Wrestling is a dangerous sport and there have been a number of deaths in the ring over the years, including in Japanese wrestling.
In fact, puroresu has suffered more deaths than most. While the most famous in-ring deaths in the US is Owen Hart’s fall in 1999, numerous Japanese wrestlers have died specifically as a consequence of a wrestling match.
One of these involved Katuyori Shibata. The Wrestler almost died himself in 2017 after a headbutt caused brain damage that required surgery, but he was lucky enough to make a full recovery and return to wrestling.
Masakazu Fukuda, his opponent for their match in April 2000 was not so lucky.
Masakazu Fukuda Was A Prospect In Japan Before Joining NJPW
Leading up to the 2000 edition of the Young Lions Cup, Masakazu Fukuda was the name on many fans’ lips.
The 27-year-old prospect from Otawara was seen as a future star in Japan. He originally trained under Masayoshi Motegi (The innovator of the rolling German suplex) in Wrestling & Romance (WAR) where he debuted in 1996.
Fukuda found some success in WAR, winning the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Hiroyoshi Kotsubo in 1997, holding them for almost a year. However, he made the jump to New Japan in 1998, training in the New Japan Dojo to hone his skills.
The youngster was spoken very highly of during this time. He was six foot two, strong and supremely technically skilled. He had the opportunity to become a star in the promotion, and the Young Lion’s Cup was the best way to get noticed.
He would gain worldwide notice for what happened in the tournament, but not quite what he would have wanted.
He Suffered A Brain Injury During A Match With Katsuyori Shibata In 2000
On April 14th 2000, Masakuza Fukuda faced Katsuyori Shibata in that year’s Young Lions Cup.
The tournament is a lost concept in New Japan. The intent of the tournament was to showcase the young talent in the promotion and give a view of who could be the future of the promotion. It was booked similarly to the G1 Climax, with the winner sent away on an excursion to countries like the US, Mexico or Great Britain.
While obviously the result is predetermined, making a splash in these matches can give you a leg up over your competition. Young Lion matches are very simplistic with the same simple moves being used, so finding new ways to stand out is difficult and incredibly valuable.
However, the pair pushed the boundaries too much in this match, no matter how minor they may seem.
During the Masakuza Fukuda vs Katsuyori Shibata match on April 14th 2000 in the City Gymnasium in Kesennuma, Miyagi, disaster struck. Shibata hit a flying elbow drop onto his opponent. Fukuda stayed down after the move, which was unusual.
More unusual still was that he began snoring in the middle of the ring! This worried Shibata greatly, who notified the referee. The official immediately called for the bell and appointed Shibata as the winner.
Fukuda was quickly treated by doctors, although the actual diagnosis of what happened was unclear. He hadn’t taken any big bumps during the match. He hadn’t landed on his head or done much out of the ordinary.
Outside of a few stiff forearms, which were par for the course in these types of matches, it seemed like as safe a match as any other.
Clearly, it wasn’t.
Masakazu Fukuda Died After Wrestling Katsuyori Shibata
The 27-year-old was rushed to hospital after the match. He stayed for the next five days, with tests concluding that he suffered a brain haemorrhage during the bout.
After that discovery, the reason behind his collapse became clear.
The year before this fateful match, Masakazu Fukuda suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and underwent brain surgery. He was never the same once he came to wrestling four months later, and even collapsed in the ring multiple times before his final match.
Masakazu Fukuda’s death can hardly be activated to Katsuyori Shibata. It was, according to reports, a completely normal, safe match. Fukuda was likely in no condition to wrestle at all and should have retired after the first brain surgery.
Sadly, he kept wrestling, and that led to his death. Fukuda was just 27 years old and was one of the great tragedies in Japanese wrestling.
After Masakuza Fukuda’s death, the rest of the Young Lion’s Cup was dedicated in his honour. However, New Japan cancelled the tournament in the years following the 2000 edition, likely due to the impact of having one of the wrestlers die in the ring during their show.
The death of Masakuza Fukuda is rarely mentioned nowadays. The company have managed to sweep it under the rug and nobody blames Katsuyori Shibata for what happened.
However, he should have learnt something about head trauma from this incident.
He didn’t.
Katsuyori Shibata gave himself a subdural haematoma after headbutting Kazuchika Okada in their incredible match in 2017. He was paralysed and nearly died from the injury, which was one of the worst injuries in Japanese wrestling history.
