring in an attempt to revive the legendary grappler.
The fans started chanting for their hero, but all of that went in vain as Misawa never made it to his feet. The fans started shedding tears as the wrestlers near the lifeless body of Misawa started getting animated.
Misawa was then stretchered out of the arena, but the sad news of his passing was soon made public, and made the headlines around Japan. As the country mourned the loss of a true icon, the entire wrestling fraternity bid adieu to one of the greatest legends the business will ever witness.
#2 Owen Hart
One of the most beloved superstars was the youngest member of the Hart Family. Owen was known to be the most jovial, laid back character in the WWE. With the athletic prowess and finesse that can only be compared with the likes of Jushin Liger, Owen was one of the most talented and underrated superstars in the history of the WWE.
No superstar in the back had a bad word to say about Owen Hart, and his love for pranks and pulling his peers’ legs was well known in the wrestling fraternity. Owen was also saving money for an early retirement, as he wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids.
All of the above made it even harder to come to terms with the loss of Owen Hart, as a fateful night in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City took one of the most entertaining superstars away from the fans. While he was being lowered from the rafters during his entrance at the Over The Edge PPV in ’99, his safety harness gave way, resulting in Owen Hart’s fall, from a height of over 75 feet. Jim Ross informed the fans at home about the incident, and as the PPV rolled on, he updated the fans that Owen Hart had passed away.
Jim Ross’ composure and the way he handled the entire ordeal earned him praises from the critics and fans alike. Owen Hart’s life and legacy was celebrated the next night on RAW, and his brother Bret bid him goodbye, by putting on an incredible match with a fellow Canadian and a good friend of the Hart Family, Chris Benoit in WCW.
#3 \"Iron\" Mike DiBiase
Long before The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase ran rampant in the WWE, his father, Iron Mike DiBiase worked as a professional wrestler. His wife, the mother of The Million Dollar Man was also a professional wrestler herself, which explains why even his son, Ted DiBiase Jr. tried his hand in the business as well.
Iron Mike DiBiase was involved in a couple of high profile bouts one against the former Light Heavyweight champion of the world, Archie Moore, and the other against Dory Funk Sr., the patriarch of the famous Funk family, in a Texas Death Match, which lasted for over an hour and 44 minutes! However, Mike DiBiases last moments were also spent inside a wrestling ring.
Mike DiBiases final match was against the Man Mountain, who was billed at over 600 pounds. Mike suffered a heart attack during the bout, and it is said that the legendary Harley Race rushed into the ring to perform CPR to try and resuscitate DiBiase, and accompanied him to the hospital in an ambulance, but DiBiase was pronounced dead on arrival.
#4 Emiko Kado
Japanese wrestling is known for the hard hitting, “stiff” style of wrestling. Although the matches are choreographed and the endings predetermined, the Japanese wrestlers take great pride in working stiff, that is, trying to inflict as much pain on the opponent to make the matches look legitimate. Also, Japanese wrestlers are known to be the most respectful bunch, and that is because of how they perceive the business and the wrestlers. The veterans tend to work stiff on the younger wrestlers to teach them respect in the ring, and sometimes unfortunately, it can lead to injuries and worse.
Even the women’s wrestling circuit is no different in Japan. One of the unfortunate victims of this stiff style was Emiko Kado, who worked for the ARSION promotion. She had lost her first 14 matches – a practice which is quite common in the Japanese wrestling circuit. The newbies are made to lose their initial set of matches before they ‘earn’ the opportunity of working their way up the ladder. Her next match happened on the 31st of March in 1999, which was a tag team bout. During the course of the match, she received a hard blow to the head, resulting in her suffering acute sprained membrane.
She was taken to the hospital, and was in the ICU for the next ten days, but she tragically passed away due to intercerebral bleeding. What was even heart wrenching was the fact that she was only 23, and had been a professional wrestler for only a month and a half.
#5 Plum Mariko
Another instance of a female Japanese wrestler passing away due to the injuries suffered in a wrestling ring was the death was Plum Mariko. Mariko, in the days and weeks leading up to the final match, had noticed that something was off with herself.
She began forgetting things – breaking pinfalls, forgetting the sequence of her matches and other things that were supposed to happen during the match, and she blamed it on the multiple concussions she had received while performing in the ring. However, no one imagined that it would lead to the untimely death of the grappler.
Before her bout, she also complained about severe headaches, but being a professional, she refused from backing out of the match. Also, with one wrestler retiring recently, she had to perform on the card, as no one would be able to take her place.
On the 15th of August in 1997, she was involved in a tag team match, and during the finish, she took a Liger Bomb from Mayumi Ozaki. She laid on the mat, and no one initially suspected anything wrong, as everyone thought she was selling the finish. But she started snoring – a very telling tale of something going wrong, and was immediately transferred to a medical facility.
Unfortunately, Mariko slipped into a coma and never recovered. She passed away the next day, and she was just 29 years old. It was once again a grim reminder of how a ‘scripted sport’ can also be one of the most dangerous sports in the world.
#6 Perro Aguayo Jr.
In a match for the CRASH promotion in Tijuana, Mexico, Perro Aguayo’s death came from suffering a whiplash in the ring while he was in a match with Rey Mysterio. He was rushed to a hospital just a block away but was pronounced dead.
The cause of death was revealed as a stroke which was caused by cervical spinal damage. The medical report confirmed that he suffered from whiplash.
As for the doctor in charge not being present at ringside during the accident, it was said that he was busy treating two other wrestlers backstage. The doctor defended the delay in responding to Aguayo, saying it was not malpractice.
It was noted that Aguayo was carried away from the ring on a piece of plywood as a way to get him backstage as fast as possible. He was then moved to a stretcher and into the ambulance. The doctor also defended that decision.
Once Aguayo arrived at the hospital, Dr. Ernesto Franco and other specialists tried to resuscitate Aguayo for about an hour. He was then given an MRI to rule out other causes and his death was pronounced.
