Hayabusa 1968-2016

I have to be honest. Despite my love for so much of Japanese professional wrestling, I have only ever seen a handful of Hayabusa's matches. Most of his career fell into a period where I didn't view the sport. But his single ECW appearance, teaming with Jinsei Shinzaki against the perfect foes of Sabu and Rob Van Dam, is one of the highlights of that brand. As an in ring star, his career was synonymous with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, the hardcore promotion that inspired ECW. He would wrestle dozens of amazing matches, sometimes with ridiculously dangerous stipulations. Yet it wasn't the barb wire or explosions that ended his career in 2001.

Sadly, his  career would follow FMW's trajectory and be cut short just a few months before the company itself fell apart. In a match, he botched a springboard moonsault, one of his regular offensive maneuvers. American fans probably would know it as a Lionsault. He slipped as he hit the move and fell head first to the canvas. It left him paralyzed for over a decade and he never regained full movement.