Legendary Sumo wrestler and former All Japan star Akebono has sadly died at 54 years of age.
Japanese media announced the news on April 10th, stating that the cause of death was heart failure. The iconic sumo wrestler had been battling health issues since 2017 when he was admitted to hospital while on tour with Japanese promotion DDT. The former AJPW star was confined to a wheelchair following the hospitalisation.
Born Chad Rowan in 1969, the Hawaiian native first competed in sumo wrestling in 1988 and became the first non-Japanese wrestler to become the first yokozuna Grand Champion in 1993. Winning 11 major tournaments, the legendary sumo champion retired from the sport in 2001 before making the transition to professional wrestling in 2005.
Akebono Makes Pro Wrestling Debut In WWE
The former sumo champion competed in his first professional wrestling match during an episode of WWE SmackDown in 2005. Ahead of his WrestleMania 21 match against The Big Show, Akebono defeated Eddie Vegas in under a minute. The star of the sumo world would remain undefeated throughout his time in WWE as he defeated The World’s Largest Athlete at WrestleMania 21 in Hollywood along with a victory at a Raw house show later that year.
Making his wrestling debut in Japan as part of the Wrestle-1 Grand Prix Tournament, Akebono lost to The Great Muta in the opening round. Continuing in AJPW, the former sumo champion would win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship twice and have 4 reigns as Tag Team Champion. Competing for New Japan in 2006, Akebono would face off against big names such as Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura and Brock Lesnar while competing for the promotion. Returning to All Japan and competing on and off for the promotion until 2015, the pioneer of the sumo world competed in his final match in 2017 and would also founded the promotion Odo before his hospitalisation.
Everyone at Inside The Ropes would like to send condolences to the family and friends of Akebono at this time.