Happy Trails, Takeshi Morishima

Godspeed, Morishima Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Takeshi Morishima, Pro Wrestling NOAH standout and former Ring of Honor World Champion, has decided to hang up the boots. The official report, which is in Japanese, indicated that blood tests came back showing some elevated hemoglobin levels, causing enough concern for the three-time former GHC World Champion to retire. Morishima is only 36 years old, which is still pretty young for a pro wrestler to leave the ring. Still, his health is the most important thing here.

Morishima began his career in the late '90s, and he made his bones in America wrestling for Ring of Honor in 2007 and 2008. He won the ROH World Championship from Homicide and held the belt for most of 2007 before dropping it to Nigel McGuinness. He was also embroiled in a famous feud with Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) that culminated in a Fight Without Honor at Final Battle '08. Their matches were famed for their out and out brutality and stiffness and are regarded as perhaps some of the best in ROH's history. Morishima also got a couple of tryout matches with WWE back in '08, but he was never offered a contract.

It's always a shame when someone has to retire this young, especially due to medical concerns. However, Morishima had a pretty good career if I do say so myself. Hopefully, this medical condition he has is something he can manage and ultimately resolve so that his retirement can be a relatively stress-free one.