Legend Of Hardcore Wrestling Dies Suddenly Due To A Cerebral Infarction After Having Back Surgery


A legend in the world of hardcore wrestling and the Japanese death match is gone as Tetsuo Sekigawa, better known as Mr. Pogo, has died. Many of today’s wrestling fans may not recognize his name, but longtime watchers of the sport will know that he was one of the most brutal and violent wrestlers to ever step into a ring. In a bit of strange news, though, Mr. Pogo suffered a cerebral infarction after undergoing back surgery.

Mr. Pogo was just 66-years-old.

Tetsuo Sekigawa is a legend in the world of Japanese wrestling, and his career began back in the early ’70s. From there, he ended up wrestling in Canada before making his way to the United States and eventually returning to Japan where he had his greatest success.

According to The Wrestling Observer, Mr. Pogo is most well-known for his feuds with Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Atushia Onita, Harley Race, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and many others. He became a master of the Japanese Death Match and always had his iconic scythe in his hand, which he would use to frighten his opponents.

Over the years, his feuds led to some of the strangest matches ever, which included barbed wire, exploding boards, light bulbs, fire, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Sportskeeda brought up one particular match from 1996 where Mr. Pogo faced off against another hardcore legend in Terry Funk. The bout was called a “Double Hell Death Match” which seems like that is dangerous enough, but it was actually so violent that Mr. Pogo broke his neck.

This injury caused him to ease up in the ring, and he even semi-retired, but he didn’t stop wrestling entirely. As a matter of fact, Mr. Pogo continued his in-ring career and wrestling up until the time of his death.

Overall, his career went on for more than 45 years.

There are so many fans who love wrestling today, but they may not have seen a lot of the stars from the past. If they’re true wrestling fans, it would be beneficial to get old tapes or simply hop on YouTube and find past matches of guys like Mr. Pogo and others from across the world, but be warned, many of the Japanese Death Matches are not safe for work. A legend is gone after his death due to a cerebral infarction in surgery, but his fans will never forget all of the good times and great matches he delivered.

[Featured Image by FMW Wrestling]

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