Hayabusa’s Brother Acknowledges Will Ospreay’s Forbidden Door Tribute

Over the years, Will Ospreay has made it well-known he was inspired by Japanese legend Eiji Ezaki, better known to fans as Hayabusa. This has, therefore, seen him wearing ring gear inspired by the 90s star on several occasions, having previously gotten permission from his family.

Still, his tribute at this past weekend’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view was arguably the highest profile. And now, AEW has shared on social media the contents of a letter that they received prior to the event from Hayabusa’s brother Takanori, in which he acknowledged Osperay’s plan and noted it made the family very proud.

“Hello, This is Takanori Ezaki, a younger brother of Hayabusa. I heard that Will Osprey would like to use Hayabusa’s costume and entrance theme for Forbidden Door. We, the family of Hayabusa, felt very proud. It’s been more than 20 years since he was injured in 2001. Many people still sent him their respects over seas. We greatly appreciate it. I wish the AEW wrestlers safety. Please keep showing us good fights, and be careful not to get injured. I also wish that both Forbidden Door and AEW will be successful.”

For those unaware, Hayabusa was a death match wrestler in FMW who transcended the genre due to his high flying and charisma. Additionally, he became a cult favorite in the United States, having wrestled for ECW on their Heat Wave show in 1998, teaming with Jinsei Shinzaki against Rob Van Dam and Sabu. However, he tragically broke his neck in 2001 when attempting a springboard moonsault off the middle rope during a match with Mammoth Sasaki and would be paralyzed for years. Subsequently, he passed away 15 years later, aged just 47, leaving behind two daughters.