What’s the story?
According to f4wonline.com, Akebono is in a medically induced coma after being rushed to the hospital following a match in Japan. He was working a match for the DDT promotion at the time. Medical officials believe he will be in the hospital for ten days.
In case you didn’t know...
Akebono faced The Big Show at WrestleMania 21 in a sumo match. This was the start of Akebono’s professional wrestling career as he went on to compete in promotions such as All Japan, New Japan, Dragon Gate, and Hustle.
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The heart of the matter.
Akebono’s injury is the latest in a rash of injuries within the world of Japanese wrestling in 2017. Just last week, Katsuyori Shibata was seriously injured while trading headbutts with Kazuchika Okada. Shibata suffered a subdural hematoma and had to undergo emergency surgery.
Last month, Tomoaki Honma landed awkwardly while taking a DDT. He was hospitalised as a result.
What’s next?
Hopefully, we will have an update on Akebono's condition by the middle of next week.
Author’s take
It looks like the Japanese wrestlers are taking a lot of risks, much like the legends of ECW. However, the hard-hitting style took a toll on the ECW Wrestlers, many of whom suffered crippling injuries.
There is plenty of evidence that CTE injuries have led to many health issues and premature deaths. Hopefully, these injuries will result in serious introspection within the world of Japanese wrestling. This is the only silver lining in a very, very dark cloud.
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