His incredible MMA fight with Don Frye 20 years ago today is still an internet cult – in the meantime Yoshihiro Takayama has met a sad fate.
An incredible MMA fight with his participation is an internet cult to this day, in his main profession as a wrestler he was a universally respected legend – for some years now he has been a nursing case.
Yoshihiro Takayama, now famous far beyond his industry twenty years ago for his crazy fight with former UFC star Don Frye, met a sad fate in 2017: due to a serious wrestling accident, he is paralysed from the neck down.
Yoshihiro Takayama paralysed since 2017
Takayama suffered the momentous injury in May 2017 while competing for Japanese wrestling promotion DDT.
In a six-man tag team match, the then already 50-year-old 6’9″ man failed a sunset flip, a fairly common move in which a wrestler leaps over his opponent with a forward pike, then pulls him down by the legs and into a shoulder position.
Takayama landed on his head – which was also already massively pre-damaged by various more serious injuries during Takayama’s wrestling career. Takayama was left irreparably injured, the severity of the news kept secret for months until he was in a stable condition and responsive.
In the Japanese wrestling scene, numerous fundraisers for Takayama’s family followed to help them pay for the high cost of care – including cult star Minoru Suzuki, now also known for his appearances at WWE rival AEW, setting up a foundation.
Takayama vs. Frye 2002: An unbelievable punching orgy
Takayama was one of Japan’s most decorated stars, holding all three of the country’s major heavyweight titles (IWGP, GHC, Triple Crown), a rare honour he shares with only three other stars – among them the soon-to-retire “Great Muta” Keiji Muto.
A former rugby player, Takayama increased his fame with forays into the MMA trade, where he fought real fights. Of particular memorability was his fight with Frye at PRIDE 21 in Saitama, Japan, on 23 June 2002: the two battered each other non-stop and with maddening frequency from the very first second of the bout – until Frye was finally declared the winner by technical knockout after six minutes.
Consequential Risk Style
Generally, Takayama was notorious as a “tough guy” who made even his show fights look like real fights, dealing out and taking it hard.
His physical, uncompromising style was not without consequences: Takayama was already badly scarred before his accident in May, including a stroke in 2004 as a result of a fight with Kensuke Sasaki.
After a two-year break, Takayama returned to the ring in 2006 and fought tens of fights a year until the end.
