The Great Sasuke, a legendary figure in the pro-wrestling industry and the founder of Michinoku Pro Wrestling, tested positive for the coronavirus on January 8th. As a result, he stated via Twitter that he would be hospitalized for a while beginning on that day ..
The Great Sasuke was scheduled for events this month, two of them being Michinoku Pro events on January 15th and January 16th. Much to his regret, Sasuke will not be taking part in them or any other events this month due to his diagnosis.
その後保健所の指示に従い感染疑い検査を受けた結果、陽性と判定されました。よって本日よりしばらく入院する事となりました。今月いっぱいは全てお休みさせていただきます。もちろん大会自体は全て開催されますのでどうかご来場いただきますよう伏してお願い申し上げます。申し訳ございませんでした。 pic.twitter.com/UClBx5Y3qv — ザ・グレート・サスケ THE GREAT SASUKE (@the_greatsasuke) January 8, 2022
The Great Sasuke had been designated as a close contact by the Morioka City Health Center after it was discovered that a referee who had participated in a New Year’s Eve event had been infected with the coronavirus. that gave him a positive diagnosis.
A 31-year veteran of the pro-wrestling industry, The Great Sasuke made his first big impact in 1994 at NJPW’s junior heavyweight tournament Super J Cup 1st STAGE, impressing fans and making more people take notice of him. Sasuke defeated former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai during the tournament, making it the finals where he faced Wild Pegasus.
In 1996, The Great Sasuke became the original holder of the J-Crown, a unification of eight different titles from eight different companies worldwide. Instead of representing one company, the J-Crown simultaneously represented companies in Japan, America, and Mexico.
In 1997, The Great Sasuke appeared in ECW and WWE having matches with other wrestlers from Michinoku Pro- this was many American pro-wrestling fans’ first exposure to the Japanese style of wrestling.
The Great Sasuke made the NWA World Middleweight Championship one of the most legitimate middleweight titles in wrestling-although its roots began in America’s NWA, he became Champion in 1999 and was the longest-reigning holder of the Championship. Sasuke defended it many times in Japan at Michinoku Pro events.
The Great Sasuke created Michinoku Pro because he wanted to bring pro-wrestling to his hometown of Iwate. In Michinoku Pro’s beginning, the staff consisted solely of owner / founder The Great Sasuke and other members of the Michinoku Pro roster. As a wrestler, he has been very successful in Michinoku Pro competition- Sasuke is a 3-time former Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion and has also won titles in tag-team competition, holding the Tohoku Tag Team Championship on four separate occasions.
On September 10th last year, a Michinoku Pro event was held in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, commemorating The Great Sasuke and his 31 years in the industry.
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