Akebono, Sumo Legend Who Competed in WWE’s WrestleMania 21, Dead at 54

Akebono Taro, the Hawaiian-born sumo wrestling star and WWE fighter, has died. He was 54.

On Thursday, April 11, the family of the wrestler, who was the first foreign-born sumo star to reach the level of “yokozuna” (grand champion in Japanese) in the sport, announced in a statement to the Associated Press that he died earlier this month.

“It is with sadness that we announce Akebono Taro died of heart failure earlier this month while receiving care at a hospital in the Tokyo area,” the family told the AP in a statement.

The wrestler’s wife, Christine Rowan, told the outlet that he died “within the past week.”

“I had to tend to personal matters that needed to be done prior to publicly announcing my husband’s death,” she said.

Akebono — born Chad George Ha’aheo Rowan — was raised in Honolulu in a rural area near the Koolau mountains, according to the AP. He moved to Tokyo in the 1980s and by 1993, he had won a grand championship and become a “yokozuna,” the highest rank in the sport. Per the outlet, he was an 11-time tournament winner, and he eventually retired from sumo in 2001.

The wrestler’s career spanned across sports and continents, too. He brought his skills to WWE in 2005 when he defeated Big Show at WrestleMania 21 in a Los Angeles exhibition match by throwing him out of the ring, according to WWE.

At the height of his career, he was a giant — both literally and figuratively. According to the AP, he weighed over 500 pounds and stood at 6 feet, 8 inches.

“When Akebono became the first-ever foreign-born grand champion, sumo’s highest rank, in 1993, he opened the door for other foreign wrestlers to find success in the sport,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) April 10. “Throughout his 35 years in Japan, Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland by uniting us all through sport.”

Grand champion Wakanohana (real name Masaru Hanada), who was considered a great rival of Akebono’s in the sumo world, reflected on his friend’s passing in a statement to CNN.

“A rival, a friend, and a colleague with whom I shared many hardships and joys, has departed,” Hanada wrote to CNN. “I really miss him so much. I was talking with him about meeting under a tree in Hawaii with all our fellow sumo wrestlers when we grew older. I couldn’t fulfill that promise, and I’m just so sad. I’ll see you under the tree in Hawaii. I’ll see you there.”

The family and family will hold a “private celebration of his life,” the family’s statement to the AP read. “The family kindly asks for privacy during this time of mourning.”

He is survived by Rowan, his daughter and his two sons.