WWE Legend Killer Khan Cause Of Death Revealed

Masashi Ozawa, the WWE legend popularly known as Killer Khan has passed away at the age of 76.

In the hours following the tragic news, the first details about the likely cause of his death have surfaced in the media.

According to reports from Japanese media, Ozawa died at approximately 10 pm on Saturday following an urgent hospital admission due to a ruptured artery.  The former professional wrestler reportedly collapsed at the counter of Kanchan's Jinjo Sakaba in Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo, and was rushed to the hospital.

The Japanese legend, originally from Niigata Prefecture, entered professional wrestling in November 1971. He faced off against fellow WWE legends the "Superman" Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, establishing himself as a main eventer in both Japan and the United States. 

Ozawa retired in November 1987 and later ventured into business, opening his aforementioned restaurant Izakaya Kanchan' in Shinjuku Ward. The restaurant unfortunately closed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The retired wrestler made his debut as a singer in 2005 with "Furusato Makaka" [Japan Crown] and went on to release multiple songs including "Shinjuku Sanhyakugoya."

Ozawa, like several high-profile wrestling superstars such as John Cena and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, ventured into film. He appeared as a bodyguard in the 1994 action-comedy film "3 Ninjas Kick Back," per Daily Mail.

Upon learning of Ozawa’s death, several WWE fans took to their respective X, formerly Twitter, accounts to express their sadness at the loss. 

One wrestling fan page tugged at the nostalgic memory of onlookers with a vintage clip of the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship winner challenging Hogan, alongside the caption:

“RIP Killer Khan. He had a couple of runs in the WWF, including in 1987 when he confronted WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and blinded him with green mist. This led to a limited house show run between the two.”

Former wrestling champion Johnny Rodz simply shared an old picture of Ozawa wearing a round neck T-shirt, with black pant briefs, and matching boots, writing “Rest in peace amigo” above.

A third X user detailed, “I'm literally watching the guy right now. Come on Twitter and find out Killer Khan passed away. When I retweeted my gif of him, an hour ago or whatever, I had no idea he died. RIP  Killer Khan. Stay away from Andre in the after life, he f—— you up constantly. You rule though.”

“RIP to Killer Khan. I remember seeing him in WWF as a little kid during the Hulkamania era. One of the many foreign heel monsters. Wasn't until adulthood did I learn about his extensive career in Japan. And the fact he wasn't Mongolian. He technically was in NES Pro Wrestling,” a fourth fan stated.

A fifth social media fan added, “Rip to Killer Khan. I feel an emotion indescribable to me reading all others who memorialise him with matches and moves and other such moments of glory. moments of glory that I've also seen and loved. yet at the front of my mind, rn is "man jimmy suzuki talked mad s— on him." 

“Killer Khan! I’ll play some NES Pro Wrestling today as King Corn Karn in his honor! One of my favorite heels in the 80s,” a sixth declared, as a seventh asserted, “RIP to one of the most unheralded workers of his era. Killer Khan was a h---uva performer.”

Yet another dedicated fan recalled, “Among things I didn’t get to do in Japan was listen to Killer Khan tell stories while he cooked up some food at his restaurant. Place was sadly closed when we stopped by after show. Fumi Saito told me some fun stories about his career, Andre and others. What a life. Legend. #RIP.”

This person affirmed, “Killer Khan one is the most bada— wrestler to ever do it. His stuff holds up better than most stuff from like 5 years ago. Rip to a true legend.”