Japanese MMA fighter Giant Ochiai dies in 'training accident', full details inside

(Courtesy: Puroresu Power)

The Japanese media announced yesterday that Takayuki Okada, who wrestled under the name Giant Ochiai, has passed away after spending several days in a coma following what was called a "training accident" at World Japan's dojo. Okada was 30 years old.

Okada had worked World Japan, and had also worked for Battlarts, as well as MMA companies DEEP and PRIDE. Okada's highest profile bout had been a losing bid against Ricco Rodriguez in PRIDE.

There has been some negative backlash towards World Japan from the Japanese media as the promotion, which has had lukewarm interest at best since it's debut this year, has deflected blame for the incident.

Giant Ochiai is a family member of a former baseball player and Nikkan Sports baseball writer Hiromitsu Ochiai.

The various versions of the story surrounding the incident that eventually took Okada's life are as follows:

Yoji Anjoh inviteed Giant Ochiai to come to the WJ Pro training facility. Neither Riki Choshu nor Nakasima invited the kid to attend. The training session for Ochiai at the WJ Pro facility on July 28 was his third time at the building. He was previously there on July 16 and 17th.

Ochiai had little prior professional wrestling practice skill, and according to Riki Choshu the kid had a head cold. Ochiai's family debates that point. Both parties agree that Choshu was supervising at the time and that Kenzo Suzuki was the trainer in the ring.

Choshu claimed that Ochiai was practicing rope work and ended up hitting his head and going unconscious. Satake and other friends of Ochiai claim that either an accident took place or Suzuki stiffed Ochiai and tried to "smarten him" up. WJ Pro claims that Ochiai was in a back-defensive position warming up 5 times.

WJ Pro claims that as Suzuki was working with other people in the ring, he turned around and saw Ochiai not breathing well. Ochiai was snoring (a sign of brain hemorrhaging) and Suzuki immediately asked for help.

Choshu called for an ambulance and it arrives 20 minutes later after the accident. The kid is taken to a hospital in Tokyo and within one hour, a craniotomy is performed to try to relieve the pressure as the kid is internally hemorrhaging.

Satake, his agent, and family members of Ochiai arrived at the hospital. They weree kept away from the kid and Nakajima & Choshu tells Satake's manager their version of what happened. Satake is told by his agent what the WJ Pro line is, he doesn't buy into it, and he goes public challenging what happened. Choshu goes completely cold, denies any wrong doing, calls it an accident, says that Ochiai had blurry eyes due to a head cold and wasn't in shape at the time of the accident.

A few days pass, and Ochiai's condition doesn't improve. After numerous attempts to improve his condition, he is in grave condition. As Suzuki and other WJ Pro employees go to say their final condolences, the family is already at the hospital and they want nobody from the WJ Pro camp to be around the kid. Ochiai dies, and the WJ pro staff sends their condolences in a meeting with the family a few hours after Ochiai's death.

WJ Pro will not pay for the funeral or the vigil (farewell service) and the family (lead by uncle Ochiai, a famous baseball personality) will handle the entire matter. The family shut out WJ Pro on the matter, and WJ Pro (Choshu) did not offer to pay (according to media reports) for anything outright. They may well pay for the funeral, but that decision as of now has not occurred.

The public stance by Choshu has been direct and short. He wouldn't handle any critical questions from the press. He said that the accident was an accident, but that Ochiai was at fault. All criticism regarding Suzuki has been reflected. Nakajima said that Ochiai never made an appointment to contact him to work out at the school, and Ochiai never was training to be a WJ wrestler.