The wrestling community was saddened by the loss of Eiji Ezaki, who wrestled as Hayabusa in 2016. His untimely passing at the age of 47 left behind two daughters and a void that seemed impossible to fill. However, four months ago, ZERO1 General Manager Megumi Kudo announced via a press conference that a new wrestler would perform as the masked character in a match against Masato Tanaka at their upcoming Lucha Fest Specials show.
And now that the match has finally taken place, those who watched the bout speculate that 27-year-old Genta Hirik was under the mask. Still, it should be noted that this has not yet been officially confirmed, and some fans are so desperate to know that they are actually comparing photos of Hiriki and the masked man’s nipples for verification.
For those unfamiliar with the original Hayabusa, he was a death match wrestler in FMW who transcended the genre due to his amazing high flying and charisma. Additionally, he became a cult favorite in the US, having wrestled for ECW on their Heat Wave show in 1998. Yet, he tragically broke his neck in 2001 when attempting a springboard moonsault off the middle rope during a match and was paralyzed. Sadly, this not only directly affected the wrestler but also FMW, as they ended up going out of business in part due to losing their biggest star, and subsequently, their owner, Shoichi Arai, took his own life to clear his debts.
