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Yesterday morning, I read the tragic passing of Misawa Mitsuharu at a Hiroshima show, during a tag match.  The "saccho" of NOAH, a legend and one of the greatest wrestlers ever (definitely of the 90's) suffered a fatal heart attack after receiving a backdrop suplex.  He stopped moving after the move and was attempted to be revived.  Fans chanted his name as did other wrestlers in the ring, everyone stunned in disbelief.  But the 47 year old veteran wouldn't get up this time.

You can see the footage in the link provided.

I must admit to have to lost track of most Japanese wrestling these past few years.  My main interest has been in American wrestling and even that has dwindled.  However, Misawa definitely was one of my favorites in Japan.  When other hardcore fans of the Japanese strong style explained to me the AJPW ways, I became more in tune with the art over there.  So much that I eventually managed to catch a few shows at Budokan, getting to see the legend in a few matches (albeit those weren't as spectacular as others in his past).

Seeing yet another wrestler pass away hasn't been easy.  Just before I had finished watching The Wrestler and there had been talk on the net of the comparisons between Misawa's passing (i.e. a heart attack) and Randy "The Ram."  I think both were similar in age.  Part of me wonders if at a certain point that a wrestler should just hang it up at a certain age.  But as Randy "The Ram" had stated it, the definition of his last date was up to his fans.

Certainly, most of us didn't want to see Misawa retire, but it's even worse seeing him pass away like this.  I can't imagine what it would have been like being part of that audience.  I've been to a few shows where I've seen wrestlers get seriously injured, some having quit because of what happened.  This is far worse.

These days I'm thinking that pro-wrestling is definitely a young man's sport.  I think once you start hitting your 40's, you gotta give it up.  I'm always amazed and respectful of people like Ric Flair, etc. for having last this long.  I personally wish I could be in that good of shape when I'm that old.  However, I think for their fans' sake, maybe they should just give up while they're ahead.  The Rock was probably one of the smarter guys who managed to pull out ahead, the more I think about it.  Save you money and get out while your life is good and you can still do something else.