Mitsuharu Misawa dead

[Woo]

Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa (aka Tiger Mask II) has died in the ring during a match in Japan. I have not seen that many Misawa matches, but from what I've seen I've been impressed, and obviously his reputation is legendary. He has the Wrestling Observer record for most ***** matches with 24.

It's a sad day for wrestling and I can't recall the last time a wrestler actually died in the ring. RIP.

[MetalBlade]

This is very sad. Mitsuharu was one of the most easily recognisable Japanese wrestlers, and indeed had some classic matchups with the likes of Genichiro Tenryu, The Great Sasuke and the even greater Kenta Kobashi.
The last wrestler I heard of who died in the ring was Bushido legend Gary Albright about ten years ago.
Albright wrestled mostly in Japan and possibly even met Misawa once or twice in matches somewhere on the circuit.

This is a real shame. Even though Mitsuharu was fairly large in stature, he always seemed very fit and healthy for a man his size. The man regularly wrestled in bouts lasting well over half an hour and often even an hour, so this is a great shock and a great loss. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues right now, and here's a great picture of how I'd like to remember the great man.