At the July 2nd All Japan Pro-Wrestling Summer Action Series 2023 event, there was a scary incident involving one of the promotions stars Ryuki Honda. Honda was involved in a tag team match as he and partner O Hanabatakemasa faced Hokuto Omori and Naoki Tanizaki. By the time match had ended, Honda was knocked out, limp and seemed unable to move. He had to carried out of the ring on a stretcher. The entire incident was handled very poorly by the official and the other wrestlers involved in the match. So let’s rewind and take a look at the entire incident as it was playing out.
A few minutes into the match, Ryuki Honda and Hokuto Omori were exchanging holds. As the match progressed, Honda ended up on the outside of the ropes on the ring apron. Hokuto Omori proceeded to land an elbow to the head of Honda which was followed by Omori running to the opposite ropes then headed back to Honda and landed another hard elbow to his head. Honda dropped like a heap to the ring apron and was pushed to the floor by Omori. The referee, who’s name I am unaware of, started to count. When he got to two, he headed to the outside and checked on Honda. After a few seconds, the referee nudged Honda as if to say, “let’s go, back in the ring.” It was clear Honda was out and not going anywhere on his own.
At this point, Honda’s partner O Hanabatakemasa came to check on him seemingly concerned. Soon the referee came back and nudged Honda again. Naoki Tanizaki entered the picture, shoved Hanabatakemasa away and physically had to lift Honda up to roll him back into the ring. Omori covered him in what should have been a three count but Hanabatakemasa shockingly broke up the count and immediately checked on Honda who wasn’t moving. Hanabatakemasa tried to drag Honda over to the corner for a tag at which point Omori grabbed Hanabatakemasa and tossed him out of the ring. The referee checked on Honda again and tried to hold Omori back but Tanizaki moved the referee to the corner.
What happened next was a complete travesty. Tanizaki and Omori lifted up Honda who clearly could not stand on his own and was held up by Tanizaki. Omori landed yet another hard roaring elbow to the head of Honda who collapsed to the mat. Omori covered Honda and the match was thankfully over. Hanabatakemasa as well as other officials immediately rushed in and attended to Honda who was completely out. Ryuki Honda had to be placed on a stretcher to be carried to the back.
The way this whole incident was handled was filled with ineptitude by everyone involved. First off, the referee should have ended the match after the second elbow to the head to Honda as he was clearly out and unable to stand up on his own. The referee nudging Honda to get him going was very poor judgment on his part. I was able to see that Ryuki Honda was not able to continue from my computer, why did the referee think differently? Isn’t it the referee’s job to protect an injured wrestler from sustaining further injury?
Second, Honda’s partner Hanabatakemasa breaking up the first pin attempt by Omori after Honda was rolled back into the ring was very confusing. If they needed a pinfall win to be made by Omori and Tanizaki, that’s where it should have occurred. Then Hanabatakemasa attempted to pull Honda to the corner so he could tag in. Really? Ryuki Honda, who is basically knocked out, is still required to tag in his partner Hanabatakemasa? Couldn’t they just have had Honda remain on the outside and Hanabatakemasa carry on with the match with him taking the loss for his team if it was crucial that Omori and Tanizaki had to win by pinfall.
And finally Hokuto Omori and Naoki Tanizaki forcing up Honda, who couldn’t stand on his own and held by Tanizaki so Omori could land another hard roaring elbow to the head on Honda was, in my opinion, sickening. Honda slumped to the ground and Omori had to use much of his strength to roll him over for the pin. Why did Omori feel he needed to land one more hard elbow to Honda? I wonder who made that call because it was a complete and utter travesty. Honda was already out from the second elbow, why in the world was a third one required? Was anyone in that ring thinking of the health of Ryuki Honda? Obviously not. It was a complete failure by AJPW officials and AJPW wrestlers to protect one of their own.
There was an update issued by AJPW in which they indicated that Ryuki Honda suffered a mild concussion and will have to rest for a few days. That was somewhat of a relief when that update was made public as it could have been a lot worse for Honda. Hopefully AJPW will learn from this scary incident and the way it was handled. AJPW must do better next time to protect the health and safety of their wrestlers.
You can follow Lewis Carlan on Twitter @ShootingUpNorth
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
