Tragedy ·
Hayabusa’s Last Match, and Sasaki’s Memories of Its Aftermath
A failed moonsault at Korakuen Hall in 2001 left Hayabusa with a cervical spine injury. His opponent later recalled the fall, the ambulance and a hospital visit.
A little more than 13 minutes into his match against Mammoth Sasaki at Korakuen Hall on October 22, 2001, Hayabusa attempted a moonsault from the second rope. A 2016 Tokyo Sports article, reproducing the newspaper’s report from the time, said his foot slipped and he fell, striking the back of his head. He lay motionless. The match became the last of his career.
Sasaki was lying in the ring when the accident happened to his left. In a 2021 interview with 010 Sports, he recalled seeing Hayabusa’s body bent and his neck compressed in a way he had never seen before. He knew at once that Hayabusa had injured his neck, he said, and thought he must not be moved.
Referee Marty Asami stopped the match and called for an ambulance, Tokyo Sports reported. For more than 15 minutes before it arrived, Hayabusa remained unable to move, surrounded in the ring by fans and people connected with the promotion. After partly regaining consciousness, he asked for a microphone. “I’m sorry, everyone. Please don’t abandon FMW, which I’ve put my life on the line for,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Sasaki recalled that a mat from outside the ring was used as a makeshift stretcher to carry Hayabusa to the ambulance. Sasaki, other wrestlers and former FMW president Shoichi Arai went to the hospital. Hayabusa’s wife, Harumi, came from home.
Shortly after 2 a.m. on October 23, Arai told reporters that examinations indicated an injury to Hayabusa’s cervical spine that appeared to be compressing nerves. The tests had taken two hours and included X-rays and an MRI. At that stage, the precise source of the pressure had not been established, and further examinations were planned in intensive care. Hayabusa was conscious, but the newspaper reported that he had no sensation below his neck.
Arai said Hayabusa had told him, “I’m very sorry.” His assessment to reporters was guarded: “The situation is not very good. A return before the end of the year will be difficult.” The injury left Hayabusa with paralysis affecting his upper and lower body. In its 2016 retrospective, Tokyo Sports reported that he had recovered enough to walk short distances, though he still used a wheelchair and continued rehabilitation in hopes of standing in the ring again.
Looking back in 2021, Sasaki also recalled visiting Hayabusa in the hospital. When he asked what Hayabusa wanted to eat, Hayabusa requested braised pork belly made by “Mammo,” his nickname for Sasaki. Sasaki cooked it at the dojo and took it to his hospital room. Hayabusa’s response, Sasaki remembered, was: “Delicious! Delicious!”