With a Heavy Heart, I have to say this. One of my favorite wrestlers of all time. One of the greatest Japanese legends in this great sport. Someone I looked up to so much and watched his matches so I can learn the craft and be a better wrestler. A guy who was one of the best people you ever come across, has passed away last night at 47 years old. The Phoenix Hayabusa.
Hayabusa, who’s real name is Eiji Ezaki died from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Tokyo Sports said that Ezaki was found dead on Thursday afternoon. Ezaki had been confined to a wheelchair for the last 14 years after suffering a career-ending injury inside the ring. During a match against Mammoth Sasaki, Ezaki lost his footing on a springboard moonsault attempt which caused him to land awkwardly, cracking two of his vertebrae, and leading to him being paralyzed.
Ezaki had a fantastic moment in 2014 where he rose from his wheelchair and took steps. He was later able to stand and walk on his own with the aid of a cane. That was a very emotional moment for me. When I watched that clip on youtube, I was in tears. Tears of Joy of course. Doctors said he might not ever walk again and he beat the odds and walked. I was so happy and proud to see that. He even helped bring back the FMW. American fans, who don’t follow Japanese wrestling will know him for his 1 match he did in ECW where he teamed with WWE’s Hakushi against RVD and Sabu.
Hayabusa also put a lot of moves on the map that the high flyers use today, such as the Falcon Arrow and 450 Splash, while also inventing the Phoenix Splash. Fun fact that I just found out online is that Hayabusa was the motivation for the character “Han Zo Mon” in WCW/NWO Revenge video game and “Habanero” in WCW vs. The World for the great N64.
I had the honor of meeting Hayabusa backstage at a PWU Wrestling event that I wrestled on. I got to speak with the legend and he gave me some really good pointers on how to make my moves look more crisp. Very very nice humble guy. Had a good heart. I respect him and admire him so much. I never saw him have a bad match and I just love watching his matches. You can learn a lot from his matches. In my opinion, he was the best high flyer ever. My favorite Japanese wrestler of all time. The wrestling world lost a great guy and a great wrestler. You will be missed so much. RIP Hayabusa. The Phoenix will never die!!!!
