I woke up this morning to my Facebook newsfeed with the death of Japanese wrestler Hayabusa death at 47 years old due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Upon reading many posts on his death from other fans alike as well as former CZW wrestler “Sick” Nick Mondo, I was compelled to share my memories about Eiji Ezaki known to the world of professional wrestling as Hayabusa.
In the late 90’s I ran across a VHS tape called Hayabusa: Flying Assassin at Hastings. I went home, popped it into the good ol’ trusty VCR, and marveled at the sight of true athleticism and grace. Through the powers of internet, I learned more about Hayabusa and he quickly became my favorite Japanese wrestler. In every match he would perform moves like the 450 Splash and Falcon Arrow with ease and would simply prove that he was the best at not only aerial assault but in every aspect of a professional wrestler.
In October 2001, tragedy occurred. Upon performing a Springboard Moonsault in a match against Mammoth Sasaki, his feet caught the top rope and he fell awkwardly, cracking two of his vertebrae. He was paralyzed from the neck down. His wrestling career was over. My favorite Japanese wrestler was confined in a wheelchair.
Many years would pass and in 2014 he proved to the world that nothing could stop him as he stood from his wheelchair and walked with the aid of a cane. A year later, it was announced that the infamous Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, known as FMW, would return with him serving as the Executive Producer.
It saddens me that he will never be able to return to the wrestling ring as it was his hope to do so one day, but his history will always be instilled in footage and memories. He was loved by many and will be missed by all.
RIP Hayabusa. 1968-2016.
Posted by:
Patrick Wallace
I’m 38 years old. I have a wife of nineteen years, Stephaney, and a 13 year old son, Trenton, and a 11 year old son, Steffan, and a 6 year old daughter, Charley. I was born in Longview, Texas and grew up in Gladewater, Texas.
I have been following Professional Wrestling since I was twelve years old. I followed my dream of becoming a Professional Wrestler in 2002 at the age of sixteen when I started training. Twenty-two years later, I am still wrestling by the stage name of “Supernova” Sean Cordova.
I have been a fan of comic books since I was eight years old. My first comic book I remember reading was Spawn #1. I also was a fanatic about Moon Knight. In my collection then among Spawn and Moon Knight, I had several mixed issues that included Batman, Superman, Ghost Rider, X-Men and Daredevil just to name a few. I would also make my own comic books and actually sell them. My Uncle Neil, in fact, bought a “limited time only” issue of a character I created called Black Cat and his wife still owns the only copy in existence. I fell out of comic books a bit in my teenage years due to Professional Wrestling, but checked in from time to time especially when WWE had a small run with The Undertaker comic. I got back into the swing of things when I started reading Batman RIP story arc and collecting many of the Batman graphic novels that are available. Now I have over twenty-five comics on my pull sheet at the nearby comic store each month and I’m having a blast!
My favorite band of all-time is the Smashing Pumpkins. The first time I listened to the band was in 1994 and still to this day when I need a pick-me-up, Smashing Pumpkins is my go to band. The few that follow behind is GWAR, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Modest Mouse, and Guided by Voices.
I hope that you keep checking back with Dropkick Daily and enjoy!
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