SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
All Japan Pro Wrestling announced today the death of young wrestler Taishin Nagao at the young age of 21.
Nagao had spent the last few months in hospital following an auto accident involving a tour bus on May 31. Details of the exact situation are unclear and the police in Japan are investigating.
Born on Sept. 13, 2003, the Hokkaido native joined the AJPW dojo with a background in Judo and Ice Hockey. He debuted on October 22, 2024 and his talent was obvious from the get go.
Given his height (164 cm / 5-foot-4), his path likely would have been as a junior, especially in a traditional heavyweight promotion like AJPW. It was clear he had the technical skills to potentially become a great worker. However, it was his charisma and boundless energy in everything he did once he came through the curtain that set him apart.
Regularly wrestling in undercard tags during his eight months on the roster, he would show great fire going toe-to-toe with heavyweights such as Suwama, The Saito Brothers, and Hideki Suzuki. Suzuki especially seemed to have taken a real liking to him. When he mixed it up with fellow juniors like Atsuki Aoyagi, Rising Hayato and Ryo Inoue, that’s when you saw the speed and technique on display. He looked like someone who could have been a centerpiece wrestler in that division a few years down the line.
This may seem like a lofty comparison, but every time I watched him I thought of a young Gran Hamada. Yes, it was probably the gear and the build that put that thought in my mind, but he backed it up with the way he wrestled. I’ll probably never watch a green tights ’80s Hamada match again without thinking of the tragedy of Taishin Nagao. It would have been a joy to see how he progressed.
RIP
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