Summary

Kazusada Higuchi explained why he is stepping away from in-ring competition, after DDT Pro-Wrestling announced his retirement at a March 23 press conference.

According to Higuchi, routine medical testing found a subluxation between his first and second vertebrae. He said doctors warned him that continuing to wrestle could be life-threatening, and he was also told he would not be medically cleared even with surgery or conservative treatment.

Higuchi, a two-time KO-D Openweight Champion, said he had mentally prepared for the possibility over a long stretch of checkups and made his decision once the final diagnosis was delivered.

Quote from Kazusada Higuchi

"I was already prepared for that, or rather, I had come to terms with it. It had already settled in my mind, so I didn’t have that feeling."

Higuchi then addressed wrestling after earlier checkups, before the final diagnosis came in.

"Well, during the checkups leading up to that point, there was a slight sense that it might be too much for me. However, since a detailed diagnosis hadn’t been made yet, and the card was set until January 12th, I told them myself that I wanted to compete until then. The final diagnosis came on the 16th."

On the severity of the warning from doctors, he said:

"They did (tell me it could be life-threatening if I kept wrestling). There have actually been people who have died, and others who have become unable to move, I don’t want to go into specifics, but they made that very clear to me."

Higuchi later explained how the company discussions and medical outlook made retirement the only option.

"Yes. The doctor told me, ‘This is the state you’re in,’ and as I discussed it with the company, it became clear that they couldn’t let me compete. They said it wouldn’t work even with surgery, or with conservative treatment, that it was impossible under the current circumstances. So at that point, I just said, ‘I’m retiring!’ I’d been going through checkups for a long time, so I’d already made up my mind, or at least I’d anticipated it to some extent. I’d decided that if I couldn’t wrestle the way I wanted to, I’d quit gracefully, so I was able to say it clearly."

He also spoke about DDT holding a retirement match and ceremony on April 5 without him competing.

"I might not even feel it on the day itself. Of course, I wanted to have my own retirement match and end it myself, but since things turned out this way… then having Harimao, who understands my intentions, and the others who fought at the Kitazawa Town Hall do it would be the best way."

When discussing a possible short exhibition bout, Higuchi said he did not want to return unless he could perform at his full standard.

"I really think what Harada did was amazing. In that condition, he was able to make a final farewell in the ring. But for me, if I can’t compete, that means I can’t put on my own match, so my thinking is that I shouldn’t step into the ring. There are various ways of thinking about pro-wrestling, but for me, if I can’t do Kazusada Higuchi’s style of pro-wrestling, then I shouldn’t step into the ring, that’s the right answer for me… So I think this was probably the best way to do it."

What Higuchi’s Exit Means for Harimao and DDT

With Kazusada Higuchi unable to compete, DDT loses one of its defining heavyweight anchors, and the April 5 Harimao six-man becomes the emotional centerpiece of his sendoff instead of a final Higuchi bout.

Higuchi also said he was told neither surgery nor conservative treatment would lead to clearance, which points to a permanent in-ring ending rather than a temporary absence.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.