For those unaware, New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestler Tomoaki Honma, 40, suffered a life-threatening injury during a match on March 3rd, 2017 in Okinawa, Japan.
Honma took a routine move, a draping DDT from Jado, during a six-man tag with Honma, Togi Makabe & Michael Elgin vs. Jado, Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii. After the maneuver, Jado went for a cover and Honma was unable to kick out, which obviously caused some concern. Medical personnel came out and Honma was able to talk and move his head, but unable to move the rest of his body. Honma was then stretchered out of the arena and was taken to a local hospital.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Honma was unable to move for quite some time, but he was moved out of ICU on March 6th, 2017. Honma’s injury is so serve that any movement could affect his spinal column and make things worse, which is why he’ll be staying at the hospital in Okinawa for a while as opposed to being moved to a hospital in Tokyo.
The report also states that Honma was dealing with swelling on his spinal cord, which limited his movement, as well as damage to the C-3 and C-4 vertebrae. Luckily, Honma has regained some mobility in his arms and legs. After the 6th, he was able to grab and lift small objects, but Honma is still in very critical condition and is still very weak.
Honma was saying that he would return to wrestle at some point in the future, but it’s far too early to tell if that’s possible.
As this story develops, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
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